Had a text convo with a longtime friend earlier this week. He's pretty much the same age as me (mid 40s), quite a healthy guy, fit, no underlying issues, etc. He told me he had just been released from the hospital after 6 days in due to Covid complications. In summary, he said the first 2 days were like a bad bout of the flu... day 3 that subsided but he started struggling to breathe and went to the ER. Six days of steriods, oxygen, anti-virals, etc before he was discharged. He is still not able to take a full breath, tired and gets winded, but getting better.

He said a few things that stood out to me.

First, he said in all honesty he had moments were he thought he wasn't going to make it. He sent his wife all of his account info, passwords, etc (banking, retirement funds, etc). He also said "I wasn't scared to get it until I actually did and got it bad." He said it was like drowning out of water and "it's the scariest thing ever" and finally, "the execs in my office all refuse to wear masks. I had a meeting with them 3 days before I got sick."

This stuff isn't a joke. Please stay safe.