'It was bad:' Milwaukee man describes experience with 'double pneumonia' due to COVID-19

MILWAUKEE -- From aches and pains, to the ICU, a Milwaukee man on Tuesday, March 31 shared his experience with the coronavirus with FOX6 News -- warning of how serious it can get.

Lee Eubanks said he was barely able to breathe.

"This felt like the flu I had never had before," said Eubanks. "The aches and pains in my joints were just horrible. It was like, times 10. That's when I knew something was pretty wrong."

Eubanks spoke with FOX6 from his Milwaukee home after a frightening battle against COVID-19.

"My breathing was very bad," said Eubanks. "I had pneumonia in my lungs. I had double pneumonia. It was bad. I just remember feeling very scared."

Lee Eubanks

After testing positive, the 36-year-old man with diabetes spent seven days in a busy hospital -- one day in the ICU.

"I was thinking, this is supposed to happen to somebody else, not me," said Eubanks. "The floor I was on, everyone had coronavirus and they were being treated."

He noted that fighting the coronavirus is lonely.

"I got a visitor... a ladybug," said Eubanks. "I was like, wow, I finally have a visitor that's not a nurse or a doctor."

He said for a patient, any moment of comfort can make all the difference, and to help those doctors and nurses, Eubanks said he planned to stay put, and asked others to do the same.

"People just need to take this virus seriously," said Eubanks. "Quarantine. Do not go anywhere unless you really have to. Please stay home."

Eubanks said he's not sure how he contracted the virus, but noted he was at a gathering with a lot of people days before he noticed symptoms. He said he was given an anti-malaria drug to fight the virus, and believes it helped.