In many people’s battles against COVID-19, there is more to it than just “testing negative”. Yes, many people have recovered and will recover, but there is still a record and healing process that can’t be forgotten.

As we learn more every day, things are starting to be implemented and people are able to be better treated.

With such a novel virus and disease, it is hard to say anything for certain and with any authority. One of the things we are learning more about is the people who have contracted the disease and recovered. It absolutely has the ability to kill, but what is the journey like for people who had it and recovered?

Thankfully, there are powerful stories that can help us to understand what it is like to go through.

Barry Mangione is a pediatric physical therapist who tested positive for the virus about a month ago. Barry was a health 50-year-old man who had no underlying health conditions and has quite the story of his journey and current recovery.

With prolific misinformation in regards to symptomatic severity, many people would probably misunderstand Barry unless he spoke out.

As a healthy man who had no underlying conditions and had good healthcare, some people would say that he would be able to breeze through the whole process easily.

In a Facebook post, Barry addresses people who say others should “get over it”.

Talking about the disease in a helpful way, he refers to it as a continuum. The continuum that exists between “you die” and “you live” is vast and people are affected differently.

In the post, he gives some specifics.

Talking details, he explains some of the journey that he is on currently. Testing positive 31 days ago, you would think he was through. Testing negative on day 27 was a joy, of course, but all of a sudden he was hit with crippling fatigue and chills, still testing negative.

His cough is gone and he has been fever free but he is still impacted by the effects of the virus.

Addressing some of the things that he is still struggling through he says:

I’m a pediatric physical therapist. I work in homecare with infants and toddlers. Prior to COVID19, I would travel to people’s homes and work with up to ten children a day for 30 minutes each. Prior to COVID19, I struggled with insomnia, but I could still get up after a nearly sleepless night and rock my day job. Now, I can get a full night’s sleep and be wiped out after doing a couple of telehealth sessions with kids via Zoom.

His goal is to educate people.

The post seems to be addressing groups of people who don’t seem to care much about the virus or getting the disease.

For all who talk about wanting it to spread among the healthy to encourage “herd immunity,” let me ask you: if you get sick with COVID19, how do you know how sick you’ll get?

As a healthy individual, he warns about the danger of thinking “I am safe because I have no underlying conditions”.

We can all learn a lesson on empathy and even science from Barry.

We don’t have the details. Unless we are an epidemiologist working on the coronavirus data, we really don’t know unless someone tells us. Barry offers a great reminder on how much we don’t actually know and why it is always important to care for people.

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Source: Facebook, Upworthy