‘Felt like I was on fire’: Florida man describes recovering from coronavirus

ORLANDO, Fla. — Lamonte Gwynn said he first felt sick March 8, after returning home to Orlando, Florida, following a business trip to New York City and Maryland.

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He tried to recover at home, then went to the emergency room March 12. He says staff did not test him for the coronavirus, and told him he was not exposed because he had not traveled outside the country.

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Gwynn, who is immunocompromised, said he never got a cough, but the body aches, headache and sore throat persisted.

“I felt like my insides were cooking,” Gwynn said. “I literally felt like I was on fire, like I wasn’t going to make it.”

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Five days later, he went to AdventHealth, where health care workers immediately put him in isolation.

Over four hours, he received fluids and doctors tested him for other diseases. The tests came back negative, which led them to test for COVID-19. On Monday, Gwynn learned that he tested positive.

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Knowing that, there was “a little relief.”

“Like, OK, it is COVID-19, but I’m on the other side of it,” Gwynn said.

Gwynn said he got better after receiving fluids and an antibiotic.

“Every day, we see on the news that someone has passed away from this disease, and I feel blessed,” Gwynn said.

Gwynn said he believes more people should be tested, and he urges everyone to take federal, state and local restrictions seriously.

“They’re not easy decisions,” Gwynn said. "The more that we work in conjunction with them the better off we’ll be.”

He continues to self-quarantine but will talk to the Health Department about next steps now that he feels better.