'Don't suffer in silence': Charlotte man with coronavirus says COVID-19 carries stigma

CHARLOTTE - "I tested positive," Dave Persell wrote in a March 30 email to a few dozen friends and community members.

Six days earlier his family doctor sent him to Sparrow Health System's St. Lawrence campus to be swabbed and tested for COVID-19.

Persell, 71, a retired college professor, was sick. He had woken up with body aches a few days earlier and could not taste or smell anything. Then he developed a cough.

One day after Sparrow staff collected a test sample from Persell at a drive-thru testing site he went to Sparrow Eaton Hospital's emergency room in Charlotte. It felt "like someone had parked a car" on his chest, he said.

"Every time I took a breath all I did was cough, and then if you don’t take a deep breath you can’t breathe," Persell said. "You take a deep breath and again are back to the cycle of coughing, coughing, coughing, and no matter how much you try to relax and sit and just try to chill out, you keep coughing. I had coughed so much that I was convinced I had either cracked a rib or fractured a rib.”

The emergency room chest X-ray didn't show anything unusual and Persell went back to his home in Charlotte, but he continued to struggle for breath for a week.

His positive test results didn't surprise him, but the coronavirus stigma did 

His positive test result didn't surprise him, but the stigma that's hung over him since he told other people about being ill has.

Since his diagnosis Persell said people have suggested to him that he was to blame for contracting COVID-19, because he and wife Kaye arrived home from a week-long trip to Jamaica March 20.

A day after sending an email to people notifying them that he had COVID-19 Persell said a sheriff's deputy called his home to follow up on a 911 call. A caller reported he was positive for coronavirus, and told the dispatcher they thought Persell was out "running around."

Eaton County Central Dispatch Director Michael Armitage confirmed the call to police.

Persell had been at home for nearly a week by then, and was stunned and upset.

“The only thing they were correct on is that I was positive," he said. "I kept thinking, did I make a mistake on the 30th when I told people I tested positive, thinking if something happened to me at least someone would know and care for my wife? We don’t have kids. We don’t have a family in the area.  I didn’t know what else to do other than to be honest."

His wife also contracted coronavirus 

Persell said he felt largely recovered Monday afternoon.

His constant cough is gone. So are the body aches and shortness of breath. He can taste food and smell things, and his appetite that was nearly nonexistent when he was sick has returned.

Though he could have contracted the virus in Jamaica, Persell said there's no way to be sure. He began feeling ill a few days after returning home. It took him a few more days before his doctor sent him to be tested.

"In my case, as soon as I was able to get tested, I went and got tested," he said. "Then it took six days to get the results. You couldn’t just say, ‘I want to get tested,’ and go get in line. It doesn’t work like that.”

His wife, Kaye, couldn't secure a test until she began feeling symptoms last week. She tested positive for the virus April 3, although her symptoms have been mild, she said.

"I knew I had to have it," Kaye said. "I took care of him the whole time he had it. There was no way I could have not had it."

Don't be afraid to protect yourself or seek help 

The health care professionals and police Persell has interacted with since he fell ill March 22 have been compassionate and professional, Persell said, but fear surrounds coronavirus within the community.

People who test positive should be talking about their experience, he said, if for no other reason than to combat the stigma and fear. He suspects those who don't are worried about being judged.

"I think that a lot of people are positive and afraid to go in to get a test because they don’t want the stigma of being labeled," he said. "I think there are a lot of people who don’t want any part of that."

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If telling his story helps change their mind Persell said it's worthwhile.

"I think you have to be honest," he said. “Lack of information creates ignorance."

Kaye's condition is continually improving, she said, and she feels less fatigued every day. She's also encouraged by the fact that people are heeding national guidelines to be safe when they do have to go out.

"I think the social distancing is helping," Kaye, 71, said. "At the store everyone’s wearing a mask now."

People should protect themselves, be careful and go get essentials when they need them, Persell said.

"I don’t think you should be afraid or ashamed to wear a mask," he said. "If that's what it takes to protect yourself and/or others, if it reduces the spread, go for it."

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His message to others who believe they might be sick is simple.

"Don’t suffer in silence. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to talk about it. Don’t be afraid to seek help and don’t listen to people who guilt you and make you feel like you brought it on yourself."

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.