Shaun Deeb recently disclosed with the Twitter world that he's suffering from the coronavirus in the hospital in Mexico. The 2018 WSOP Player of the Year left the U.S. to compete in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) series. He's now learning about just how serious the virus is.
Deeb shared with his social media followers more details about his condition and thoughts on COVID-19. He said he took the virus seriously in the beginning, even taking his son out of school in February, and he adhered to social distancing guidelines. But the poker pro is now quite ill.
The American poker player's condition mirrors the symptoms of many who have become ill from the coronavirus. He had a fever, trouble breathing, and lost his sense of taste. Deeb said on Twitter Wednesday that all of his symptoms have since improved except for his breathing.
SARS-CoV-2 often causes patients to have difficulty breathing. The virus has killed over 970,000 people, including more than 200,000 in the United States. Many of those who have succumbed to the virus had severe pre-existing conditions, including heart and respiratory issues.
Convincing others to take the virus seriously
Deeb has now discovered the virus can cause serious harm to anyone — even those who don't have major pre-existing conditions. He reached out to fellow poker pro Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, a staunch Donald Trump supporter, to try convince him of the same.
Matusow has said numerous times that he believes the media is exaggerating the truth about COVID-19. He argues that the virus hype is the mainstream media's way of sabotaging Trump in an election year. Deeb thinks his story can change the four-time WSOP bracelet winner's mind.
"And someone just tweeted about @themouthmatusow thoughts on covid he knows I’ll go on his show and hopefully convince him this is bad for a lot of people just because it effects some more or less," Deeb wrote.
Matusow hosts "The Mouthpiece" podcast, which is available on YouTube and the Podbean app. Although the main focus of his show is to discuss poker and interview poker players, he often goes off on tangents, ranting about how corrupt the media is and how the media continually spreads disinformation about COVID-19. Deeb believes Matusow is the one spreading the misinformation, based on his firsthand experience.
Deeb remains in bed hospitalized but appears to be in good spirits from looking through his Twitter posts. He's been having a difficult time swallowing food, and his taste buds have changed — two common coronavirus symptoms. But he found a positive in the rough situation — his kids don't have to watch him suffer because they're back home in the U.S.
Due to the strict U.S. online poker laws, Deeb is unable to compete in the WCOOP series, or any event on PokerStars, from home. Thus, his desire to travel to Mexico to compete. While south of the border, he contracted the virus, although he isn't aware of how it happened.
Despite being hospitalized, Deeb still continued to play online, 10-tabling like a true grinder from his hospital bed.
Featured image source: Flickr
