Baby Health in Winter A young, fit nurse shared alarming before-and-after photos showing the impact the coronavirus had on his body

• Mike Schultz, a 43-year-old nurse from San Francisco, is one of 38 people thought to have contracted the novel coronavirus after attending the Winter Party Festival in Miami in early March.
• Schultz dropped to 140 pounds from 190 during his six-week hospital stay, which he showcased on Instagram in a before-and-after comparison post.
• Schultz, a normally healthy and fit person with no underlying conditions, told BuzzFeed News he was shocked by how COVID-19 affected his body.
• “I didn’t think it was as serious as it was until after things started happening,” he told BuzzFeed News. “I thought I was young enough for it not to affect me, and I know a lot of people think that.”
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Mike Schultz, a 43-year-old nurse from San Francisco, normally entertains his 30,000 Instagram followers by posting muscular selfies, workout videos, and couple pictures with his boyfriend.

But in one of his most recent Instagram posts, he wasn’t showing off his muscles or a post-workout selfie. Instead, Schultz posted an alarming side-by-side comparison of his body before and after his six-week fight with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

On the left, Schultz was 190 pounds of clearly defined muscle. On the right, his face was visibly more hollow, his body about 50 pounds lighter.

Schultz told BuzzFeed News that at the end of his six-week battle with COVID-19, he weighed 140 pounds.

The caption said: “I wanted to show everyone how badly being sedated for 6 weeks on a ventilator or intubated can be.”

Baby Health in Winter Schultz thought being young and having no underlying conditions would protect him from the virus

Schultz is one of 38 people believed to have gotten sick from the virus after attending the Winter Party Festival in Miami. The festival took place March 4-10 – ending a day before the World Health Organisation declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic.

While concern about the virus was mounting as more cases popped up in different parts of the US, most cities hadn’t yet gone on lockdown and many people were generally going about their regular day-to-day lives.

Though he knew about the virus, Schultz told BuzzFeed News that because he was young and had no underlying conditions he figured he could risk a trip to see his boyfriend, a 29-year-old DJ named Josh Hebblethwaite, perform at the festival.

“I didn’t think it was as serious as it was until after things started happening,” Schultz told BuzzFeed News. “I thought I was young enough for it not to affect me, and I know a lot of people think that.”

Baby Health in Winter A week later, Schultz was feeling symptoms and beginning a 6-week fight for his life

A week later, Schultz was back in San Francisco and feeling a bit under the weather but didn’t think much of it. On March 14, he flew to Boston to be with Hebblethwaite during lockdown.

Two days later, he was in the hospital with a fever of 103 degrees Fahrenheit and liquid in his lungs.

“I was so weak. This was one of the most frustrating parts,” he told BuzzFeed News. “I couldn’t hold my mobile phone; it was so heavy. I couldn’t type, because my hands shook so much.”

Schultz was transported to a larger hospital within four days, where he was intubated for 4 1/2 weeks. Hebblethwaite was quickly made his medical proxy in case anything were to happen to him.

Approximately 57 days after he was taken to the hospital, Schultz was able to leave with Hebblethwaite. His lung capacity is still recovering after his ordeal with COVID-19 and food tastes a bit different, according to his most recent Instagram post.

Though he and Hebblethwaite have received backlash from people since he posted his before-and-after photos – some saying he deserved to contract the virus for attending the festival – he told BuzzFeed News he was focusing on the positive.

“The negative stuff bothers me,” Schultz told BuzzFeed News, “but it doesn’t bother me that much, because I’ve gotten so much positive feedback.”

• Read more:
• A couple is stuck 8,000 miles away from their baby who was born via surrogate during lockdown
• People are breaking lockdown rules to have sex. Some say they don’t feel guilty about it and would do it again.
• How to avoid becoming codependent with your partner during quarantine, according to a therapist

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