It was just over a week ago when that Georgia Councilwoman Cheryl Richardson revealed that she had tested positive for COVID-19 after she attended an opera the week prior.
During an interview with 11Alive, Richardson detailed her illness, saying that at first, she thought she had regular flu.
“I called the mayor and the mayor said nope, ‘Don’t show up, stay home,'” Richardson said. “I was feeling worse so I called my doctor and my doctor said go to the emergency room. When they tested and it wasn’t the flu, then I had to accept that there is a possibility that I was going to be positive,” she said.
Richarson says she thinks she contracted the virus while flying between Atlanta and Boston. She also took a bus to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She remained in self-quarantine until she beat the virus.
This week she spoke with Essence magazine, where she spoke in-depth about her battle with COVID-19.
“Well, in the beginning, it felt like a really, really, super bad flu because I just hurt everywhere. And I mean, not just, you know, my chest, but my legs were hurting. I hurt everywhere like somebody beat me up. And then once I got past that, the coughing was bad,” she explained.
“Now, I’m really really tired. My doctor was going to come do a home visit to check on me. And so I was like, ‘Oh, let me straighten up before she gets here.’ I went to the living room, picked up a few things and had to lay down on a couch. I’m just waste right now. So, I’m taking it slowly.”
Richardson informed the magazine that there is no treatment for the virus. She says she has been taking Aleve and Tylenol to help her manage the pain and fever that comes with the virus.
The councilwoman says she’s been keeping her energy up with lots of hot soup, but that she’s hard at work — her constituents still a priority despite her current situation.
“I am doing some work because everything comes here. I reached out to some people, mostly to see how they’re doing because I have quite a few elderly constituents. So I’m doing that and, Tuesday, we have committee meeting, so I will call in for the committee meeting. I’m doing what I can do from here.”
