Last week, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo announced that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He’s been working from home where he’s self-isolating in his basement, something for which his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has been good-naturedly teasing him. The governor said at one of his briefings last week that he and Chris talked about Chris continuing to work after his diagnosis, and that one of the things he could do would be to show people one example of living with coronavirus. And that’s what Chris is continuing to do, bless him:
Chris Cuomo continues to be open with viewers about his health.
On Monday, the CNN host, 49, shared an update on his ongoing bout with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), speaking with Dr. Sanjay Gupta during his Cuomo Prime Time broadcast from home.
“If you have coronavirus, in most of the cases, the big fear is that it’s going to get your lungs — that’s what it wants; it wants your lungs,” said Cuomo.
The journalist said that he felt his fever go down over the weekend, but the virus transitioning to his chest. Cuomo said he then decided he needed an X-ray to check his lungs.
During the episode, Cuomo disclosed his X-ray results, having Gupta, 50, break down what might be evident from the pictures. The doctor — while not offering an on-air diagnosis — said it appears Cuomo has some instances of a “little bit of fluid built up,” but not quite pneumonia.
“[Doctors] expect me to have infiltrate because I have the virus, and I have to tell you,” said Cuomo, “it is scary to have your lungs go up there and see this stuff and go, ‘Well, what is that? What is that, like, smoke in there?’ And they tell you, ‘Yeah, it’s the virus.’ ”
“It’s in there; it’s in you. You have to fight to keep it out,” added Cuomo, who said he is “doing fine” and practicing breathing exercises, per doctors’ orders.
Chris also said that he’s lost a lot of weight, that he’s experienced hallucinations, hard shivering and he chipped a tooth.
I’m grateful to Chris for continuing to share his experiences with viewers. He’s not trying to scare anyone, only impress upon them the seriousness of how dangerous this virus is. There are still people who don’t get it. The clip starts with him telling Dr. Gupta and viewers that he feels “better than I deserve.” He said that he’s learned that when his fever spikes to drink a lot of liquids, take Tylenole and actively fight it. “If you don’t want it to get into your lungs, you gotta force yourself to breathe. You gotta get up off your ass, you gotta walk around.” He said that as he’s forced himself to do those things, at the suggestion of a doctor, he’s started to feel better. I hope that Chris’ health continues to improve and that soon he can say that he’s no longer ill, but recovering.
Note by Celebitchy: Watch the videos in this post if you or a loved one are suffering from COVID. Chris shares the advice he received from a doctor on fighting this and keeping it out of the lungs.
Before everybody starts in on him:
He is a reporter with a news show. His brother is arguably the most recognizable face in American government right now. He is sharing his experience, and what his doctors have told him, that is working for him.
It is nice to hear first hand experiences. Helps to bring home that this is a disease that can get anybody, that there is an ability to fight, that the symptoms may progress in a certain way. I saw so many negative comments about this yesterday I was mind blown.
What were people saying? I know we live in an age of knee jerk hatred and hostility so it doesn’t surprise me to hear this. I guess I’m just curious what the angle was on the negativity. Sigh.
I don’t understand why anyone would criticize him for doing this. We need to hear stories like this so we have a better idea on what to expect with Covid 19. I know people experience various symptoms as each individual’s immune system reacts to the virus differently, but it is still beneficial for the rest of us to hear these accounts.
I have no problem with him, but his wife got involved and promoted homeopathy and that is only as effective as any placebo – so please, stop encouraging people to waste money. If your doctor thinks it would be useful, they can just give you some sugar pills.
His wife actually publishes a magazine about health, nutrition, exercise and wellness. She did not just jump on the bandwagon and start pushing homeopathy. If you’d like to look it up, her magazine is called Purist.
Jaded, I have no problem with her commenting on health, nutrition, exercise and wellness. I have a problem with homeopathy, I am a scientist.
Oh, the right wing hates him. It’s really disturbing. At the very beginning of this, right after Andrew Cuomo closed the schools, I got a completely deranged text from one of my brothers. At first I thought it was about the Governor, but it was about his brother, Chris. Blaming Chris Cuomo for blowing it out of proportion, but I mean, it was deranged. Almost threatening, saying nobody better ever defend Chris Cuomo to me. I had to read it twice, and I’m like, Chris Cuomo? I swear. I don’t even watch CNN, and before this was peripherally aware of Chris. Living in NY of course I know his brother, our governor. Anyway , I am soooo tempted to get a tshirt made with a huge picture of a grinning Chris Cuomo on the front, with an “I heart” above it, and “Chris Cuomo or bust!” written on the back and wear it when the pandemic is over and I see my brother. I laugh just imagining it.
That’s scary and bizarre, Darla, so sorry. I’m glad you can laugh about it. I think I’d be beside myself if a close family member of mine was all in on the right wing’s agenda, which these days seems so irrational.
On the flip side, I just got off the phone with my mom. She and my dad are lifelong Republicans but loathe Trump. I was happy to hear that even though they watch Fox, they see right through him. And they are going to vote Democrat in November for the first time ever! She said she thinks we can’t survive four more years of Trump. I’m blown away.
@ Darla, my brother also sends me deranged right wing nonsense. You should get a T-shirt made that says “Cuomosexual.” If you haven’t seen the video, watch it lol.
What is your brother saying now? Still thinking it’s. A hoax?
Esmom, my dad was the same way. It took me about 18 mos. after the election (ha!) to “wean” my R dad off Faux News and thinking Twitler would be “good” for the country (HAHAHA😫). It was day after day of me informing him of all the lies, to the point where now, he can’t even stand to hear Twitler’s voice on the news and HE hits the mute button before me lol. He also reregistered as a D about 2 yrs ago to make sure his vote will go to Biden.
ETA: It CAN be done… people, continue to work on the Rs in your life! Counter every lie with facts!
To Darla: As a Native New Yorker, I thank you wholeheartedly for your comment (that’s a great idea to have a T-shirt made with that message. Btw, I may just piggyback on your idea and have one made just like that)! ✔👍
Esmom that’s so encouraging to hear! Yes, I have a highly dysfunctional family but my sense of humor has kept me sane. Sometimes I get very angry of course. but if you can laugh at them you are so much better off.
Esmom, your family is the first I have heard that are lifelong Republicans but hate Trump. Our Republican family and friends continue to support him and most days I just feel like isolating myself from them permanently. So I am hopeful that maybe some 2016 voters may change their minds!
I feel like adding that he also had people on his show that had a different experience like having kids for instance and he explained in detail how he doesn’t want to minimize the situation either. I appreciate him telling that he is privileged enough that he only has to focus on getting better and not running a household on top of that. He insisted on keeping tabs on a sick mom whose husband is hospitalized and she has four kids. One of whom has started showing symptoms…my goodness…
I appreciate him sharing his experience on television. But his other work should stop, he needs to rest instead of working. Get well soon.
I disagree. If working helps him get through this then he should do so. He is following the advice of his drs and assume if they thought it was not good for him to work he wouldn’t.
Sure, if his doctors said ok to continue working then it’s no issue.
I hear you but it seems clear that whatever he does is working pretty well for him. He looks and sounds really good. I think every person is different in how this virus manifests itself and what works for him might not work for others but he’s figured out what’s best for his recovery.
I kind of thought the same, but he has specifically said that he believes lying down will just open the door for pneumonia. He can tell the virus wants to take over his lungs.
Working from his basement may be a distraction from worry, too.
I ‘ve asthma.. When I’m having problems breathing due to an allergiv reaction or something, I force myself to inhale as deeply as possible and to exhale also as much as possible. It helps but it hurts… But you have to do it…
@Desdemona – Chris mentioned doing deep breathing exercises, too.
I hope you are taking care of yourself and staying safe as best you can. My husband is a lifelong asthmatic, and he tells me there is no way to describe (to a non-breathing compromised person) the feeling of not being able to breathe properly.
I wish him all the best. He’s performing a public service.
If anyone had told us 4 months ago that we were about to go through a national crisis of historic proportions unlike any other and the Cuomo family would be the ones to guide us through, nobody would have believed it.
In addition to Chris is going through with the illness and Andrew is going through with leading his state through this unbelievable crisis, the extended family has also undergone great loss. Andrew’s daughters just lost their cousin Maeve Kennedy McKean and her young son in a canoe accident.
The Cuomos are showing us leadership that we desperately need
Absolutely.
Chris is a WARRIOR and his videos are the perfect public service content. I have asthma and am thinking the breathing exercises might do me some good as well.
I’ve been thinking the same thing. I have asthma too but it usually only acts up when I have a cold. Somewhere in the house, I have a breathing thing you blow air into to try to move a ball that a hospital gave me after surgery to help with breathing after anesthesia. The nurses told me to use it whenever I have a cold and it has helped. I’m going to exercise with it.
America can’t protect it’s people or conduct fair elections. It’s a shithole country.
He’s still fighting this thing??!!!! 😨
This is absolutely horrifying……I can’t believe it’s gone on this long. He’s a really good man and doesn’t deserve to have suffered so much.
Thoughts and prayers to him and his family.
Yep, this virus takes a long time to recover from.
The recovery time usually takes 3 to 4 weeks if all goes well…That’s why there aren’t enough ventilators, new people need them but they are still being used by people who also need them…
I’m amazed at how much the Cuomo’s are leading the country through this, they have become arguably the most recognizable voices and faces during this time.
HOW are you guys not picking men/women like these to lead your country? It’s baffling.
In the mean time, I think I’ve fallen a little bit in love with Chris. His spirit, courage and selflessness right now are so…..yum. 😁💕
Bella –
Believe me! Most of us are, let’s never forget that Trump did not win the popular vote. Unfortunately our political system is so corkscrewed that we have an uphill battle to get these buffoons out of office.
Um, MOST of us chose Hilary Clinton as our leader! But the system is rigged thanks to a little thing called the electoral college.
You need to change that system.. Most systems work like this: x numbers of voters equals 1 senator / member of parliament. So if 60% of voters vote in one party; that party will have 60% of the parliament seats…
Simple..
Following CNN sporadically. I cannot listen to DT, but do have an interest in Dr.Gupta and Chris. He’s telling his story and adamantly in favor of contributing his antibodies once he has returned to good health.
What is interesting to me is that his breathing issues started after the fever went away. That might explain why some people seem to be on the mend and then end up intubated or dead. I remembera few times when my dad or grandparents had surgery, they left the hospital with a plastic device that was used to improve their breathing. They had to use it several times a day until they could get the little ball inside to remain in the air for a period of time. It was supposed to prevent pneumonia. I haven’t thought about that in ages, but perhaps breathing exercises should be part of recovery for all.
My son was hospitalized with severe pneumonia a few years ago and that’s how his illness progressed, too. I’d thought that he had a “regular” flu and seemed to be getting better, when suddenly he took a turn for the worse with bad chest pain. His fever was gone when we went to the ER, but it eventually came back.
And the breathing device you mentioned didn’t work for him, the pneumonia was too “loculated,” or stuck in his lungs. He had to have a tube surgically implanted to drain them, which was when he finally started to get better.
I think breathing exercises are a great idea. My friend’s sister has asthma and says that breathing regularly through cardiovascular exercise is the best way to keep her lungs healthy.
@esmom. Sorry your son had to have drainage, but very glad it worked. So glad the message is getting out there that this disease is a lung issue.hopefully it will help some people
Also explains how it spread so rapidly in the earlier months before identification – people thought they were getting better and went out, then got hammered again by the respiratory effects. All things considered, this virus was likely already international by early December at the latest. The Chinese government didn’t tell the WHO until later, but Wuhan is a city of 11 million. There’s no way that stuff hadn’t carried across borders at that point.
If anybody has common sense in the coming years, they’ll do a comparative study on the number of respiratory deaths in December and January, particularly those associated with “pneumonia” and look for any spikes. Because I guarantee that in addition to the deaths currently not being counted because morgues don’t have enough tests, there’s a ton of deaths we missed in December and January that were assumed to be something else. Mark my words, they will do everything in their power to cover up the real numbers to cover their asses on just how badly this was handled by pretty much everyone.
Agreed. It has to have been spreading for much longer than we think. What is so infuriating is that the testing criteria the CDC put in place was so narrow (foreign travel, contact with a known case, etc.), it all but guaranteed this thing would spread. The hospital that found the first cases in the U.S. had to wait until the CDC changed the rules about who could get tested before they could send samples in.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/how-a-team-of-seattle-area-doctors-discovered-the-nations-first-major-outbreak-of-coronavirus/
Another doctor in Seattle risked her job by testing samples state and federal agencies had forbidden her to test for Covid. She had collected them as part of a study tracking regular flu, and officials were worried testing for something else violated patient privacy. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/coronavirus-testing-delays.html
So many missed chances. But part of me thinks it wouldn’t have helped even if we had known sooner. Even now, there are still places and politicians in the U.S. that refuse to believe how monstrously bad it could get in their area. They won’t act until it’s too late.
My son got very sick at Christmas and I got it a few weeks later. All the exact symptoms of covid 19. Fever with horrible chills unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, hallucinations, body aches, headache. Horrible. Then I felt fine for a couple days, then it went to my chest and it felt like concrete in my lungs. Coughing like crazy but nothing came up. So thirsty, chugging water like crazy. I started taking guaifenesin (mucinex) and it broke it up enough that I started coughing stuff up. It took a couple weeks to get better, but I still have a productive cough 3 months later. I believe I had it, and that we will see, in hindsight, that there was a spike in pneumonia deaths in late 2019/early 2020. Oh, we tested negative for flu. Doctors were baffled and never diagnosed anything but pneumonia and respiratory virus.
It’s called an incentive spirometer. Typically it is a standard order for ALL patients bc the minute you end up in the hospital you are less ambulatory than usual and at risk for hospital-acquired infections or complications, like atelecstasis. Even as a nursing student I’d always check to see if my patients had an incentive spirometer ordered, see if they had one bedside, they usually DID NOT, get one, and then teach them how to use it, along with later followup to do it again in front of me. The biggest challenge is trying to get patients to comply with doing it on their own when you aren’t in the room (that goes for any intervention that they can do independently) bc, in my experience, most won’t, even after education.
I’m sure every hospitalized patient with any pulmonary issues right now has one bc it is one if the first and simplist interventions you can do to promote pulmonary health. You can practice the same type of breathing at home even if you don’t have one, you just won’t have the device showing you any measurements.
You rock. I never fully understood what those spirometers were, but I used it faithfully after my last surgery. My mother passed from a PE, so I was quite fearful of that happening and thought the machine would help.
Giving him a shout out and applause.👏🏻👏🏻. Very important message. Fighting breathing issues myself at the moment. So glad he mentions side and stomach sleeping. Lying on your back further strains your lungs. Often lying on my left side helps, as your heart is on your left so this eases the pressure. Being on your front helps your diaphragm keep your lungs moving. Glad his doc taught him stretches ad breathing exercises. Yoga breathing sometimes helps me. Forcing exhalation helps….there is a tendency to shallow breathe…you don’t want to do this. Getting up and walking as much as able…and sometimes it’s only a few feet helps as does sitting up. If you are tired and have a recliner being half upright is a good way to catch a nap. Is all of this painful? Yup yup yup….but you have to do it. Pneumonia is harder to fight if you don’t do the work he mentioned. Keep fighting the good fight Chris and all celebitches. Oh, and there are you tube videos for breathing techniques. Good luck everyone.
Its funny. That is what helped my 40 YO nephew, too. He and his whole family, three kids, wife all got it, with my nephew the worst. He was still trying to do physical activity as everyone was pushing him to go to the hospital. All 5 are recovering under doctors care, but zero tests were given.
I Love Chris and really value his insight. I hope he takes care of himself…on last night’s episode he did not seem good – physically or emotionally. 🙁 Stay strong!
It sounds more tough that you can imagine the situation of get the virus on your lungs when It’s sayed by other person. And X-RAY is impressive how show the changes just in days, hope Chris get out of that horrible situation
Bless him for being so open about his experience and trying to help others with how to fight this thing. Wish him the best and a full recovery along with anyone else reading this that is sick or has a loved one who is sick. 🙏🏽
Thanks for sharing this information, very important. Take care!
I’m in Canada and I’ve had it. Our health system wasn’t ready to help, so I had to solve it on my own. My family also got it during the first three weeks of March. I haven’t wanted to tell anyone what we did, how we fixed it, what worked for us because there’s soooo much stigma and not even the experts know what they’re doing. As soon as you say anything you’re responsible for someone else’s outcomes, what can you do? So much negativity around sharing information and yet people are dying from ignorance so if you’ve come through this you have to feel guilty for not sharing.
You’re anonymous here. So what did you do?
If you could share here, it would be appreciated. Chris mentioned taking Tylenol when the pain became rough. There seem to be so many different symptom manifestations, too.
I personally think that sharing is a public service, for those willing to do it.
I came across this Global News article in Canada, which explains a breathing technique being championed by some ICU doctors that is supposed to increase oxygen flow and may help those infected with the virus. It embeds a video of the doctor in England, who came up with the technique, demonstrating how it’s done.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6788251/breathing-technique-coronavirus/
In case the link doesn’t work, the doctor is Dr. Sarfaraz Munshi at Queen’s Hospital in England and his video is also on YouTube.
@ BLUENOSER-I really cannot thank you enough for this. I’m 60, diabetic & have healthy lungs but lay around in bed most of the day lately. Mr ravynrobyn is 64, diabetic, asthmatic & has shitty lungs. We’ll start doing these tomorrow! 🥰🥰💕💕
I absolutely love the two Cuomo brothers. I love watching Chris and Andrew fight and taunt each other… it’s like getting an inside glimpse at a family dinner. I wish chris the best on getting well. His brother should run for president next round!
sparker: Thank you for your most interesting post. There are a few things you say that I don’t understand. What does it mean for you to say that the Canadian health care system “wasn’t ready” to help you? (I don’t know how your system works.)
Also, did you end up fixing it yourself with or without medications?
Thank you
I’d take everything Sparker says with a grain of salt. People are self diagnosing themselves with covid 19 when all they have is a common cold or flu. Lots of respiratory viruses are circulating this time of year; just because someone has a cough and fever does not mean they have covid-19.
Multiple members of my family work in Canadian healthcare. They are ready and fully committed to beating this thing.