A Detroit news anchor has fully recovered from the coronavirus, but says he’s now dealing with another affliction: survivor’s guilt.
Evrod Cassimy, a morning anchor at WDIV, said his path back to full health has been an emotional one after contracting COVID-19 on March 17. While he’s thrilled to get back to good health, Cassimy said many aren’t as lucky, the Detroit Free Press reports.
“It’s hard to celebrate and be so happy that you’re fully recovered when people are dying,” Cassimy told the newspaper. “It’s like this guilt feeling. Here in Detroit and southeast Michigan we’re getting hit really hard.”
Cassimy, a married father of two, said Monday he knew at least one person who died overnight from COVID-19.
“There’s a good chance you or someone you know knows someone that has passed away or is really sick,” Cassimy said. “I have a lot of survivor’s guilt.”
Cassimy, a six-time Emmy nominee now back at work after “literally the worst two weeks” of his life, said he felt largely unable to move while stricken with the debilitating virus.
“The worst pain you can ever imagine throughout your entire body,” he recalled. “It almost felt like lead was weighting down each and every part of my body. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get out of bed.”
Cassimy’s wife and kids showed mild symptoms, but they too have since gotten back to their former selves, WDIV reports.
“We’re so thankful we are fully recovered from this and are able to have this time together as a family,” Cassimy told the station.
One of those joys, he said, is spending more time with his kids.
“I rocked my son to sleep last night and I said to myself, ‘Man, I wasn’t able to do this for two weeks,’” Cassimy told the Free Press. “And he’s 2. And there will come a day when I won’t be able to rock him to sleep at all … I’m savoring those moments.”