Brian Fichera, the husband of TODAY co-host and meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, battled "debilitating" and "diabolical" symptoms of the coronavirus that repeatedly drove him to tears in recent weeks.
Fichera wrote on Instagram Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month and has now been symptom-free for a week after enduring a difficult stretch.
He spent 10 days in self-isolation away from his family in the bedroom of their 3-year-old son, Calvin, to help protect Dylan and their two boys from getting sick after he experienced a fever and "alarming stomach issues" three weeks ago.
"This was my world for about 10 days,'' he captioned a photo of Calvin's room. "The fever never really got above 101 but it also never got below for well over a week. The headaches were debilitating. No amount of Tylenol could put a dent in my headaches or temperature.
"There was also an emotional component to this disease. I cried. ALOT. I never cry (unless Homeward Bound or Forrest Gump is on tv). After 6 days it was deemed necessary by the hotline I called that I take a test....it was positive. I had it."
There are now more than 600,000 cases across the United States and 26,950 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Similar to CNN host Chris Cuomo, who also has been fighting the coronavirus, Fichera noted that the illness can be just as hard on people mentally as it is physically.
"This disease is also brilliant and diabolical,'' he wrote. "It will let up just enough to allow you to feel good about yourself and walk to the bathroom....but then it will suddenly attack you as if it knows you are at the farthest away from your bed. When it hits hard you can’t move, and it feels like you’re snorkeling through a cocktail straw. People have compared it to the flu ...for me it was reminiscent of mono."
Fichera also learned not to let his guard down even as his symptoms subsided.
"You have to anticipate the deeply personal attacks of this virus because it seems to be tailor made to whoever it attaches to,'' he wrote. "It’s the Freddy Krueger of virus’s (sic) because it knows where you are weakest and knows your deepest fears and it attacks accordingly.
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"Anyway I was lucky and have been symptom free for a week. All I can say is hydrate, cry and be patient. When you feel 100% and feel like you beat this thing wait 3 more days ... Be safe. Be smart. Be humble."
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