Dan’s Resilience: His COVID-19 Hospital Experience

Dan Buth was in the middle of the school semester when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Not only did he experience lots of symptoms, Dan’s treatment also resulted in a 49-day hospital stay with Bon Secours.

Read Dan’s firsthand account about his ups and downs during his battle with this virus.

Before my hospital journey began, I was an aspiring health care professional. As a third-year student at the VCU School of Pharmacy, I was one final away from moving on to my fourth-year clinical rotations.

Unfortunately, my dreams of becoming a pharmacist came to a halt when I tested positive for COVID-19. For a moment, I stopped dreaming and began to pray.

I contracted this virus shortly after the passing of my grandfather. While grieving, I was forced to fight off various symptoms. The ones I experienced were respiratory distress, fatigue, fever, diarrhea as well as loss of taste and smell.

My resilience was put to the test. Each day in the hospital presented a new battle. One day it would be a mental challenge, then a physical one. It felt like one thing after another, like a literal roller coaster. At times, I lost faith in myself and with the entire situation. The hardest times were when I couldn’t see the end of the tunnel.

My health care team at Bon Secours worked tirelessly to ensure that I was stable. With COVID-19, there are so many unknowns and we are all learning about it as time goes on. I chose to be a part of the conversation and gave my input to the team wherever I could. My family helped as well. They kept in touch every single day and gave me pep talks.

Eventually, I started giving myself pep talks. I think my change in attitude was key in helping me get through the whole ordeal.

Although 49 days in the hospital seems impossible, my resilience, my family, and my awesome health care team is the reason why I’m living today! Thank you for everything, Bon Secours!

Stay updated on what Bon Secours is doing related to COVID-19.