Fil-Aus beauty queen Glyssa Perez has graced many community and fundraising events over the years. Glyssa is a multi-crowned beauty world personality with over 10 titles under her belt. She represented Bohol, from where her heritage is from in the Miss World Philippines Pageant 2019 and won Miss Philippines Tourism and the inaugural title of Beauty with a Purpose.
She is also an advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness and a Board of Trustee for Kasuso which is the Philippine Foundation for Breast Care Inc. The 26-year-old beauty queen recently set the social media abuzz with great concern when she posted that she and her brother tested positive with COVID-19.
Glyssa and her brother Gabe Perez are the founders of Queenssential. It is a group dedicated to providing people with the right tools and motivation to find their true selves and transform their everyday lives whether it's in pageantry, career or in life.
The Australian Filipina got in touch with Glyssa to find out how she and Gabe were doing. She said that they are on isolation in their apartment in Sydney CBD and on the way to full recovery,
She was happy to share her brush with the virus with the aim of highlighting that the risks of the virus are real, the importance of being vaccinated and, at the same time, give assurance that with the right care the recovery from the virus can be achieved.
* Where do you think you got infected or how you got infected?
Since my brother and I work from home, we hardly go out, so it is very hard to give a specific place on where we got it or how we got it. The only time we do go out is for essentials. However, it could be from when we did our grocery, food delivery or when we went out for exercise.
Although, my brother and I have our own suspicion that we probably got it from the fire escape of our apartment when we had our building evacuation which happened twice.
* How did you know you had the virus?
I wasn’t feeling well the night before I got tested. So before I was advised by my doctor to get tested, I had a fever and I had a severe headache. I woke up in the morning of my testing sweaty and still with a severe headache.
I continued my day as usual, coaching my clients in the morning but during my lunch time, I vomited and I knew that I couldn’t fight what I was feeling and I had to go to the doctor. When I spoke with my doctor of my symptoms, he advised me to get tested in which I did. Once I got tested I was given the results the next day.
* What was the process of being advised you tested positive?
I first received a call saying that I was tested positive before I received an SMS text from the pathology.
The person I spoke over the phone was straightforward that I tested positive. He didn’t have time to chat with me since he had other people to call as well. He advised me to stay at home and continue to isolate. He said that a health officer will give me a call and tell me the next step.
My brother was confirmed a day after I was confirmed.
* Were you given medication for the virus and have to follow a different diet?
No medication was given for the virus. I already knew what I had to do to get better. I also had a lot of support from family and friends on what I should do to get better.
However, I was given an oxygen and heart rate monitor to keep track of my progress.
* At what stage are you now?
I am on my 9th day of having COVID-19, and I will get released on the 14th day.
* What were your and your brother's vaccination status?
My brother is fully vaccinated and I am partially vaccinated.
* What was the scariest part of your COVID experience?
The scariest part of my COVID-19 experience was doing it alone. The first day of isolation was tough because I was feeling terrible and I had to self-isolate in my room while my brother was in the other room.
But when we were told a day after that my brother and I didn’t have to be apart in isolation - we were overjoyed. Because it means that we didn’t have to go through the experience alone but we had each other to help one another to go through it.
* What advice would you give others in order to avoid contracting the virus?
Since my brother got vaccinated it helped lower our symptoms. I believe if we weren’t vaccinated at all, our symptoms would have been worse.
My advice to others is to not be complacent especially now that we are given more freedom in the next couple of days. Take this opportunity to count your blessings and to also be vigilant with our surroundings.
If you haven’t been vaccinated I encourage you to consider doing it to lower your risk of the symptoms.
The Australian Filipina wishes Glyssa and Gabe full recovery with no after effects of the virus. We echo her advice for people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and those around them.