Rica Peralejo details COVID-19 experience

Rica Peralejo recently recovered from COVID-19, and the former actress spoke about her experience in a vlog published on her YouTube channel on Friday, May 7.

In the video, Rica detailed her journey – from the onset of her symptoms to her recovery.

Rica shared that after feeling fatigued and fluish for a few days, she got a swab test that turned out to be positive.

Her husband Joseph Bonifacio and their helper then got swabbed after being exposed to her. They both initially tested negative, even if their helper was experiencing symptoms. Because Joseph didn’t feel any symptoms, he took care of their two kids and managed the household.

After initially feeling like her symptoms were manageable, Rica shared that she started feeling worse. She said that on the seventh day from symptom onset, she felt so weak that she couldn’t even sit up. She continued to experience new symptoms every day, from body pains to fatigue to loss of taste and smell, to shortness of breath.

“Nakakatakot siya kasi parang hindi mo mahulaan kung saan pupunta ‘yung illness (It’s scary because you can’t tell how the illness will progress),” she said, saying that unlike other illnesses like the flu, the symptoms were more unpredictable.

It was around the 12th or 13th day that Rica began to feel better, but she shared that as her condition improved, her husband then began experiencing symptoms such as congestion, chills, and eventually body pains, flu-like symptoms, and severe migraines.

The couple has since fully recovered, and their kids stayed COVID-free.

Rica ended her video with tips for people who may be in the same situation: contact trace, isolate if possible, monitor symptoms, watch for shortness of breath, have an oximeter ready, stock up on supplements, and have a hospital you can rush to if needed.

She highlighted placing focus on the right things – in her case, it was meeting with her church group who prayed for her – and resting. Lastly, she recommended doing breathing exercises to strengthen the lungs.

Rica also gave tips for people who know someone with COVID-19 and want to help: send food, pray for them, respect their boundaries, and listen to them.

“Healing is happening, even when you are not quite there yet, even when it is not complete yet,” Rica said, stressing the importance of being patient.

Rica and Joseph are among the many who contracted COVID-19 during the current surge in cases. As of Friday, the Philippines tallied over 1 million cases after 7,733 new cases were confirmed. – Rappler.com