Sask. MLA beats COVID-19 for a second time

Athabasca MLA Buckley Belanger considers himself lucky to be alive after contracting COVID-19 twice.

The 61-year-old NDP veteran from Ile-a-la-Crosse returned to Regina for the final week of the spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly after recovering from his latest bout of the virus.

Belanger first tested positive for COVID-19 in late 2020, experiencing severe headaches that he described as an eight on a scale of 10, a loss of taste and smell, a high fever, coughing and a burning feeling in his chest.

His second go-around with the disease in April was less severe, but no less scary, he recalls.

“The most significant issue I faced was the trembling. I got up one night (and) I was trembling so bad I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom,” Belanger said.

“Your mind starts playing tricks on you because you have all this free time in the hotel room. Like, what do you do? You’re coughing and your mind begins racing.”

Belanger, who doesn’t know were he was exposed, said his grandson also tested positive. His wife and granddaughter were spared.

Belanger said he received his first Moderna shot in between bouts of the virus and while it didn’t prevent him from getting sick the second time, he said the past six months have strengthened his belief about the importance of getting vaccinated.

“I think to this day that first shot of the Moderna vaccine saved my life,” he said.

His second victory over the deadly virus has made him even more careful than before. He said he has tightened his bubble and rarely leaves his apartment in Regina.

He hopes sharing his experience will change the minds of people who are still on the fence about getting the vaccine.

“I enjoy my freedom like anybody else, but in order for us to enjoy our freedom, we have to have a little bit of responsibility together to get this pandemic under control,” Belanger said. “It’s coming. We can see light at the end of the tunnel.”