INDIANAPOLIS — A young doctor who beat COVID-19 is now helping out during the pandemic at one of the VA hospitals in our area. It's an experience that has shaped the first days of his medical career.
"At this point in time we have to be very cautious about what we do," Dr. David Vega said.
Vega's advice comes little more than a month after he recovered from the novel coronavirus.
"If you're going to go out in public, please wear a mask," Vega said. "Try to limit going outside as much as possible and just be smart. I think it's important to continue to social distance from people."
At 27, Vega is what many would consider the picture of perfect health. Young and fit, all things he thought would spare him from the worst of the virus if he caught it. That wasn't the case.
How long was he out of commission?
"I'd say about two weeks," Vega said. "A week and a half I started feeling a bit better and by two weeks I'd say I was on the mend."
Vega opened up about his experience in an Instagram post, sharing how we had an unrelenting fever and chills for seven days and ended up losing 10 pounds. Eventually, he was able to fight off the virus. Now, he's sharing his story because he wants others to learn from his mistakes.
"For me personally, knowing and experiencing the virus itself and knowing how deadly it did make me want to do something now that I'm healthy," Vega said.
As for how he caught the virus, Vega will probably never know. He spent two months working in Africa and then flew back to the U.S. coming in contact with people through airports and long flights. He spent a week in south Florida seeing family and friends before coming back to Indianapolis. That's when his symptoms started.
