DETROIT, MICHIGAN: At the very worst part of it, it’s like you are underwater gasping for air and someone is ducking your head. It feels like you are slowly suffocating while trying to breathe or even talk.

On March 12, two days after the first cases in Michigan were confirmed, I felt pain in my leg and back. I thought I was coming down with the flu. Everything I put in my mouth tasted like metal and salt. Days later, tests confirmed I had COVID-19.

I was put on oxygen after doctors confirmed I had viral pneumonia in both of my lungs.

It does take a toll on your body. You have to fight through. I had to be persistent. I focused on prayer and staying positive to pull me through my darkest hour.

When I was discharged from the hospital, my husband of 17 years, became so emotional, he got down on one knee and proposed to me again.

We plan to renew our vows.

I am a diabetic with asthma, but I have now survived cancer and COVID-19.