'It's not rocket science': COVID-19 survivor asks public to wear masks

Tommy Shapard says he thought he was going to die from COVID-19 in March. Now, he's asking the public to wear masks to slow the spread of the virus.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Exactly three months ago Thursday, Tommy Shapard filmed videos of himself saying goodbye to his wife and three kids in the hospital. He thought COVID-19 was going to kill him.

"I'm so proud of all of you and all that you've done," he said in one of the videos.

Three months later, Shapard said his recovery is going well. He said he's able to go on walks, swim and go to the gym.

"After a good workout, I feel good, and I think I'm slowly improving," he said.

However, he does still have lingering effects from the virus. His seasonal asthma is lasting longer than it usually does, he has a high heart rate, which he thinks is due to being on hydroxychloroquine, and he can have extreme fatigue, among other effects.

"You'll hear the term brain fog and I do have that. I'll drop an idea pretty quickly if I'm in a conversation," Shapard said.

Now, he's using his COVID-19 experience and a powerful picture of himself in the hospital as a PSA of sorts. He posted a picture of himself with tubes coming out of his nose on Facebook with the caption, "Think wearing a mask blows? Wait 'til you wear this. Wear a mask."

"It's not rocket science. It's pretty simple to put the mask on. It's as simple as buckling your seat belt and saving the life of yourself and perhaps somebody else," he said.

The post has been shared more than 200 times in about a day.

"I've been amazed and maybe not amazed at how many people I see not wearing masks in close quarters. It's just common sense and to see it become political, I would really hope this could be one thing we could unite around, so it really saddens me," Shapard said. 

He has donated his plasma containing COVID-19 antibodies to current COVID-19 patients twice. Now, he hopes this picture with a message will also help the public, in a different way, but still possibly save lives.

"If you're sitting in the hospital with COVID lungs and you have the high flow nasal cannula blowing hot air right into your nose and face and it's very uncomfortable, that is troubling," he said.

"That is a troubling situation. Having the luxury of putting a mask on for about 20 minutes, that's a power we all have to bring these case numbers down. It's pretty simple, but the part that's not simple is taking responsibility," he said.

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