Whether you take COVID-19 seriously or not, the risk of being infected is real and the disease is not a fun experience, as Grossmont College student Anthony Nukho discovered. 

“I always wear a mask at work, I’m always precautionary at work,” Nukho said. Nukho originally started going to Grossmont for automotive classes but has changed his mind due to the pandemic considering earning a degree in business to open a food truck. He was inspired after his father was laid off from his job at a buffet.

At first, Nukho didn’t believe he had coronavirus, thinking it was just the flu, but as the days went by he felt worse than normal. This happened during his days off of work, he slept normally the first night but when he awoke on Wednesday, Nov.13, he felt sore all over his body and said it was like a “hangover.”

He didn’t want to eat or leave his room. “I woke up at 8:00 a.m., I was knocked out until 8:00 p.m..” His mother checked on him, asking if he was “okay.” he responded he was, but by night she was telling him he needed to go get tested. “It’s crazy because my mom is a nurse and she still hasn’t gotten it but my brother and I got it,” he said.

“So the next morning on Thursday, I woke up feeling the same way,” Nukho said. On Friday he got a text from his manager checking in on him and told Nukho that he was setting up a rapid test for him. 

By the weekend Nukho started to feel a “little alright.” But when Sunday rolled around,  he took a hot shower and sat by an open window. “Everything came back to me,” he described.“It was weird, I was lost for the past couple of days, then I wanted to eat again.”

It wasn’t just Nukho who got sick at work, “There were four of us at my work that got it this week that tested positive,” he said. He had been told to stay home by management but “not to worry” as he waited to test negative.

Nukho works for a car rental business near the San Diego Airport and said he believed that he got it from work.

He has since returned to work but hasn’t forgotten about the virus. 

“It doesn’t matter how much money you have or who you are, you can get it,” Nukho said. He emphasized people should be ready to get it and think about isolating themselves and disinfecting ahead of time. This situation has made him think about how much contact he makes throughout the day. 

Nukho survived the disease,  as his story is one we can all relate to and contemplate as we continue our daily lives. One could only imagine what it would be like if you didn’t have the support of friends and family if you contracted COVID-19.