The pandemic has been stressing everyone out and while it has had a big impact on everything and everyone in the world, it has been especially difficult for nurses, doctors, and essential workers.

Nurses have been working overtime, dedicating their days and nights to helping everyone else. There has been little time for taking care of themselves and it physically shows. Now, we now have photographic proof thanks to this nurse (@thebearded_nurse on Instagram).

Real name Mike Schultz, 43, and from San Francisco and based in Boston, the nurse contracted the virus himself at Winter Party Festival in Miami Beach. We know that, weeks later, 38 other attendees would have picked up the virus from that breeding ground.

Schultz and his boyfriend, Josh Hebblewaithe, both became sick afterward. Schultz had such a high fever and a hard time breathing that he would soon wind up in the hospital.

He turned out to be hospitalized for six weeks. He was intubated for four and a half.

The nurse was very healthy prior to being infected. He was 190 pounds and worked out nearly every day. However, that pretty much went down the drain when he tested positive for the virus.

After taking weeks off and barely being able to eat, you can see that he lost a lot of muscle mass, ultimately appearing physically weaker than before.

Schultz took to Instagram to share a body transformation picture before and after coronavirus.

“I wanted to show everyone how badly being sedated for 6 weeks on a ventilator or intubated can be,” he wrote. “Amongst other things, covid19 reduced my lung capacity with pneumonia…I’ll get back to where I was in healthier ways this time…maybe even do cardio.”

In the two months following Winter Party, Schultz has lost about 50 pounds.

He also shared that his inability to fully recover is very clear.

“I was so weak. This was one of the most frustrating parts,” he said. “I couldn’t hold my cellphone; it was so heavy. I couldn’t type, because my hands shook so much.”

The picture on the left was taken about a month before he got sick. He had a really hard time finding the energy to take the photo on the right. Just getting up out of bed for a few minutes to go take the picture took a lot out of him because he was so tired.

“I knew what I thought going in [about the coronavirus]. I didn’t think it was as serious as it was until after things started happening. I thought I was young enough for it not to affect me, and I know a lot of people think that,” he said.

“I wanted to show it can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, have preexisting conditions or not. It can affect you.”

We already know that coronavirus has affected so many people, but seeing the physical toll it takes on a human body really puts it all into perspective.

Hopefully people take this more seriously now.

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Source: God.Dailydot.com