Stories From the Pandemic

‘God Brought Me Out’ Says Man Who Survived COVID-19

About six months ago, Ron Thomas became obsessed with walking. The 67-year-old Hoover resident says he was in good shape, had no health issues and was not overweight. But something moved him to get moving. “While I was walking, I would be praying,” he said. “I would say, ‘God, I don't know what you're preparing me for but, whatever it is, I thank you.’” After battling the novel coronavirus, Thomas is thankful to be alive. Despite the disproportionate rate of death from COVID-19 among African Americans, particularly men, Thomas went from being too weak to lift his head to raising his hands in praise. “I truly believe,” he said of his daily walks, “God was preparing me for this fight against the coronavirus.” Read more. More Stories From the Pandemic Getting Out of China Facing Life With Celebration, Caution After COVID-19 Recovery Birmingham Health Care Worker Who Caught Virus ‘Had a Feeling That Things Weren’t Normal’

Getting Out of China

Birmingham-Southern College student Griffith Hawk did not intend to leave China so abruptly, but when the pandemic started to make its way across the country, he didn’t have a choice. Studying Mandarin Chinese in a college in the southeastern city of Guilin, Hawk was on winter break, visiting Beijing, when coronavirus got real for him. “At the end of January, I was given a notice, basically by the people who are organizing the language program I was on, and my school, that I had five days to get out of the country,” he recalled. “So I had to get back to my dorm in the south part of China, from the north, in a day and pack and then get home. “At that point I was told I would be able to return. But it became pretty quickly apparent that I was unable to return.” Hawk made it out of China without getting infected by COVID-19. And although he got back home unscathed, his experience gives a glimpse into how China changed quickly into a country in lockdown as the virus began to make inroads — before it changed the lives of people around the globe in such a dramatic and evolving fashion. Read more. More Stories From the Pandemic Facing Life With Celebration, Caution After COVID-19 Recovery Birmingham Health Care Worker Who Caught Virus ‘Had a Feeling That Things Weren’t Normal’

Facing Life With Celebration, Caution After COVID-19 Recovery

It might sound strange to be thankful for two weeks of coughing, fatigue, headaches and shortness of breath. But 45-year-old Sherri Ross was because she knew having asthma put her at high risk for a much worse case of COVID-19 than she had. “I had a very mild case and I’m very thankful for that,” Ross said. Since she received test results that cleared her of the virus on April 21, Ross said she’s been finding ways, even in self-isolation, to celebrate. “I’m having a party now. I bought roller skates. I bought a karaoke mic … I’m having the best time ever,” she said. However, the fear of catching the coronavirus again or spreading it to someone else is real. Ross said she is armed with a mask and gloves wherever she goes, and she is careful to avoid being close to people. Read more. More Stories From the Pandemic

Birmingham Health Care Worker Who Caught Virus ‘Had a Feeling That Things Weren’t Normal’

Birmingham Health Care Worker Who Caught Virus ‘Had a Feeling That Things Weren’t Normal’

In the month before Alia Tunagur reached her 30th birthday, she easily could have questioned whether she would make it to that milestone. “To be honest,” she said, “I wouldn’t let my mind go there.” It was during that final month of her 29th year that Tunagur, a health care professional in Birmingham, battled the novel coronavirus. Born in Saudi Arabia, Tunagur celebrated her latest birthday on May 2 and continues to celebrate having successfully run the gauntlet known around the world as COVID-19. It is a sickness unlike any she had ever experienced. Tunagur remembers March 15, the first day she realized something was wrong “It was just different,” she said. “It was cold/flu-like but I was hypervigilant and overly concerned because I knew that I have a compromised immune system (because of an) autoimmune disorder.” Taking no chances, she isolated herself in the basement apartment at her parents’ house. Her sinuses were congested, her throat was sore, and she was exhausted despite having had a full night of sleep. “I had a feeling,” she said, “that things weren't normal.” Read more.