The fitness coach, who was a social media star, got infected by the virus and realized how real a threat it was.
When coronavirus became a threat, not everyone believed it to be so. Some folks vehemently opposed wearing masks and some went as far as to say that COVID19 was a hoax. However, some of those people changed their minds when they or someone close to them got infected. Unfortunately, not all of those people survived.
One social media celebrity "who thought Covid does not exist" unfortunately got infected by it. Fitness coach Dmitriy Stuzhuk, 33, who was a dad-of-three, lost his life to the disease after not believing in it initially. When the Ukrainian fitness coach got infected, his health worsened enough for him to be hospitalized. He was also discharged from the hospital before being rushed back.
His ex-wife, Sofia, 25, who is also a social media star, told her millions of fans, "God, I'm so sad that you didn't listen to me about your health. But we always respected each other's choices. We were no longer together, but it hurts me no less." Initially, he faced breathing difficulties when he was on a trip to Turkey and after he went back home to Ukraine, he tested positive.
Dmitriy, who was a picture of health, had warned his fans that what he initially thought was a hoax was very real indeed. "I want to share how I got sick and to strongly warn everyone. I was one who thought that Covid does not exist. Until I got sick," he said, according to Mirror UK. He added, "COVID-19 IS NOT A SHORT-LIVED DISEASE! And it is heavy." He added, "The hospital is completely filled with people, some of them being treated in corridors."
He was permitted to leave the hospital after an eight-day stay at an overcrowded Kyiv hospital. "At home, as they say, the walls heal - my condition is stable," he had said before his condition worsened.
The 33-year-old had also shared photos of himself from the hospital, in which oxygen apparatus was attached to him. Unfortunately, he didn't make it alive from there. His former wife, Sofia, revealed that the disease caused heart complications for him. He was in a "grave condition" and "unconscious" before being taken back to the hospital.
"His heart is not coping," she said. He suffered clinical death but the medics were able to restart his heart. "His state is extremely grave. No-one can do anything with this.
“I did everything I could so the father of my three children lives. But nothing depends on me now," said Sofia, according to Mirror UK.
The fitness influencer and his ex-wife shared health and fitness content through their social media. It is tragic that Dmitriy had to go like this. Of their three children, David, Lola, and Olivia, the youngest is only nine months old. They were together for six years before splitting earlier in 2020.
In her tribute, Sofia said there were "many problems" but their relationship "gave us so much". "We have lived and experienced so much with you. You were there in sorrow and in joy. You taught me so much. For the rest of my life I will remain grateful to you for our three beautiful children. For all the invaluable experience," she added. "And for who I have become with you. You and I became the parents of three beautiful children and even one heavenly one," she added.
The social media model said that she was only 19 when she met her ex-husband, who was eight years older. He had been supportive of her career and "loved me as best he could". While they had split over "constant betrayal, cursing, showdown, and stress" they were on good terms, as per Sofia. "Only warm memories remain, three beautiful kids and valuable experience. God, it is so terrible to realise that he is not with us anymore," she added.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/influencer-who-thought-coronavirus-does-22861718
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/ex-influencer-who-thought-covid-22864352