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It started off as what appeared to be the common flu or a bad cold.

First, Rick Cameron felt tired and his body ached. Then, he started to get the sniffles and it worked its way to his lungs.

“He complained when he took a deep breath, it was like something was catching and he had a cough that got worse with time,” Kelly Marshall, Cameron’s daughter, wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday.

And then it all went downhill from there: chills followed by the sweats, aches and a fever.

Cameron returned back to his home in Pictou County on Feb. 21 after travelling away, but didn’t see signs of any illness until March 13, “long after his 14 days (were) up,” Marshall wrote.

“He became very ill very fast and this was very concerning for us,” Marshall said.

“This is a man who was active and in very good health, no underlying conditions (and) has never been sick in the 40 years I’ve been alive other than a common cold a few times.”

On March 19, Cameron was having difficulty breathing and was taken to the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow by ambulance. There, he was tested for COVID-19 and transferred to the Colchester East Hants Health Centre.

As of Tuesday night, Cameron was on a ventilator in an induced coma in the intensive care unit at the Truro hospital. He is being treated with two drugs that appear to be somewhat successful and has “incredibly kind” doctors and nurses working on him who have been there for the family as well, Marshall said.

Cameron’s wife, Faye, has also tested positive for COVID-19, while Marshall and her husband wait for their test results.

Marshall and Faye agreed Cameron would want to help spread the word, so she wrote a Facebook post.

"If he could help or his story could save another he wouldn't even question it. He would act," Marshall told The Chronicle Herald on Wednesday.

Marshall begged for people to listen to public health officials, “look at the severity of this virus and do not take this lightly.”

The Marshalls and Cameron's wife remain in self-isolation, which has been tough as they “all want to be there for each other, console and hug and make sure everyone is OK, (but) this virus doesn’t allow that.”

Marshall said she will be setting up a page where she will provide updates on her father’s condition and give people a place to write messages to Cameron.

“He has no idea how many lives he’s touched in such a positive way. I think he would appreciate hearing how we all feel or simply just your well wishes,” Marshall said.

“If anyone has got a strong will and a stubbornness to fight this and win, it’s him. He will not rest until he has conquered this thing and returns home to his wife, who would move mountains for him.”

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