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Luzerne County Councilman Chris Perry thought it was allergies when he started coughing while doing yard work on Oct. 3.
				Ruling out coronavirus seemed reasonable at first.
				The 71-year-old resident wore a mask around others and still limited trips away from his Fairview Township residence to grocery store runs and other essential activities, avoiding crowds. He also was in good health, regularly exercising with no underlying health conditions.
				But his 102-degree fever and continued cough the next day convinced him to undergo a test on Oct. 5, which came back positive for COVID-19 the following day.
				His rapid health deterioration required hospitalization, motivating him to share his experience publicly in case it will help others to understand the potential danger.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s real. It&rsquo;s out there,&rdquo; Perry said, speaking with less energy than usual. &ldquo;I want to tell people to be careful and do what they have to do to be safe.&rdquo;
				&lsquo;Out of it&rsquo;
				Unsure how the infection would progress after the confirmed test, Perry immediately mustered up the mental focus to write down everyone he had interacted with in recent days so they could be contacted and advised to monitor their symptoms or take a test.
				That first week, he was lethargic and had a &ldquo;massive and mean&rdquo; cough, a headache and muscle aches. His fever and chills would subside and then return.
				&ldquo;I had every symptom you could imagine,&rdquo; said Perry, who is retired after a 36-year tenure as a Hazleton Area School District teacher, coach and athletic director.
				He kept food down the first week but lost all sense of taste and smell, which is another coronavirus symptom. To illustrate what this was like, he was unable to pick up any scent of the perfume his wife sprayed on her wrist.
				Perry thought he was on the road to recovery going into the second week because his temperature started returning to normal.
				Then an upset stomach erupted. Everything he ingested was vomited out, including fluids.
				His periodic hacking also also prevented him from resting for long.
				Increasingly weak, losing weight and likely dehydrated, Perry went to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Oct. 17.
				He was placed in the hospital&rsquo;s COVID unit, where tests confirmed he also had viral pneumonia, which he said sometimes occurs with coronavirus.
				Perry was &ldquo;out of it&rdquo; but resisted his fleeting thoughts of whether he would make it.
				&ldquo;I always tried to say to myself, I can get through this,&rdquo; Perry recalled. &ldquo;I was never so sick in my life. That&rsquo;s for sure.&rdquo;
				In addition to receiving fluids, anti-nausea medication and other treatment, Perry was informed the next morning he would be receiving the antiviral drug remdesivir, which must be administered intravenously.
				The regimen also included the steroid dexamethasone, a vitamin infusion, an anticoagulant to prevent clotting and inhaler lung treatments.
				&ldquo;I was still weak but improved just a little bit every day,&rdquo; Perry said.
				All treatment was self-contained in his room, and medical staffers donned additional protective gear when entering his space, he said. Visitors were not permitted.
				He was released at 9 p.m. Oct. 22 following his last treatment of remdesivir and with a prescription for continued steroids.
				Bouncing back
				Accustomed to physical activity, Perry has to remind himself that he has been through an ordeal.
				&ldquo;I thought I would return to normal when I got home, but when you have COVID it will take time,&rdquo; Perry said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on my way. There&rsquo;s no question I&rsquo;m beyond the bad point and getting better.&rdquo;
				Perry said his experience shows there&rsquo;s no way to predict how the virus will take hold.
				His wife and son, who lives at home, also tested positive. His wife had a bad cough and headache but no fever. His son&rsquo;s symptoms were mild and limited to a day. He was &ldquo;one of the unfortunates that got it pretty bad.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;You have three people in one house, and three different kinds of COVID,&rdquo; he said.
				Perry was not aware of any people infected by him.
				Looking back, he has no idea where he picked it up because he is so vigilant about wearing a mask. He speculated that he touched an infected surface and then his eye before washing his hands.
				In retrospect, Perry said he probably should have gone to the hospital sooner.
				&ldquo;I was very, very impressed with the care I received at Wilkes-Barre General,&rdquo; he said.
				He was among an average 38.4 county residents hospitalized for coronavirus daily from Oct. 16 to 22, which was an increase from the prior week&rsquo;s 16.3, according to the state&rsquo;s early warning dashboard.
				After a 14-day quarantine, Perry said he will take another coronavirus test.
				He still has some chest congestion. His sense of taste has returned but is abnormal. The cough is mostly gone.
				Perry plans to attend Tuesday&rsquo;s virtual county council meeting, although he is not sure if he will have the stamina to make it through the entire session.
				He thanked medical providers, friends for their prayers and his daughter and son-in-law for leaving food on the front porch.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;m healing, and it just feels good to be normal again,&rdquo; Perry said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m anxious to get back in the flow of things.&rdquo;

Luzerne County Councilman describes his COVID-19 illness