Adult skater shares his COVID-19 experience

Ken Nguyen outlines his experience with COVID-19.

By Troy Schwindt

Ken Nguyen returned home on March 8 from the 2020 Eastern Adult Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, in great spirits, having won a silver medal in the championship silver men’s division.        

The 40-year-old from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, practices one or two mornings a week at the Lancaster Ice Rink and various area rinks as a member of the Red Rose Figure Skating Club. Professionally, Nguyen works as an occupational therapist at a local inpatient rehabilitation hospital.

About a week after returning home from sectionals, Nguyen said he began to feel ill. He thought he may have the flu and was wondering if he had been exposed to the coronavirus, which was beginning to make national news.ken nguyen skating

Late in the evening on March 14, Nguyen started experiencing intermittent fevers and persistent headaches, which lingered for eight days.

“Sectionals were in Montgomery County in Pennsylvania, and that’s where one of the biggest outbreaks of COVID was,” Nguyen said, “It’s possible I was exposed at sectionals, but there’s no way of knowing because of the lag time of when you contract the virus and when symptoms actually appear.”

His illness was different from anything he had experienced before. 

“After day six or seven of being sick, I knew this was not a sinus infection because I have had those before and I would get over them in three or four days,” said Nguyen, who self-quarantined at home during his illness. 

“I knew I had to be fever free for 24 hours without medication to return to work,” Nguyen said, “The whole time I was home, I was constantly checking my temperature. It was a game of, OK, fevers are down, I’m going to try and not take Tylenol or Advil to control the fevers. A couple of hours later, my symptoms come back. I take my temperature again and the fever is back, which means I extend my stay at home.”

Growing more concerned, Nguyen called his doctor, who wrote a prescription for him to get tested for the coronavirus. Nguyen was tested on March 21.ken nguyen

While his symptoms subsided on March 22, he had to wait four days for test results to confirm that he had the virus and then receive a medical clearance to return to work. On March 25, he was told that once he was fever free for three days without medication, he would be considered noncontagious and could return to work.

Besides the fever and headaches, the only other symptom Nguyen experienced was shortness of breath in the late stages of the illness.

Upon his return to work on March 31, Nguyen fielded a number of questions from coworkers about his experience. 

“I told people at work, ‘Yes, I didn’t feel great; it’s not fun being sick, but I didn’t feel like I was dying. It was extremely uncomfortable, but it wasn’t terrible,” Nguyen said.

Working in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital, Nguyen’s work environment changed as a result of the pandemic.  New guidelines for use of personal protective equipment, new training exercises and new protocols were enacted for staff and patient safety. 

“Daily life at work has been different; I wouldn’t say difficult, just a little less convenient,” Nguyen said. “We are still making it through the day, still doing what we need to do with our patients as they recover from various illnesses or injuries.” 

Thankful for his improved health, Nguyen is hopeful to getting back to skating and training for future competitions soon once restrictions are lifted. 

“I know future competitions may have new guidelines and increased safety measures, but I am hopeful we can still showcase the sport we love,” Nguyen said.

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