It seemed to be just another regular day for one appraiser driving back to his office from an assignment. But soon, nothing physically felt regular, and things would take a very drastic turn for the worse.
Veteran appraiser Bryan Reynolds said he just felt as though a load of bricks fell upon his shoulders, and while driving, asked his trainee sitting in the passenger’s seat, if he could drop him off at the office so he could go home.
It was Tuesday, March 17, when Reynolds felt ill, not thinking there were any serious issues going on.
“The closer I got to my home, the worse I became,” Reynolds told Valuation Review. “By the time I walked into my house, I literally went right to the bedroom. As soon as I hit the bed, I got chills and knew I had a temperature.”
Reynolds, who is dating a nurse practitioner named Julie, called her but neither suspected the coronavirus was the problem. His temperature was “up there pretty good,” Reynolds recalled, and then he developed an extremely bad headache that seemingly could not leave his body.
By March 19, Reynolds’ temperature was 101.8, and one day later, it spiked to 103.5. And with that constant head pain, fever, congested lungs and zero appetite, Reynolds was refused initial testing by the health department before Julie’s boss said he qualified under their Urgent Care.
He was tested and results were received March 21 confirming he had COVID-19. He was told to rest and take fluids. After no improvement, Julie listened to his lungs on March 26 and immediately contacted his doctor, who ordered him to the hospital emergency room where he was then admitted to the hospital.
He also lost his sense of taste and smell, which is one of many side effects to this illness.
“This impacts so many people in so many different ways,” Reynolds said. “For some people, they don’t even know they have the virus. I mean, it’s crazy in that you can go from having zero symptoms to actually dying. It’s scary.”
Reynolds’ entire office staff went into 14-day quarantine period but, as he said, thank goodness the technology is in place in order to stay in business.
In the beginning stages of his COVID-19 ordeal, Reynolds described the full range of emotions.
“I guess I wasn’t overly concerned at the outset but you feel so all alone because you can’t have anybody around you,” he said. “Then, lying on my back I started to think, and the reality hit me that this is very serious and life-threatening scary. One thing I do remember and am forever grateful for is the nurse taking care of me saw my concerns and moods changing. She reassured me that I was going to be okay. Then she gave me some juice into my IV to settle me down, because I was becoming very anxious.
“I was also so very pleased and overwhelmed to hear from people all over the country who reached out to me. It was very meaningful for people to say they were praying for me,” Reynolds added. “A lot of local real estate people reached out, as well as specific people from within the appraisal industry. Teresa Walker tried to get a hold of me, as did Mike Brunson, and Jeff Bradford sent me a wonderful note saying and reminding me that I had a lot of great things to do. John Brenan, Jim Park, Blair Dingeman, and so any others helped me to not feel alone. I felt the presence of Jesus Christ, and that got me through this. I also remember those several days in hospital room with that scary, loud machine that sucked the bad air out of the room. That alone didn’t help my anxiety level but it was okay as the staff ran all kinds of tests on me over those days. It was a very scary experience.”
Reynolds also expressed his deep gratitude and appreciation for Walker texting him March 28, telling him that her mom told her to tell Reynolds she started praying for him, specifically. Also, Walker’s pastor friend had Reynolds on a world-wide prayer chain.
“That meant so much to me,” Reynolds said. “Prayer works.”
The veteran appraiser also revealed that he was the second person in his hometown to be admitted to the hospital for COVID-19, while tragically, the third person admitted after him passed away.
“When I heard that, it certainly put things in perspective, because that third person could have easily been me,” Reynolds said. “I just want to remind the Valuation Review readers that I wasn’t alone, and you have to keep reminding yourself of that. But I would also stress that this is a real thing people are suffering with. You have to be careful out there.”
People constantly ask Reynolds whether or not he knew how he contracted the virus, to which he honestly responds “who knows?” It was his birthday right around the time he began feeling ill, where he, family and friends went out to some venues to celebrate. He suspects it could have happened there because other people at those same venues he discovered also got sick but he really can’t say for sure.
“I also had intense neck pain and when I got home from the hospital,” he said. “Julie had heard that, prior to my release, someone else that left the hospital had some form of meningitis, and she guaranteed me that was the reason for my neck pain. But now I feel great and am glad to be back to work.
“It took a while to get my energy back at 100 percent,” Reynolds added. “I also want to mention that I was honored to donate blood. Hospitals want the plasma because of the antibodies. A nurse told me that by donating I was going to be able to help up to four people suffering with COVID-19. I would highly encourage any of your readers who have tested positive to try and give those antibodies back. Antibodies weren’t available to me at the time I was sick but the patients now getting those antibodies is making a difference.”
The center recently said they send lots of plasma out and got one patient off a four-week ventilator after he received a donor. They thought he was going to die but now, thanks to the plasma, he is recovering.