‘Life is so precious’ -- Metro Detroit COVID-19 survivors give thanks

Tonya Brown and Shenelle Freeman were both diagnosed in March

This Thanksgiving, thousands of families in Michigan are missing loved ones lost to the coronavirus, but many more survivors have reason to be more grateful than ever.

Two women, Shenelle Freeman and Tonya Brown, both live in Metro Detroit and have never met. But they both had COVID-19 around the same time and beat it.

“Back in March of this year, originally, I thought I had the flu,” said Shenelle Freeman.

“Well it was around March when I thought I had just a bad sore throat,” said Tonya Brown.

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Freeman and Brown both called their doctors and were diagnosed with COVID-19. The next couple weeks for them would be rough.

“It was definitely terrifying,” Freeman said.

Months later, they’re both doing much better and celebrating Thanksgiving with their families.

“You have another day, another chance, another opportunity to get it right, to uplift others and share your story,” Freeman said. “We often take it for granted and it’s really a blessing.”

“I just got very emotional about being thankful and how thankful I am. I made it to another Thanksgiving,” Brown said. “Life is so precious. Every moment, give thanks. Just give thanks. It’s really simple things we take for granted.”

You can watch the full report in the video above.