Lisa Merck, a nurse from Colorado, shared her experience with her coronavirus infection on local media outlet KDVR this weekend — and the details are disturbing.

She’s tested positive for coronavirus, and in her own words she said, “it’s nothing like I expected.”

The Air Force veteran took a vacation to Hawaii for a medical conference and by the time she left, she’d been sniffling.

“We were on buses, trains — we were on planes having fun,” Merck said, referring to herself and her husband.

Her symptoms became a full-blown COVID-19 infection while on the plane returning home from Hawai. Merck said body aches grew all over her limbs.

Her condition quickly deteriorated.

She recalled the discovery of the virus in painful detail.

“We got back and my muscles ached, my bones ached and my joints ached really bad,” Merck said. “It felt like someone was stabbing me with an ice pick and I was like, ‘I wonder if I have the flu.’”

It wasn’t long before she had no choice but to seek medical attention. Nausea and fevers followed.

“I felt really short of breath, I felt very fatigued,” she added. “Finally, on Sunday night, I told my husband, ‘I need you take me to the ER. I don’t feel well — whenever I stand, I feel like I’m going to faint.’”

The doctors told her she had viral pneumonia. A positive coronavirus test followed. Though the virus has caused her to lose five pounds due to nausea, since the March 11 diagnosis Merck said that she has recovered considerably.

“My biggest things are I’m feeling really short of breath. I’m feeling exhausted but I’m definitely getting healthier.”

She will remain in isolation until March 22nd.

You can view a video of her story below, which she uploaded herself to spread awareness about the virus:

The Associated Press contributed to this article