TORONTO -- An Ontario man is urging Canadians to take COVID-19 seriously after he was hospitalized and suffered waves of debilitating symptoms since he first contracted the disease in June.

Stephe Lawson said he initially tested negative for coronavirus after he had come into contact with a co-worker who had gotten the virus in June. Even though his results were negative, Lawson said he didn’t want to take any chances so he stayed at his family’s trailer to protect his wife and children.

“[It] turned out to be a good call,” he told CTV News Channel from his home in Innisfil, Ont. on Saturday. “Because even though I was confirmed negative at that time, my health took a rapid downhill spiraling effect and by that Monday, I was in the hospital.”

As he recovered in hospital in Orillia, Ont., Lawson said he received another test a few days after he was admitted and this time it was positive.

Lawson’s wife, Christie, said that was a very difficult time for their family because her husband’s health had deteriorated so quickly.

“In the beginning, actually, we didn't know from one day to the next, if he was even going to make it,” she said. “To stand there and watch your husband and trying to explain it to our young daughters, who are only six and four, that we couldn’t be with daddy, we couldn’t see daddy…”

Christie Lawson said her husband’s illness turned her family’s life “upside down.”

“[To] watch my husband go through what he was going through, trying to keep the house, the kids, everything going, and try to be strong,” she recounted. “But mentally and physically, even still today, it takes a big toll on me.”

Since Lawson’s hospitalization, he said he’s suffered a relapse a few weeks ago, which he said was caused by overexertion.

“In all honesty, every day’s been a struggle since I was positive,” he said. “It's been a battle.”

In light of his experience with the disease, Lawson warned Canadians to be cautious and considerate during the pandemic.

“Just please take it seriously,” he said. “Just do the simple thing of wearing a mask. If everyone could just take that measure, it’s a small measure, but it’s such a respectful measure to help one another out. That helps our front-line workers as well because they’re amazing.”