COVID-19 patient: I wouldn't wish this on nobody

Val Holder says she and her husband, Theo, have been very careful since the pandemic started.

"We didn’t really do any, like, crowds and stuff. We tried to, you know, stay our distance," Holder said.

Theo Holder is a kidney transplant survivor which puts him in the high-risk category, so they both took extra precautions.

Despite this, Val Holder started feeling sick early last week and tested positive for COVID-19.

"I was in shock at first, and then I was feeling so bad," she said.

A few days later, her husband also developed symptoms and tested positive. Both were admitted to Rex Hospital in Raleigh.

"You can’t breathe. You are coughing, trying to gasp for air. (You feel) shortness of breath, feeling like someone is laying on your chest," she said.

Val Holder is back home now, but her husband remains hospitalized. Although both expected to recover, she wants others to understand how it feels to deal with this illness.

"I don’t wish this on nobody," she said. "I am telling you. This COVID virus is nothing to play with. It’s very serious, and I just want people to pay attention and, you know, just wear your mask."