T-L File Photo/SHELLEY HANSON BACK IN March, at the start of the COVID pandemic, the Rev. William Webster, right, helps take stock of food to hand out to people in need in Martins Ferry. Shown with him is Martins Ferry Codes Administrator Betty Suto.

MARTINS FERRY — The Rev. William Webster, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, has been battling the COVID-19 infection for about five weeks now.

He developed symptoms in early November. He doesn’t know where he and his wife Linda picked it up, as he said they both were careful. They wore masks, used hand sanitizer and avoided hanging out in groups.

His church’s elders have taken over leading Grace until his return. This is the first time in his career as a minister that he has missed giving so many Sunday sermons. He’s missed the first four Sundays of Advent. He’s likely to miss the fifth.

“It’s strange. … It’s like getting hit by a train and then run over by a truck,” he said. “I have body aches, but it’s not like the body aches from the flu. It’s a pounding of every muscle and it just hurts all the time. One day I thought I had an abscessed tooth. … It was the virus attacking that side of my face. One day my ear was aching, but it was the outside of the ear. The cartilage hurt so much. I couldn’t put my head down on a pillow. Everything hurts, and the fatigue is really bad.”

Webster said he still is sleeping 12 hours a night. He can stay awake for a few hours, but by late afternoon he needs to take a nap. After dinner he is usually ready for bed.

Webster said on Nov. 4 his wife was not feeling well and believed she had a bad sinus infection, an illness she’s had many times before. They went to Med Express and both received rapid COVID tests. Her test was positive. His test was negative. After a couple days her symptoms began to subside. Webster began quarantining and on Nov. 6 his symptoms began.

He’s been receiving medical care via telemedicine. His doctor has prescribed him Prednisone, but recently his symptoms got worse and he went to a hospital emergency room in Washington, Pa., where he’s received care in the past.

He was having pain and discomfort in his chest.

“It was like someone was inside my chest tickling it with a feather, and on the outside it felt like someone was pushing on my chest, and my heart was trying to pound its way out,” Webster said.

The ER did not find any blood clots and said his lungs were clear. However, he has an infection around his lungs that is making it more difficult to breath and, in return, making his heart work harder to beat. This has made his blood pressure high. He is on a blood thinner and a second round of Prednisone, which is a type of steroid.

“They told me if my breathing gets worse to come back to the emergency room. If my pain gets worse I need to come back,” he said. “They told me I’m a long-hauler, that the symptoms will linger in me. It used to be a long-hauler was someone who drove a truck for a living, but now it’s someone with COVID.”

Webster said the virus took the life of one of his church’s parishioners in April. Some other church members were recently diagnosed. And on Wednesday morning, one of his fellow writing club members died from the virus.

“This virus does not care who we are or what we do. It’s out there for everybody. Be careful. We’ve lost a lot of people and it’s hurt a lot of families. Be careful,” he said.

Webster said when he tries to talk it makes him cough. His doctor told him not to exercise, but that he still needs to move around to prevent blood clots.

“Right now my wife says it’s improving. She’s the best judge,” he said.