UT Arlington Men’s Tennis Student-Athlete Eduard Simo Recovers From Coronavirus, Lends Helping Hand To Spanish Healthcare Workers
As a member of the UT Arlington men’s tennis team, Eduard Simo had seen his fair share of volunteer work while serving on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at UTA, but over the past month and a half he’s taken it up a notch with the community service he’s performing in his home country of Spain.
It all began when the junior marketing major was sent home to Barcelona after the 2020 tennis season abruptly ended due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Upon returning to the six-story apartment complex he grew up in with his parents and two siblings – just a floor above his grandparents – Simo first had to overcome the infirmity his entire family became stricken with just days before his arrival.
“Once I got to Barcelona, both of my grandparents were sick for like four days before the lockdown began, but they didn’t know what it was yet,” said Simo. “Once I got here, my grandma started getting worse and they had to take her to the hospital. She was there for 20 days. My grandpa had the coronavirus too. Then we realized all of us had the coronavirus here in my house, including me.”
Other than his grandma, Simo’s grandpa, parents and two siblings passed the virus before anyone began experiencing symptoms of a critical nature.
“I had a headache for like three days and that was it,” said Simo. “My sister had a fever for like a day and my mom felt bad for a couple days, but that was pretty much it.”
After Simo received his diagnosis at the hospital, he and his entire family quarantined themselves on the third floor of their four-bedroom apartment for fourteen days. Once the two-week period passed and his symptoms subsided, Simo headed back to the hospital ready to make a difference.
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