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Bloomberg Businessweek November16, 2020MarioEscobar, 53 BOGOTA
Thechiefofinternal medicineatone ofBogotá’s main
hospitals,EscobartestedpositiveforCovid-19inearlyJuly.
Hisconditionimprovedquickly,butherelapsedsoonafter
returningtowork.I wentbacktothehospitalonSept. 15
to run more tests. We found deep
vein thrombosis on my right leg and
embolisms in both my lungs. I started
taking blood thinners and rapidly started
toseeanimprovement. I’veremained
mentallyactive, whichhas beenessential.
The way you confront this disease also
matters a lot. As someone who’s been
meditatingregularlyforyearsnow,I don’t
obsess over what will happen in three
months.I alwaystellmydaughter,“Today
is thebestdayofyour life.”RightnowI’m
focused on a full recovery. �As told to
AndreaJaramilloHannahWei, 30 OT TAWA
WeiwasdiagnosedwithCovid- 19 inMarchafterreturning
froma triptoAsia.Althoughherhealthhasimproved,the
mixedmartialartspractitioneris stillunabletoexercisevig-
orously,whichhaslefta holeinheridentity.It did a number on my airways. Around
Day 10 to 14 my lungswere reallyhurting.
It felt like I had just run a marathon—you
know, that feeling when you’re out of air.
When it got a bit warmer my lungs felt
better. I had been an athlete and still
consider myself an athlete, so this whole
process of trying to get better, trying to get
my performance back, trying to reconcile
my identity as an athlete and performer
is hard. It’s quite difficult to imagine all
these people who used to do a lot of
vigorous activities not being able to do that
anymore. That has a huge impact on how
we see ourselves. �As told to Suzi Ring FROM TOP: PHOTOGRAPH BY NADEGE MAZARS FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK. PHOTOGRAPH BY JESSICA LEE FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKTHE NEW ECONOMY