The Skeena
The coronavirus hit Harry Good like a freight train: one day he was feeling fine, and then suddenly he was battling for his life in a hospital bed. The Hazelton local has been sharing the story of his recovery on Facebook, reaching thousands of people across the Skeena.
Good gave more details of his fight to get healthy again during Skeena Strong’s recent “Fighting COVID In The Skeena’ event, a virtual discussion that also featured local COVID survivors Haleigh Callison and Marilyn Stewart, as well as experts on the vaccine. (You can watch the whole thing here.)
Here’s what Good had to say about the virus that transformed his life and his advice for people across the Skeena and the province.
On what the early symptoms of COVID felt like
“I first started getting my symptoms on November 5th, I believe. It started off as pneumonia. I’m not sure where I got it from. There was no confirmed place. But yeah, my first symptom was on November 5th. And then after that, I went to the hospital because I felt like I had pneumonia. Then they just took an X-ray and sent me home with some pills.”
“Next day, it was worse and I couldn’t handle it. We went back again, did that three times and then the third time they finally tested me for my to see if I had COVID. I was just in too much pain.”
On how things got bad fast
“We went to my girlfriend’s for a bit and then from there, everything just started going downhill. Like I was throwing up, couldn’t stop throwing up. I couldn’t catch my breath. I was on all fours on the bedroom floor and on the bathroom, everywhere. I couldn’t couldn’t stand up.”
“And then on 12th, one of the virtual doctors called, and then they just said I sounded like somebody who needed some medical attention. My girlfriend was talking to them. And then they started talking to me, they asked me to count backwards from 30, which I couldn’t do because I was confused and I couldn’t catch my breath. I was gasping in between each number.”
On what happened when he got to the hospital
“After that, I made it into the hospital. I remember three hours from there and after three hours I don’t really remember much. It’s kind of spotty. Every now and then I’ve got a flashback of suddenly waking up in the ICU. I’ve been documenting my story ever since.”
“I just got back to work again and I’m still not 100%. I don’t think I’ll ever be 100% again. That time in the ICU there is just the worst time ever. I don’t think I would wish that upon anybody.”
On what the days are like for him now
“Well, I still feel tired. My lungs, they just don’t take oxygen in the same way anymore. Sometimes it feels like they still swell up every now and then. When I take a deep breath, it feels like I have a stick inside my lungs. Yeah.”
On his advice for people across the Skeena
“Even before I ended up in the hospital, I didn’t know how it would affect me. I didn’t know it was gonna hit me that hard. I didn’t know that I was gonna end up in ICU. I didn’t know any of that. And then as soon as I woke up, I just started my life again.”
“I think people have to listen to their body. If they don’t feel right, if they have any doubt in their mind at all to say, should they go get checked out? Then yes, they should probably get checked out, even if crosses their mind once.”
