A week after Windermere Real Estate broker Nate Scott recounted his experience with contracting and recovering from COVID-19, well-known real estate coach, consultant, and eXp broker Rick Geha shared his coronavirus diagnosis with more than 3,000 viewers on Facebook Live.
“I feel like I was an arrogant SOB,” Geha said tearfully in a Facebook Live video from his home in Pleasant Hill, California. “You know my wife and I travel quite a bit, and I think there’s a lot of people like me out there that are arrogant and think they’re bulletproof.”
“The doctor still thinks that it was either our flight to or our flight home from Cancún back in early March,” he added. “I can tell you that I obviously have a huge respect for the medical profession and the first responders and all of those people that are putting themselves out there on a daily basis.”
Geha and his wife, Casey, traveled to Cancún in early March, just as COVID-19 began its rampage in the United States. Soon after their return, Casey fell ill but wasn’t tested for the coronavirus, Geha explained. However as his wife began to recover, Geha developed a fever and cough, which doctors told him to monitor and treat at home with Robitussin and Tylenol.
“It did get pretty worse,” he said. “It got to where by Friday I was having a lot of trouble not coughing and not getting rid of the fever, and I was pretty exhausted all the time.”
I’M POSITIVE FOR THE COVID-19 VIRUS
I tested positive for the COVID-19 Virus. Humbled and happy to be getting healthy. Reporting in from my home in Pleasant Hill, CA!
Posted by Rick Geha on Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Geha went back to the doctor on March 28 and was given a coronavirus test. On Monday he received the results — he had COVID-19.
“I think a lot of people, based on the reactions from friends, a lot of people feel like if you have the coronavirus that you are devastated and destroyed,” he said while noting he’s been able to begin working again. “I think that’s been the case for some people, but it hasn’t been the case for me.”
“My wife was pretty well knocked out for several days, but she’s completely cured,” he added. “She’s 100 percent and she’s doing her workouts, and she looks amazing and feels amazing. She hasn’t had a symptom in almost a week now.”
Although COVID-19 has claimed 3,921 lives in the United States as of March 31, 184,326 Americans have recovered. Although some people experience severe symptoms such as shortness of breath that indicates the development of pneumonia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still maintains that most people will either be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms that can be handled at home.
“I think the biggest thing that I want to do is dispel any rumors that this thing must knock you on your ass for good. It doesn’t have to,” he said.
In addition to thanking people for sending well wishes, Geha offered sage advice for everyone who is struggling to find their footing in the midst of a global pandemic.
“I think it’s very important at a time like this that we remember that we are all connected by one thing, and that’s humanity,” he said. “Everyone is going through something and what it is, [there’s no] way in the world that you’re going to be able to understand.”
“It’s not our business to understand,” he added. “It’s our business to be patient and kind and humble.”
Lastly, Geha addressed real estate professionals’ worries about making enough income to keep their households and businesses afloat. The solution, he said, was to remain compassionate and only focus on what you can control.
“Almost everybody I know has their income threatened right now,” he said. “But you’re staying at home so you can spend a lot less money, and things are not going to be in your control. Surrender to the things that are not in your control, and deal with the things that are in your control.”
“The more you find yourself struggling, the more you need to reach out to other people,” Geha concluded. “You will find beauty and compassion and a reason to be the most amazing version of yourself through reaching out.”
