Cayuga County legislator shares COVID-19 story: 'I was as sick as I've ever been'

It's normal for Cayuga County Legislator Keith Batman to have a scratchy throat and running nose in October. Fall arrives, the weather changes and allergies take a toll. 

When he experienced those symptoms three weeks ago, he didn't think it was anything more than his allergies. Even when the scratchy throat worsened and he felt tired, there was no reason for alarm.

He went to bed. When he woke up the next day, he said in an interview with The Citizen, "I was sick." 

Batman, 70, called his doctor and they had a telehealth appointment. His doctor advised him to come into the office to get tested for COVID-19. Five days later, he received his result. 

He is one of more than 500 Cayuga County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. Before he learned his test result but knew he probably had the virus, he and his wife, Barbara, quarantined. 

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"What that does is it really helps lessen the exposure," Batman said. "I didn't go to the grocery store. I didn't go to pump gas. I didn't go anywhere. Therefore, when the results come back and they do contact tracing, the number of potential exposures that were the result of my illness was greatly reduced." 

For about 10 days, he experienced a range of symptoms. He described himself as "foggy" during the brunt of the illness. He had difficulty processing thoughts and talking. It has been documented that COVID-19 can cause neurological symptoms in some patients. 

Batman said he had other "classic" symptoms of the virus, including a diminished sense of smell and taste. When he would eat some foods, he says he would get a metallic taste in his mouth. There were other foods he couldn't taste. 

He also had a headache, low-grade fever, a rash, body aches and night sweats. Fatigue was another symptom. He slept for 16 to 18 hours a day. 

"I would sleep 12 hours or so at night and get up for a short period time, then take a 2-, 3-, or 4-hour nap," Batman said. "That was as much I could do." 

What he didn't have was any symptoms involving his lungs. He did not have shortness of breath, which has one of the main symptoms of the virus. That could be an indication of serious illness, which could result in hospitalization. 

While his breathing was never a problem and his blood oxygen levels were normal, the virus was unlike any other ailment Batman's experienced. He's had some bad bouts of the flu and pneumonia, but this was different. 

"I was as sick as I've ever been," Batman said. 

There was a pattern during his illness. He said one day he would be in bed and "couldn't do anything." The following day, he was still sick but he felt well enough that he thought he was starting to improve. 

However, that feeling was temporary. The next day he would be "sick as a dog again," he said. 

After being seriously ill for 10 days, he began to improve. Initially, he would have occasional night sweats and lingering fatigue. Now, he says he feels much better. 

No one close to him, including his wife, got COVID-19. He doesn't know how he contracted the virus. He says he takes precautions when he's in public — he wears masks and doesn't attend large social gatherings. When he does interact with family and friends, it's usually outside, they are 10 to 15 feet apart and everyone wears masks. If he goes to a store, he wears a mask. He will leave stores if there are other customers not wearing masks. 

"That tells me that we need to be very vigilant and with the increase in cases, it becomes even more important," he said. 

He decided to share his story because he's a member of the Cayuga County Board of Health. The board has been discussing ways to raise public awareness of COVID-19. One idea is to "put more of a personal face to this," Batman said. 

After Batman recovered from his illness, he contacted the Cayuga County Health Department and expressed his willingness to publicly reveal his diagnosis. He felt that was important because of the increased number of COVID-19 cases in the county. 

As of Friday, there have been 503 confirmed cases since mid-March. The county has 92 active cases and more than 300 people in quarantine. 

In early September, the county had 176 confirmed cases. Since then, the total number of cases has increased by 185%. 

"The numbers are really out of control. That's my motivation," Batman said of sharing his story. "It's not going to hurt. There's no way it can do harm. It might do some good in terms of making people aware."