Healthcare Worker Beats Coronavirus, Returns to Helping Others with Same Disease

A respiratory therapist in Brooklyn, New York, is back at work after recovering from his recent battle with the Chinese coronavirus.

When 47-year-old Raeburn Fairweather’s fever spiked to 104 degrees during his bout with the illness, his body kept fighting despite the acute pain, according to the New York Post.

“The Tylenol would not bring it down. My body felt like it was falling apart,” he recalled, adding, “Headaches were immense. They were making my eyeballs feel like they were on springs.”

The married father of five said the illness also temporarily took away his sense of smell and taste and caused him to cough up thick, white mucus.

“If your body cannot fight, you will not make it,” he said.

While he was sick, Fairweather quarantined himself inside a room in his home and used a bathroom that his family members avoided during that time, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines suggest.

In addition to taking Tylenol, the native Jamaican also used traditional Caribbean home remedies made with turmeric, garlic, and ginger to help his body recover.

Wednesday, the respiratory therapist, whose job includes inserting and removing ventilator tubes from the tracheas of coronavirus patients, said his symptoms appeared on March 17 after he worked a triple shift.

He also admitted that he and his colleagues did not wear protective gear during the early days of the pandemic when caring for those who were not suspected of having the disease.

“I’m going to be honest with you, the staff was still somewhat laid back about it,” he explained.

Now, after two weeks of being sick, Fairweather said he is thankful to be back working at Maimonides Medical Center even though he had to be on his feet for a 17-hour shift on Monday.

“I love my job, and I was very bored at home,” he explained, adding that he just wanted to be on the front lines helping people fighting the sickness.