Man diagnosed with COVID-19 for second time
Click here for updates on this story
WAYNE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (WNEP) — You may remember the Walck family from Lake Ariel. Scott Walck, his wife, and two sons battled the virus when it first appeared in Wayne County in March of last year.
Scott’s son Bailey recalls the toll the virus took on his family.
“It was definitely really scary, especially with my dad went through my mom myself and my brother Julian. It really just was eye-opening and made you look at it differently, so it was real stressful,” Bailey said.
Bailey said he felt the effects of the virus for a good two months. He decided to go back to school at Bloomsburg University, hoping the antibodies he had in his system held up longer than the three months that health experts expect.
“Time went on, and I realized everybody around me was getting it, and I wasn’t getting it. I was like OK, maybe I do have the antibodies, so then for a certain point, I was feeling a little invincible from it,” said Bailey.
Bailey says the university had COVID-19 testing available to students who used on-campus facilities. He took advantage of it when he returned for classes on February 1.
But 11 days ago, Bailey says he woke up, and all he could smell was ammonia. That led to a headache, then nausea. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, so he went to the nearby hospital, where they tested him for the coronavirus, and it was positive.
“I was just shocked. I had no idea that you could really get it again. Meaning that I had I thought maybe my antibodies were still good,” said Walck.
When Bailey told doctors this wasn’t his first time having the virus; they echoed his reaction.
“Like, wow, this is usually just something you hear about, you know, you never really see it in front of you. So, I had a couple of people come knock and ask and like, you really have it again, and I was like, here’s a test you can see it here.”
So far, no one else in Bailey’s family has come down with the virus again. Bailey says he’s starting to feel much better and hopes the third time isn’t the charm and will do what he can to avoid the virus striking again.