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A north Texas man hopes sharing his experience with COVID-19 while he recovers in hospital will encourage others to take the virus seriously.
Andre Terry, a Dallas-based father and designer, is being treated at Baylor Scott & White in Irving after testing positive for COVID-19 last Saturday. Doctors have since confirmed that he also has pneumonia, Terry said.
Terry said that at first he didn’t have any symptoms like cough or fever, but that he felt tired.
“I’m a fashion designer, so I was just home to work,” he recalls. “Then I started to get really tired, literally having to stop in the middle of projects and I was like, ‘God, I have to lie down.'”
“I was even too tired to go back to my car. I had to go and sit on a park bench and my car was right in the parking lot. I had to sit there and I thought, “Something’s wrong.” “
Andre Terry, hospitalized in Irving with COVID-19
What were supposed to be quick breaks sometimes turned into hours of rest, said Terry. Knowing that “something” was wrong but not knowing what it was, he said he had a COVID-19 test last Thursday.
“I was even too tired to go back to my car. I had to go and sit on a park bench and my car was right in the parking lot. I had to sit there and I thought, “Something’s wrong,” said Terry.
The test confirmed he was positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Still, Terry said his symptoms were mild. He started to feel better until Monday, when he decided to go to the hospital.
He noticed pain on the side of his body.
“At first I thought, ‘Maybe I slept too long and slept badly on the wrong side.’ But then there was a little cough here and there. When I took a deep breath, I could almost feel like a cracked rib or something, “he said.” They put x-rays on my chest and said I had to. fever. They were glad I came in, but it looked like they were going to need to babysit me. I was like “Why?” They said, ‘Your chest is full of pneumonia.’ “
According to the CDC, viruses, bacteria and fungi can all cause pneumonia. In the United States, the common causes of viral pneumonia are influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus responsible for COVID-19.
“Who would have thought this would happen to me?” I was not sick. I was not with anyone who was sick. I was careful with the cough, ”said Terry.
He said he felt better on Friday than when he arrived at the hospital on Monday. However, he wasn’t sure exactly when he would be able to return home.
“I try to be all manly and think, ‘It’s okay.’ As soon as I start to walk, I catch my breath. I always tell them, ‘Oh, I’m just overweight. Everything will be alright.’ They say, ‘No, you’re breathing hard as we speak,’ ”he says.
He said he hoped people would take precautions, pay attention to any symptoms and be tested in order to protect themselves and others around them.
“What I really want people to know is just to be careful,” he says. “It’s really important, I think even when you’re with your friends, especially with these gatherings.
This week, the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council reported that more than 2,400 patients in hospitals in North Texas were being treated for COVID-19.
* The locations on the map are approximate and central locations of the city and are not intended to indicate where people actually infected live.
** County totals below include the 32 North Texas counties, not just Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant.
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