COVID-19 tried to kill Malcolm Anthony.
It gave him uncontrollable night sweats and bad dreams. It made his joints ache and pop. He ran a fever for nearly 10 days. He couldn’t eat.
But more than anything else, it tried to “rob me of my hope.”
The local attorney still doesn’t know how he contracted the coronavirus. He only remembers feeling bad on March 18. After that, his entire survival was dependent on turning back a virus that forced the rest of the world to lock itself behind closed doors.
“It was demonic-like,” Anthony said. “I was sick for 10 days. The nights were horrible, just horrible. When you’re that sick, you have conversations with God, that’s for sure.”
Anthony said he was in traffic court two days before he became ill. As far as he knows, nobody else in court that day developed symptoms on the virus, Anthony said.
COVID-19 hit Anthony hard and fast. He knew instantly “this was not the typical flu.” He called his doctor the next morning and together they quickly determined he likely had contracted the deadly virus.
He eventually was tested, and it confirmed what he already knew for days – COVID-19 was trying to kill him.
“After I talked to my doctor, I quarantined myself,” Anthony said. “It was a very dark time. I was running a 100.8-degree temperature all the time. I sweated through three pairs of pajamas every night. The hard part was the psychological stuff, the repeated dreams every night.”
There also was indescribable pain.
“I had joint pain in my hips,” he said. “I would moan so loud it would wake me up. I couldn’t walk in the morning. At night, my knees popped when I rolled over.”
Friends called every day. They brought food and get-well cards. Anthony appreciated the support, but he was too lost in his own solitude of fear, pain and doubt to be social.
“I shuttered every time the telephone rang,” Anthony said. “I was so ill. When the phone rang, it startled me out of my misery.”
Anthony finally showed enough improvement he went to his office last week. Counting the nine days he spent in quarantine, it was the first time in nearly three weeks he stepped beyond the self-imposed fortification of his own home.
“I’m 1,000% better,” he said. “I lost 17 pounds. I don’t want anyone to go through this.”
Anthony said the virus has changed the way he will approach the rest of his life. He realizes what’s important are relationships, friends and family.
“I’m immune to anxiety now,” Anthon said. “Going through a near-death experience will do that to you.”
