COVID-19 SURVIVOR: I’m still not 100% weeks after being hospitalized

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For St Johns County native John Dondero, the symptoms began shortly after coming back from a ski trip in Switzerland back in March.

“I was like maybe I’ve got the flu but I’m like there’s no way that I have this COVID thing because I saw the numbers and nobody in St. Johns County had it, so I was like nah,” Dondero explained.

Dondero says he knew something was wrong after he began developing a dry cough followed by chest pains and loss of energy. He says he went and got get tested for COVID19 at Lot J in Downtown Jacksonville right away.

“But then two days later it hit me like a ton of bricks,” Dondero said.

Dondero says he spent four days in the hospital.

“It really surprised me that it would take this long and still not feel 100%,” Dondero added.

Discussing his recovery, Dondero said there were two sides to it - the physical and the mental.

“I can’t play at the tennis courts, can’t get the ball fast as I could before, I have to breaks because I’m wiped out after running a little bit,” Dondero said.

Dondero says he was one of the lucky ones to survive.

Now he is encouraging others suffering with the virus to keep fighting.

“Never had something that lingers for so long,” Dondero said.

In terms of his physical recovery, Dondero said he lost a lot of muscle mass while in the hospital and his energy levels were really low and still are today.

Dondero described the hospital staff who cared for him at Baptist Health as living angels.

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