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CNN’s Brooke Baldwin calls coronavirus battle a ‘full two-week beating’

Brooke Baldwin
CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin has published a “coronavirus diary” on her experience battling COVID-19.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
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Chris Cuomo isn’t the only CNN anchor with a nasty case of COVID-19.

On Sunday, “CNN Newsroom” host Brooke Baldwin published a “coronavirus diary” detailing her own “relentless, scary and lonely” battle with the respiratory illness, which “took a full two-week beating” on her body.

“I thought ‘Do I show everyone these photos of me taken at my WORST?’ Yes. Yes I do,” Baldwin wrote on Instagram, announcing the release of her CNN piece. “I want you to see the unvarnished version... but also that it’s oh-so-possible to beat this. Not to mention, in my darkest moments: I found truth in clarity and connection. ‘When I was sick and my body came to a screeching halt, I stopped doing and started really feeling.’”

While fighting the disease, the veteran broadcast journalist showed a wide range of physical symptoms, from “constant body aches” to lost senses of smell and taste, which also took a toll on her mental health.

“I got sick and lost my ability to do my job,” Baldwin’s essay read. “I was suddenly cut off from my purpose, and even isolated from my own husband, left to experience the virus firsthand all by myself. Like so many others.”

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CNN anchor Chris Cuomo offered an update on his COVID-19 experience Monday and expressed some frustration with the responsibilities of his newscasting job.

April 14, 2020

The newscaster added that the virus “zapped” both her appetite and her energy, causing her to sleep “10-12 hours at night, waking many mornings soaking wet having sweat through the sheets.” A “golf-ball sized gland” also developed under her jaw.

On “Prime Time,” fellow CNN star Cuomo recalled having a similarly “freaky” bout with the virus, which sent him into a restless, achy, hallucinatory nighttime stupor.

Titled “How fighting coronavirus taught me about the gift of connection,” Baldwin’s piece reflected on some of the positive effects of her diagnosis as well — mainly the outpouring of support she received after testing positive.

“I realized that sharing my own vulnerability with others online and receiving positive energy and well-wishes back brings me the gift of connection,” she said. “I quickly discovered how grateful I was to all of these people showing me love. It didn’t take long for me to learn to lean in and receive it. In my darker moments, I would log on to Instagram just to be lifted up by love.”

Since going public with her condition, Baldwin has been keeping thousands of concerned Instagram followers updated on her COVID-19 journey and quarantine activities. She noted in her latest Instagram post that she hopes to return to the air by April 27 following a doctor’s appointment this week.

“So, yeah ... eff Covid. But also ... thank you?” she concluded her lengthy diary entry. “I wouldn’t wish this virus upon anyone, but I hope as my smell and taste and some sense of normalcy start to return, that I will also hold onto the clarity and connection I found while I was so damn sick.”

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