“I no longer think this is something that happens to other people” — a young man’s COVID19 testimony (translated from Korean article)

Original article, by Kim Joo-yeon at Seoul Shinmun, can be found here (published March 16): https://news.v.daum.net/v/20200316223601224

Choi, 25, felt a fever and a sore throat starting on the 17th (of Feb). It was 2 days after he made a trip to Daegu [the epicenter of the COVID19 outbreak in Korea]. He suffered from recurrent tonsillitis so he took his tonsillitis medication, but the sore throat and coughing continued. He was treated on the 20th at a local clinic, but the symptoms did not improve. At the news that COVID19 cases were rising rapidly in Daegu, he went to a special screening clinic on the 22nd.

At 4 AM on the morning of the 23rd, his phone rang. The phone call let him know that he had tested positive. He was transported to Busan medical center, and his family was quarantined. His family members told him repeatedly that “it’s ok,” but he couldn’t stop thinking that he had caused a lot of trouble for them. The day that his family was quarantined was the first round of exams for the CPA exam, for which Choi’s older brother had been studying for over a year. “The Financial Supervisory Service said that the application for self-quarantined examinees had closed on the 22nd,” Choi remembered. “I felt guilty that my brother couldn’t take this exam that he had been studying for for so long, and I couldn’t apologize properly so I felt really bad. My mom’s workplace was also closed down for a period, and my mother was chastised in the workplace group chat for not checking where her son had been. My father was also questioned at his workplace.”

Choi was also beset by rumors. “One news broadcast said that my reasons for visiting Daegu were unclear, and that I was denying being a Shincheonji cult member,” he says — the report actually led to him being suspected even more of being a member.

His body did not recover easily. “The coughing became really bad at the beginning of my hospital stay, I had phlegm and a fever. It became pneumonia. The first day I took the antiviral medication, I had diarrhea over eight times a day, and we had to double my fluids. I thought that if things were this bad for me, a young person, then it would really be hard to endure for senior patients.”

A week after he was admitted, his condition improved to a point where he was able to just take the antiviral medication. On the 5th, he tested negative on the PCR test, but he still had pneumonia. He took medications and took X-rays every day, and was discharged on the 12th.

“Medical staff wearing bodysuits handed me lunchboxes every day and checked my pulse and blood pressure carefully,” he said. “It’s so good that we have such excellent public medical care in our country. I’ll never forget the moment when medical staff waved a piece of paper that said “congratulations on getting discharged” through the glass window.”

Choi’s heart is still heavy. His mother and his friend are also still being treated for COVID19. Per the doctor’s recommendations, he’s using a separate bathroom [from his family] and he is not going out. “My complacent mindset that “I won’t catch this contagious disease” has completely changed,” he says. “I’m apologetic and grateful to my neighbors, family, and friends. I hope all the patients get better soon.”