NC Treasurer Folwell describes his ‘intense’ battle with COVID-19
In between coughing fits from the lingering effects of COVID-19, North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell described to fellow state officials what battling the virus is like during a conference-call meeting Tuesday morning.
“I can tell you,” Folwell said, “it is very, very intense.”
Folwell was hospitalized March 29, receiving care at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for five days before being released, according to information released by his office. He has since been recovering at home.
Three other employees at the treasurer’s office also have tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Tuesday morning, Folwell joined other state officials including Gov. Roy Cooper on the meeting of the Council of State, North Carolina’s elected state executives.
After giving an update on state treasury business, Folwell offered thanks for all the well wishes he received since testing positive for COVID-19 on March 23.
He added he can empathize with what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going through.
Johnson is in intensive care at a London hospital due to the coronavirus.
“One of my lead doctors came in, in charge of the infectious team, and started talking about priorities,” Folwell said Tuesday. “And he said you can only really have one priority at a time. My priority was to take all those prayers and good wishes from the folks in that room who I have not responded to and direct them into three quick easy things: Having someone to love, something to look forward to and something to do every day is a main priority.
“I want to thank you all for all your well wishes as well as publicly thank my wife who has been the caregiver for me during this ordeal.”
Folwell spoke for three minutes during the meeting before Cooper took over again.
“Our prayers are certainly with you and your family during this period of time,” Cooper said. “I know a lot of us have reached out to you and we understand that you can’t respond to those in your condition. So hang in there and get better and blessings to you.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 10:37 AM with the headline "NC Treasurer Folwell describes his ‘intense’ battle with COVID-19."