“I Was Wrong”: A Surgeon’s First-Person Account of His COVID-19 Illness

A surgeon failed to heed his own misgivings on taking a family vacation cruise. Despite scrupulous hand-washing and antiseptic precautions with anything within reach, he contracts COVID-19. His anxiety increased as his condition became increasingly serious: uncontrollable dry coughing spells, spiking fevers, and his worst symptom, progressive dyspnea and chest pain. From what he knew about the disease, he feared admission to the intensive care unit, a step that portended a significantly worse prognosis. After a week-and-a-half of illness, misery, and fear, he began to improve: first, his fevers diminished, breathing came more easily, and coughing spells occurred less frequently, if still unpredictably. Now with his strength slowly returning, he contemplated returning to work but was frustrated when tests showed he was still shedding active virions. Under quarantine and with time to reflect, he cautions against complacency with regard to the infectiousness of COVID-19. His own denial led to the loss of his health and livelihood. At home but still separated from his wife and children in a basement bedroom, the bittersweet circumstances of his reunion with them is a reminder of the preciousness of life and love of family.