Fayetteville husband and wife fight off the coronavirus

Renarta Small-Baker is a hospice nurse. This month, instead of taking care of patients, she spent most of her time fighting off the coronavirus.

Small-Baker says she became ill April 4, and her husband got sick four days later.

"It was very frustrating that I knew I was sick but I couldn't get any testing at my primary (doctor) because I didn't fit the criteria," Small-Baker said.

People in low-risk groups with symptoms that can be managed at home — fever, cough and difficulty breathing — are not advised to seek testing, according to the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The State of North Carolina and county health departments follow the recommendations from the CDC and are not testing people who are likely sick but in low-risk groups.

What we know (and don't) about coronavirus testing across North Carolina

It took three trips to the doctor for Small-Baker and her husband to get a positive test. And by then, things had taken a turn for the worse. On April 15, Small-Baker's husband was admitted to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where he's been in intensive care since.

Small-Baker and her four boys have been quarantined inside their Fayetteville home. Doctors assume that the boys are infected as well though they have not been tested. One of her boys had a low-grade fever, but he is doing better.

"For the first couple days when their dad went to the hospital, I mean, they couldn't even eat," Small-Baker said.

"It was just a tough time because they're daddy's boys," she said. "If anybody knows Chris, they know he loves his boys."

While her husband remains in the ICU, his condition is improving. Small-Baker is hopeful that he will soon be moved out of the intensive care unit to another part of the hospital.

Now that her husband is doing better, Small-Baker said her sons are able to eat.