BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen provided an update on his family Wednesday afternoon following his positive test for coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
Pridgen said his eldest daughter and two of his sons have either tested positive or have symptoms of the virus.
His daughter Aisha Pridgen, who is in her 30s and doesn't have any pre-existing conditions, had the strongest symptoms in the family. She went to the emergency room and was admitted into a hospital in Niagara Falls.
"We were talking one night, texting back and forth, and she told me how bad she felt, and maybe about 20 minutes later we get a call from the hospital that they were rushing her to ICU, and they were actually putting her on life support at that time," Pridgen said during a FaceTime interview Wednesday afternoon.
Aisha was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit for five days.
"As a dad, to hear your daughter is on life support and there is absolutely nothing you can do," he continued. "You cannot visit, you cannot see, you cannot FaceTime, you cannot talk. That was really more devastating probably then even the illness itself, that she was alone through it all."
Just minutes before the interview with 2 On Your Side, Pridgen found out his daughter had been taken off a ventilator and was being moved out of the intensive care unit.
"Right away they said we have good news. So I can end the day knowing that my children and myself are moving toward healing," he said.
His family's battle with the virus was featured in the Washington Post.
Pridgen said Wednesday that he's pushing as hard as he can for more testing here in Western New York.
"I agree with the governor. There just has to be so much testing that people are able to test at home, because there is a rapid test that you can take at home. We have to have it, and I want Erie County to be ready, snd so I use the platform that God has given me to fight for Erie County," he said.
On Sunday, when he first broke the news of his positive test, Pridgen said he wants to remind the community that anyone could get this illness.
"Anybody can get this. I don't care how guarded one is, I don't care, anybody can get it," Pridgen told 2 On Your Side on Sunday.
He made the announcement Sunday afternoon on Facebook, where he shared his journey.
"I actually self-isolated more than 11 days ago, and without any diagnosis," Pridgen said in his video. "I just felt like, wasn't feeling totally myself."
Pridgen said he received his positive test result on Saturday.
"I went from having temperatures of 99 to temperatures of 101 to 102. The nights were getting a little rough, and I knew that I needed to seek medical attention as quickly as possible," Pridgen told 2 On Your Side on Sunday.