June Breheny didn't realise how serious coronavirus was until she woke up attached to a feeding tube.
Doctors feared the 70-year-old, who spent 32 days battling the infection in intensive care, wouldn't survive the night.
The initial stages of the infection were only half the battle - Ms Breheny is now slowly coming to grips with the lingering impacts of COVID-19.
"I'm fearful of brain damage," she said.
"I have a weakness all down my right side I have nerve damage in my right hand.
"I am hoping that I will get most of it back, I'm hoping that my balance improves."
Ms Breheny features in a new advertising campaign from the Victorian government, which aims to shed light on the longer-term effects of coronavirus.
Young couple Sarah and Sam, who are both midwives at Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne, also tell of their experience.
Sarah says she felt "incapacitated" for weeks after contracting the infection.
"The linings of my lungs became inflamed to the point where I wasn't able to fully inflate my lung or exhale without excruciating pain," she said.
“It feels like coronavirus has attacked every single one of my body systems.”
Sarah, who is a young mother, said the hardest part was worrying about the safety of her children.
"I have two little boys and I decided to isolate away from them, they are with their dad half the time and my parents.
"Being separated from them for five or six weeks now has been incredibly hard."
Since filming the advertisement, she returned to hospital with complications stemming from the virus.
"Being admitted to the COVID ward, [seeing] people coughing, people gasping for air, was terrifying because I knew that that was what was ahead," Sam said.
"If you need the motivation to do the right thing, if you're still resisting all of this, think about the people you care about the most and them not being able to breathe."
Michael was hospitalised for 72 days while battling a coronavirus infection.
Sarah hasn't seen her two sons in over a month. Source: Victoria State Government
"I felt sick, I had a temperature and was already having breathing issues," the 46-year-old said.
"I went to the fever clinic and tested positive for COVID. It got so bad they had to call an ambulance and I ended up being admitted."
He says that doctors thought he was going to die.
"It was like I was drowning, I'd have coughing fits that would go for one to two minutes.
"I developed pneumonia, anaemia and I'd also developed nerve damage."
Two days after he was intubated, Michael was put into an induced coma.
"While I was asleep, my wife got sick," he said.
"Her Mum got corona[virus], most likely from her and passed away.
"It breaks my heart that I wasn't there for her while she was grieving her Mum."
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the advertisements will be broadcast on "every conceivable platform".
"This is about trying to tell a story to as many Victorians as possible that this virus does not, in any way, discriminate between people based on their age, based on their otherwise healthy status."
There are also another series of ads featuring healthcare workers from diverse backgrounds, spreading coronavirus messaging in languages other than English.
“I can inform you we’ve shot a number of ads where nurses, they in fact have shot these ads themselves at our request, who are speaking to multicultural communities in their own language,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s about sending that message: It’s from a healthcare worker who is the last line of defence out to those whose English proficiency may be an issue, sending that message of follow the rules, do the right thing … make the job of our health heroes just a little bit easier than it would otherwise be.”
ICU Director at Western Health, Craig French, also shares his experience on the front line.
"Protect yourself, protect your loved ones," he said.
"It's incredibly heart wrenching to have a loved one in hospital, critically ill and to be unable to see them, unable to visit them, to be unable to hold their hand.
Metropolitan Melbourne residents are subject to Stage 4 restrictions and must comply with a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am.
During the curfew, people in Melbourne can only leave their house for work, and essential health, care or safety reasons. Between 5am and 8pm, people in Melbourne can leave the home for exercise, to shop for necessary goods and services, for work, for health care, or to care for a sick or elderly relative.
All Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home, no matter where they live.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
