Lee out of protocols, got COVID-19 after getting vaccine originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
It's been two weeks since Damion Lee tested positive for COVID-19 on April 21 and was required to enter the NBA's healthy and safety protocols. He self-isolated for 11 days, and after registering negative tests, he's allowed to be back around the team and in the Warriors' facilities.
"I have a smile on my face now because I'm out of the house," Lee told the media Thursday night prior to the Warriors' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. "But it was a lot. It's been a long two weeks."
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And although Lee is out of protocol, he doesn't plan on returning to the court immediately.
"I’ll do my chest X-ray and blood and all those stuff on Monday, and even with that, that will be three weeks from the last time I’ve done any physical activity, played in a game, done anything, which is why I say I don’t foresee me out there in the immediate future," Lee said. "It’s going to take a lot to one, continue to get over this, and then the physical aspect of getting back into basketball shape."
When it was announced that Lee tested positive for COVID-19, one of the first things he did was tweet out that he was fully vaccinated and had been practicing proper social distancing.
Lee did that because he wanted people to see how important it is that those precautions are continued, even after receiving a vaccine.
Lee tested positive almost exactly one month after receiving his vaccine -- which he got with the Warriors back in March -- and was shocked when he got his results.
"No idea who I got it from, where I got it," Lee said, although he did say it was during the road trip through Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington. "I mean, it was something at the beginning I was trying to wrap my head around, but I just couldn't. And then there was really no point trying to go further down that rabbit hole."
Lee suffered severe symptoms during his bout with COVID-19. He kept a running list of them on his phone so he could track exactly what was going on. He experienced headache, chills, sneezing, congestion, soreness and body aches, all of which lasted for about eight days.
"I felt like I was hit by two cars at once," Lee said. "Every step I took, it hurt. There was pain, soreness, it felt like there was a weight on my chest for a couple of days. It was hard to breathe. Loss of appetite, and even still I don’t have my appetite all the way back. Even random headaches, brain fog where I’ll start a conversation and be in on the conversation and then five minutes in, I lose track of what I was talking about or just don’t want to talk anymore."
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Lee's symptoms have steadily gotten better with time, but he says he still experiences some from time to time.
With just six games and 10 days left in the regular season, Lee isn't ruling himself out for the rest of the year. But he's also not going to rush himself.
"It's a matter of making sure I come back once," Lee said. "Make sure I take the proper protocols, which is what I did since the beginning ... then I ended up getting it. Now it's about taking the proper protocols to get back on the court. And that all begins Monday."
