SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Will Rodriguez Kennedy immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“I had bad flu symptoms,” he told News 8. “There was like a difference in taste in foods and that’s one of the indicators you're sick."
As the chair of the San Diego Democratic Party, he’s always out and about, meeting with people so he didn’t waste any time getting tested for the coronavirus/ COVID-19.
“My condition had deteriorated by Friday and I was in the hospital for six days because I couldn’t breathe,” he said.
He documented his journey on social media as a way to raise awareness.
“I lost 23 days of my life fighting this and most people can’t afford that. Six days of that I was literally fighting to breathe,” said Rodriguez Kennedy.
Now back home again and out of quarantine, he has an oxygen ventilator on hand to help him breathe when he needs it but is on the road to recovery.
Also thankful to be recovering is Drew Andrews.
“I was making dinner and I lost my taste and smell,” Andrews told News 8.
He also noticed similar symptoms and immediately got tested. When the results came back positive for the virus, he self-quarantined and fought it out at home. He was never hospitalized.
“I felt like I might have had to go to the hospital once or twice and that’s really scary. I’ll probably remember that for a long time," he said.
Now a little less than a month out he is also on the uptick.
“I feel good today. That’s really great news and super positive to feel like I’m past it. I don’t have any symptoms and the county cleared me,” Andrews said.
While there’s really no way to know who he contracted it from, he’s not focused on that.
“I don’t think that’s really important. It’s just out there [the virus] in the world right now. It’s there. Just to be really cautious," he said.
Both men are now urging others to heed the warnings to help protect themselves and others by wearing masks, washing hands, and taking precautions.
“It may not be a doomsday scenario, but it can really upend your life,” Rodriguez Kennedy said.
“We can literally infect other people and be completely asymptomatic and those people can die from it. It’s irresponsible to not do that.”