A nurse who had no pre-existing conditions has shared a shocking photo of his 50-pound weight loss after spending six weeks on a ventilato...
A nurse who had no pre-existing conditions has shared a shocking photo of his 50-pound weight loss after spending six weeks on a ventilator battling COVID-19.
Mike Schultz, 43, was only released from a Massachusetts hospital last week after spending 57 days battling coronavirus-induced pneumonia.
Schultz posted a photo on Instagram last week to show just how much the virus has ravaged his body.
The first photo was taking about a month before he was hospitalized on March 16 and the second image was taken in a recovery ward after spending six weeks on the ventilator.
'I wanted to show everyone how badly being sedated for 6 weeks on a ventilator or intubated can be,' Schultz wrote alongside the photo.
Mike Schultz, 43, was only released from a Massachusetts hospital last week after spending 57 days battling coronavirus-induced pneumonia. The photo on the left was taken a month before he got sick and the image on the left was taken after he spent six weeks on a ventilator
Prior to falling ill, Schultz weighed about 190 pounds, would work out between six to seven times a week and had no pre-existing conditions.
After contracting the virus in mid-March, Schultz said it reduced his lung capacity considerably and left him so weak he was unable to hold his cellphone in one hand.
'I was so weak. This was one of the most frustrating parts,' he told BuzzFeed News.
'I couldn't hold my cellphone, it was so heavy. I couldn't type because my hands shook so much.'
He also lost track of time and wasn't aware he had been in hospital for six weeks already.
'I thought only a week had gone by,' he said.
Schultz, who works in San Francisco but was in Boston to visit his boyfriend at the time, had been in Miami at the Winter Party Festival the week before he got sick.
He said they were aware of COVID-19 at the time but there were no lockdowns or restrictions in place.
'We knew it was out there... We just thought 'well, we gotta wash our hands more and be wary of touching our face',' he said.
After contracting the virus in mid-March, Schultz said it reduced his lung capacity considerably and left him so weak he was unable to hold his cellphone in one hand. He was only able to start eating and drinking what he wanted in early May after six-weeks on a ventilator
Prior to falling ill, Schultz, who works as a registered nurse in San Francisco, weighed about 190 pounds, would work out between six to seven times a week and had no pre-existing conditions
Schultz was in Boston to visit his boyfriend at the time he fell ill. The pair had been in Miami at a festival the week before he got sick. They are pictured above after Schultz was released from hospital last week
Two days after arriving back in Boston, both Schultz and his boyfriend started feeling sick.
Schultz went to the hospital after he started having trouble breathing and his fever spiked to 103.
He was immediately put on oxygen before eventually being sedated.
Schultz ended up being intubated for 4.5 weeks.
At least 38 people who attended the Miami festival ended up contracting COVID-19 and three people died.
Schultz, who was released from hospital last week, is still slowly building up his lung capacity and will have to undergo physical therapy.
He said he shared the photo on Instagram to show that COVID-19 could affect anyone.
'I didn't think it was as serious as it was until after things started happening,' he said. 'I thought I was young enough for it not to affect me and I know a lot of people think that.
'I wanted to show it can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, have preexisting conditions or not. It can affect you.'
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