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NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) — With the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations increasing, a Tennessee man talks about his experience with the coronavirus.
The number of COVID patients hospitalized in Tennessee is now at 1,634, which is up by 149 people just two days.
One of them is Charles Elliott hospitalized since Monday with COVID and pneumonia.
“I had some aches and some pains but mostly it was just (coughs),” Elliott said. “I had congestion couldn’t breathe very well. Just kept coughing a lot.”
Elliott said the highest fever he had was 103.3.
Elliott is known in the dance world and is a ballroom competitor. In June, he was competing and on Tuesday, he was at Southern Hills Hospital.
Elliott said the symptoms started about two weeks ago with chills, fever, and coughing.
On Monday, Elliott said he was worse and went to the emergency room.
“They took the Xray and said, oh yeah, you’ve got pneumonia,” Elliott said. “And you don’t need to leave.”
COVID weakens the lungs, he was told, making them more susceptible.
“One of the doctors told me that days 7, 8, and 9 are typically the worst. And that’s when the symptoms really kick in,” Elliott said. “So, I got to the hospital just in time so they can start treating it now before it really would have gotten bad. So, I’m glad I got here when I did.”
Elliott doesn’t regret that he had been living an active social life. Three days before his symptoms started, he’d been at a party.
“I’m going to live my life! If I get sick, I get sick,” Elliott said. “But I’m going to live my life!”
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