Australian journalist Eammon Ashton-Atkinson considers himself very lucky to be alive having survived COVID-19 and two strokes.
This week the 34-year-old was scheduled to promote his 2020 documentary film about a gay rugby union club in the United Kingdom that is now being launched on global streaming services.
Instead, the United States-based Network 10 news correspondent is recovering at his home in Washington.
The journalist was vaccinated for COVID-19 but said he discovered he had contracted the virus after he returned from working in Nigeria.
Mr Ashton-Atkinson spent 14 days in isolation and said he had a sore neck from the constant coughing.
Then he said he suffered his first stroke.
"Half the vision in my left eye went and all of the vision in my right eye disappeared."
The correspondent also had pins and needles down the right side of his body when he suffered the stroke on July 1.
'The world started spinning'
Mr Ashton-Atkinson was admitted to hospital in Washington, where had been living with his husband.
A CT scan and an MRI revealed he had suffered a stroke.
"About five hours later the feeling in my right side of my body came back and most of the vision slowly returned," he said.
"I've still got big blind spots in my right eye."
Then a week later on July 8, the correspondent had a second stroke while he was recovering at his home.
"The world started spinning when I was on the couch so I dropped to my knees and grabbed the table for stability," Mr Ashton-Atkinson said.
The filmmaker said the experience highlighted to him that more questions needed to be answered around the impacts of COVID-19.
"It's just very frightening," he said.
"There is so much we don't know about this disease."
Unlikely to get home
He said his situation was made worse because his elderly father was unable to travel to the US.
The 34-year-old said his own ability to return to Australia would be difficult.
"We all have that front page in the passport where the Governor-General says, 'May the bearer of this passport be able to travel freely'.
"Our country won't even let us come back because there are very small numbers [of returning Australians allowed to return].
"In my personal opinion, it's not being managed as well as it can be."
Bad timing
Mr Ashton-Atkinson was preparing to promote his debut documentary film Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club, which has just been released on streaming services.
"It changed my life ... I got bullied quite a lot when I was a kid and it's a really hopeful, uplifting documentary."
The news reporter has been told by his doctors that he must limit the movement in his neck for the next five weeks to reduce the risk of having another stroke.
"I was just talking to my neurologist and he said it could have landed anywhere in my brain and I could not be talking to you right now."
Mr Ashton-Atkinson was vaccinated for COVID-19 in March.
His doctor does not believe there is a link between the vaccination and his strokes.
