A teacher at Corner Canyon High — whose students endearingly call her “Mama J” and who rides a wooden horse to cheer at every game — is currently in an intensive care unit after, her family says, she contracted COVID-19 at the school that she loves.
Charri Jensen, a popular sewing and design teacher, was put on a ventilator Thursday after testing positive a week earlier, said her daughter, Talesha Jensen. Her case comes as part of a larger outbreak at the Draper high school, where the district’s board has ignored state health guidance and refused to close despite having more than 15 active cases.
Jensen now is one of Utah’s first teachers to be hospitalized; a total of 11 patients have received hospital care in connection with outbreaks in schools since classes resumed this fall.
“I’m so worried about her,” said Talesha Jensen on Friday, her voice cracking over the phone. “I need her more than anything. And I know her students do, too. She’s like family to everyone.”
She paused. “I just can’t stop crying,” Talesha said. “I can’t imagine life without her.”
Her mom first started feeling sick on Sept. 8 and left class early. She had body aches and fatigue, but thought she might just have a cold, like the many she’s gotten from a lifetime with kids in the classroom.
A few days later, though, Jensen had a major headache and went to get tested for the coronavirus. She was positive. And by Wednesday this week, there was a rattle in her chest when she breathed, Talesha Jensen said.
Despite telling her daughter “no, no, no,” Jensen went to an emergency room. There, Talesha Jansen noted, her mom’s oxygen level registered at 61. Normally, that should be in the 90s.
Afraid she might get worse, Jensen’s family had to say goodbye and the staff transported her to an intensive care unit at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. Less than 24 hours later, Jensen was sedated and placed on a ventilator to help her breathe.
“She’s really struggling,” Talesha Jensen said. “But she’s a fighter.”
Talesha Jensen said another teacher at the school that works closely with her mom tested positive shortly before Jensen did. And the family believes that’s where she got it.
Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney confirmed Friday that five teachers at Corner Canyon have contracted the virus. He declined to say how many students have, but 500 have been quarantined.
The Salt Lake Tribune will update this developing story.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2020/09/18/teacher-utahs-corner/
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