Not everyone takes COVID-19 seriously until they experience it for themselves. While it’s true that many people are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms, other people have extremely serious symptoms that cause them to end up in the hospital struggling to breathe.

Chuck Stacey didn’t think it was important to wear a face mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He thought the pandemic was political and not really a health issue. When he ended up testing positive for COVID-19 and found himself in the hospital struggling to take each breath, he finally understood just how serious the novel coronavirus really is.

Watch the video below to hear the message Stacey wants to share with the world and especially with people like himself who might not be taking COVID-19 as seriously as they should be.

Before he got COVID-19, Stacey shared on Facebook that he thought it was horrible that employees were being forced to wear face masks. He wrote, “It’s just another example of the continued over reaction to this situation … Please stop so when we come to eat we can enjoy our meal without feeling sorry for the employees.”

Stacey suffers from claustrophia, so he chose not to wear a face mask. His doctor suggested that he wear a face shield instead. Stacey regrets that decision and now realizes how important face masks really are. However, he also realizes that he might’ve gotten the virus even if he had been wearing a mask.  He explained, “Nothing is 100% on this virus and even if I would’ve wore a mask I could’ve still gotten it. But the fact of the matter is we have to do everything that we can do to protect ourselves and to protect the people that are really at risk. I just thank God that I haven’t given this to someone and taken a life. I would not be able to handle that.”

While wearing a face mask is not a 100% guarantee that you won’t get COVID-19, Stacey makes a good point that it’s worth it to reduce the risk. Do you wear a face mask?