Melania Trump reveals son Barron had coronavirus and says her symptoms hit her 'all at once'
The first lady says having COVID-19 at the same time meant the family could spend time together and take care of each another.
Thursday 15 October 2020 07:27, UK
Donald Trump's teenage son Barron tested positive for coronavirus but had no symptoms, according to first lady Melania Trump.
Barron, 14, tested positive after both of his parents contracted the virus, Mrs Trump said in a personal post on the White House website.
In the post, entitled My Personal Experience With COVID-19, she said: "Recovering from an illness gives you a lot of time to reflect."
She said that after she and her husband were diagnosed with the virus, her mind "went immediately to our son".
"To our great relief he tested negative, but again, as so many parents have thought over the past several months, I couldn't help but think 'what about tomorrow or the next day?'.
"My fear came true when he was tested again and it came up positive. Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms.
"In one way I was glad the three of us went through this at the same time so we could take care of one another and spend time together.
"He has since tested negative."
Writing about her own experience with the virus, Mrs Trump said she had "minimal symptoms, though they hit me all at once and it seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after".
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"I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time," she said.
Mrs Trump said her recovery was helped by vitamins and healthy food, along with medical care from the president's doctor Sean Conley and his team.
"It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to be the patient instead of a person trying to encourage our nation to stay healthy and safe," she added. "It was me being taken care of now, and getting first-hand experience with all that COVID-19 can do.
"As the patient, and the person benefiting from so much medical support, I found myself even more grateful and in awe of caretakers and first responders everywhere. To the medical staff and the residence staff who have been taking care of our family - thank you doesn't say enough."
While her husband, US President Donald Trump, spent three nights in hospital with the virus earlier this month, Mrs Trump said she "spent much of my time reflecting on my family".
"I also thought about the hundreds of thousands of people across our country who have been impacted by this illness that infects people with no discrimination," she added.
Mr Trump was given an experimental dual antibody therapy, antiviral remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone.
Dr Conley said earlier this week that he had tested negative and is no longer contagious.