Facundo Corvalán is one of more than 650,000 people who hung the victorious medal of defeating the coronavirus. A medal very different from the ones he dreamed – and dreams – of hanging himself in his career as a basketball player. However, although those days when he had to defend himself against pure plug of the virus have already become a bad memory, they marked it forever. The player of Real Canoé of the Liga LEB Oro, the second division of basketball in Spain, was in that country when the panorama had already defved. “My club closed its doors and there were no more trainings or competitions. The situation was pretty out of control and the virus was everywhere,” he began, recounting the 21-year basis in a talk with Filo.News. Accompanied by his mother, who had traveled to visit him, and knowing that in Argentina the airports were beginning to close, there was a particular conversation that ended up convincing him to become: “We knew that hospitals were collapsed and we had a talk with the club doctor who told us, ‘To athletes and young people like you, today because of how the hospitals are collapsed, they are not going to care for them because they are prioritizing the most at-risk people.”
First day at home, after you’ve beaten the virus! So I am, with a happiness that is impossible to disguise! It’s inevitable to get me thinking. So many things come to mind. 19 days in the hospital.. 19 days where there were moments of all kinds.. Some people asked me: Were you afraid? And I tell them. Obviously I do. Wondered.. in my head.. What if my symptoms increase? What if I get fucked? That uncertainty, that fear.. This virus is proving to us that it no longer respects ages, that it affects anyone. Whether you’re young or big, in good health or not, whether you’re an athlete or the opposite. Also, I felt a lot of joy.. I received so much support and affection, that it was all to be cheerful and well up! Those little messages.. Videocalls.. the meals that somehow made me get the family. those distance training with my girlfriend.. that book that a friend brought me in. those words of encouragement from some nurse at the right time, the basketball family and the press in general. I won’t deny that I had moments of slump, but it was the least thanks to you! Others asked: Where do you think you got it? And the truth I’d be lying if I said a particular place. All I know is that it was in Spain, and that there the thing was and it’s very fucked up. The virus got to a point where it was everywhere. and as much as I took care of myself and tried to avoid it, at some point. I screwed up, went to my best and found it. So we have to understand once and for all that we don’t have to underestimate him, because he’s already here. waiting for us to neglect and find him. as it happened to me. As much as the virus doesn’t affect me too hard, no one wants to go through what I went through. That’s why I’m asking you, stay at home! Take care and take care of everyone! Think of the doctors too, they re-play it and put the hell at risk to help those who arrive with symptoms! As much as they have to, let’s not give them any more work. Let’s be patient, there’s less left! Let’s enjoy being home as much as we can! Thank you all for your concern, support and affection. that so many have done it, it is certainly a huge mime to the heart! #COVID19OUT ✔✔✔!!
A shared post by Facu Corvalan (@facucorvalan17) on 3 Apr 3, 2020 at 7:59 PDT
-When did you start to feel symptoms?-I felt my first symptoms on the plane, which were fever and a feeling of tiredness in the body and sore throat. I put that in the affidavit with which I was made a check in Ezeiza, but since I had no strong symptoms such as any shortness of breath, cough or very high fever, they let us continue on their way home. With my family we had organized everything: my dad would take the car to Ezeiza and then I was driving to Junín and he would take a bus so as not to be in touch because we knew we were coming from a country of risk. During the trip I started to feel worse but I made the effort to get home. When we arrived, my dad and my brothers had gone to other relatives’ business. And there you can see that I relaxed and the symptoms increased much more. I got to have 41 degrees of fever, muscle aches, bone and a feeling of tiredness.-Did you think you were infected with coronavirus?-The symptoms are a little stronger than those of a common flu and since I’m someone who doesn’t get sick I almost never thought, ‘Why can’t it be the virus knowing how the situation is in Spain?’ Then we called 107 and at the hour we came to get the ambulance. My mom was also taken away even though she had no symptoms, because she had been with a possible infected person. You know where you could have been infected? In Spain the virus was already anywhere and could be had by any person or object. The situation was uncontrollable and the truth is that if I would say a particular place, I would lie. It could have been in the gym at the club or in the supermarket because they didn’t care like here from estrangement from people. He caught them a little surprise. Then as much as I had the collections and always walked with gel alcohol, gloves and beard, somewhere I’ve neglected and found the virus.-You were admitted to Abraham Piñeyro Hospital in your city. What were those days?- There were days of all kinds. But for the most part I felt very well accompanied by everyone. A lot of people have given me their concern and affection and that made them make them more bearable.-Were you afraid?-The first few days with the symptoms and when I became aware, as much as I did not feel very bad, I was afraid by the uncertainty of not knowing if the virus could affect me much more or be one of those cases of TV in which the virus gets to complicate life. I had that fear but when the days passed and I felt better, it was just waiting for the virus to get eliminated.
The former cyclist player of Junín and Bahía Basket was interned for 19 days and after two swabs that gave him negative received the longed-for high that allowed him to return home, where he spent the first 14 days living in the quincho to perform house isolation. Time has come, at last the time has come for the reunion with their loved ones.” Now we’re all together. We’ve already met and returned the hugs, the fights with the brothers…”, Facundo recounted with a laugh and with the satisfaction of feeling again closely the warmth of the family and that he regained, at least a little, the normality. The quarantine that now transits like most Argentines, has it fulfilling some outstanding accounts: “I’m doing everything a little bit. I have time to train, I also learned to play Burako. I’m collaborating with the kitchen, the cleaning and a lot of details of the house that when you’re with the day-to-day routine there are no corners you don’t want to look at and leave them for later. So now we’re accommodating and collaborating a little bit with everything.”
While waiting for a definition of the future of the League, Corvalán tries to keep his schedules in order so as not to lose his rhythm. “In the hospital itself, when I felt well I trained a little with what I could. But already at home I have a few more elements and I am more organized with a routine,” he explained. The Juninense lived in his own flesh the disease of a historical pandemic that struck the world. “As much as it was a bad experience, I think it also served me a lot to think a lot about things and open my eyes. I tried to find the bright side of all this. I connected much more with my friends and loved ones than out there with the daily routine you don’t talk as often. It seems to me that it’s going to be something that made us all open our eyes and inside the bad we’re going to be able to get good things out.” Is that clear. Life after the coronavirus will not be the same for Facundo Corvalán. And neither for the rest of humanity. In this note:
