A Wallaceburg man is sharing his story of struggle with COVID-19.
Todd Shepley, tested positive for the virus on January 1st. He travels for business across the US, but says he caught the virus in Wallaceburg, about three weeks after his last business trip.
“My first symptoms were achiness behind the eyes and then it proceeded to go into a bronchitis infection, then I got the nausea and I got the loss of taste and smell. It completed its course almost to the date of two weeks.”
An unexpected side-effect, Shepley has developed a speech impediment since coming down with COVID-19. His voice is weaker than it once was and he speaks slowly and deliberately to overcome a stutter, which he says gets a little worse as the day goes on.
Shepley feels a little stronger each day. He says early on he was so fatigued he was having two or three naps a day, but says he can go for walks and other activities without getting winded.
“The masks and the hand sanitizer, yo can’t do enough of it for sure. We’ve got to be more diligent with that. You just don’t know where this is hiding.”
Shepley says he’s grateful for the nurses, doctors, and other health care staff who put themselves at risk as they treat COVID patients like him, and have gone above and beyond to provide care, even calling to check in on him after hours.
He says he knows he’s doing better than some, and is thankful for that.