‘Excruciating.’ 26-year-old Lexington med student in ICU recovering from COVID-19.

On Friday, Anna Grace Downs, a 26-year-old medical student from Lexington, learned that she had been “matched” to do her residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

She and her family couldn’t celebrate in person because Anna is currently in the ICU unit at Baptist Health Lexington after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

“We could not be more proud of her,” her mother, Jenny Psimer Downs, said Sunday in an interview with the Herald-Leader.

The nurses at Baptist Health made a congratulatory card for Anna on Saturday. The Downs family is communicating with Anna by phone and by Facetime.

“The hardest part is that we can’t see her,” said Jenny Downs. “We can’t be there with her. That has been excruciating.”

Anna Downs, a graduate of Lexington Christian Academy and a fourth-year student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, gave her mother permission to post her story on Facebook Sunday.

Anna told her mother, “If it makes anybody take this seriously then it’s worth it.”

She is receiving treatment for COVID-19, Jenny Downs said, and was close to needing a ventilator Friday but started improving.

“She is still extremely tired but after having a fever for 12 days she is fever free. Her lungs are improving a little bit each day,” Jenny Downs said.

Jenny Downs said she and her husband David Downs will be in self isolation for 14 days and are symptom free so far.

“It has been extremely difficult and emotional not being able to be with Anna,” said Downs. “But we know she’s where she needs to be and has amazing care.”

She thanked everyone for their prayers.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said 103 cases of the coronavirus had been reported in the state by Sunday evening.

Anna wasn’t feeling well at school last Sunday. After she had a negative test for coronavirus, her father brought her home to Lexington.

On Tuesday, Anna went to the emergency room and was admitted to Baptist Health. She tested positive for COVID-19.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that she’s turned the corner,” Jenny Downs told the Herald-Leader Sunday.

“Anna wanted me ... to urge everyone to follow the guidelines for protecting yourself and those around you. Not everyone gets this sick but some do and Anna is one of them,” Jenny Downs said in the Facebook post.

She said her daughter does not know where she was exposed to the virus.

This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 8:50 PM.