The Rev. Dr. Robert Pace, rector of Trinity Fort Worth, is the subject of a story featured by the Episcopal News Service.
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[Episcopal News Service] When the Rev. Robert Pace woke up the day after Ash Wednesday “feeling miserable,” he didn’t think too much of it. His symptoms all pointed to a standard case of the flu – except the cough that just kept getting worse.What Pace – the 53-year-old rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fort Worth, Texas – didn’t know at the time was that this cough was about to turn his life, and the entire world, upside down. Just over a week later, he would be hospitalized with the first documented case of COVID-19 in Tarrant County, the third-largest county in Texas.
After three days in the hospital and two weeks in quarantine at home, Pace has recovered from the virus and is back to leading Trinity’s services by livestream. His experience as an early case of the disease that has killed over 26,000 people in the United States has given him a unique perspective, both as a patient and a pastor.
The experience “has been really surreal for me,” Pace told Episcopal News Service. “It’s been quite a ride.”