Dale Tuplin from Moose Jaw is 63 and has just recently been declared 'recovered' by the Saskatchewan Health Authority after contracting and battling with COVID-19.

He said while he and his coworkers were all following guidelines; staying separate and wearing masks, he thinks two others and himself caught the virus at work after ordering and sharing a pizza during a meeting. He says what started as a flu quickly became more and more severe. His workplace suggested he get tested for COVID-19, and within a day he was at the test site here in Moose Jaw. He said the test itself wasn't an issue at all, but the sickness that came after was.

"It really scared me. When it gets into your lungs, you're short of oxygen, I probably should have gone to the hospital. There were times I would wake up in a fright in the middle of the night - I was probably short of oxygen in my brain - but I thought I was dying. I'm not afraid of dying, but I was afraid of dying during all of this. It really scared me."

Tuplin ended up being too sick to leave his couch for a number of days and had to quarantine himself from his wife and child.

One of his coworkers who caught the virus ended up feeling fine after three days, while the other, who is in their 20s, ended up staying sick for the longest amount of time out of all three of them. All three have since recovered, though Tuplin is still dealing with lung damage and feels easily exhausted.

He said the whole experience is something he never wishes to experience again.

"I have never, never taken a flu shot. I think I'm strong enough and always thought I'm going to work through this until I'm old enough and then I'll get it, but I never want to go through this again. I will be in line for the vaccine as soon as it's available to me."

Tuplin is now sharing his story on social media hoping that others will start to take the virus seriously. He encourages everyone to follow the public health guidelines, wash their hands and wear a mask, saying doing that is much easier than dealing with COVID-19.