Cristina shares how she and her husband have been handling self-isolation amid their COVID-19 battles.
Cristina Cuomo knows firsthand what it's like to care for someone battling COVID-19, and to be dealing with that battle herself.
The Purist founder and wife of CNN journalist Chris Cuomo joined ET's Nischelle Turner via video chat on Friday, from her home where she's quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus last week. Cristina shared some tips on how she's been passing the time, staying patient and maintaining her physical and emotional wellbeing during the challenging ordeal.
"We all want instant gratification. So the fact that this requires a lot of patience, people just don't have that," she shared. "But I think because of that -- needing patience and rest and downtime -- you know, sometimes work is a necessary distraction."
And it's because of this that Cristina said she sympathizes with and appreciates her husband's decision to continue hosting his CNN news show, Cuomo Prime Time, throughout his entire struggle with the illness.
"I understand why he wanted to do it," Cristina explained, adding that Chris was determined to "share his story and his journey with other people who are going through it."
The mother of three has been open and adamant about following a naturopathic route toward recovery, and shared some of the things that have helped her, both physically and emotionally, during her illness and in everyday life.
"Of course the 6,000 milligrams of Vitamin C a day, I think, is mandatory," she shared. "Whether you're sick or you're healthy, you should be taking Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, Zync... every day."
"[And] there's the breathing exercises that I do with my friend, who's a yoga instructor," Cristina continued, explaining that yoga, meditation and deep breathing are good for more than just your physical wellbeing.
"Yes, you're helping your lungs, ,but you're also helping your mental health. That's really important right now," she said. "People have been feeling really debilitated my this virus mentally."
"I watched my husband suffer through that a bit, and I think it's because of the long duration of this virus -- it is a minimum of 21 days for a lot of people," she shared. "It creates a lot of anxiety, so the breathing, oxygenating the brain, is helping… it just helps with your general wellbeing."
Chris has opened up several times on his show throughout his struggle with COVID-19 about how it's impacted his mental health. The 49-year-old newsman admitted to his fellow CNN anchor Dr. Sanjay Gupta earlier this month that he was feeling "a little depressed" by his persistent and painful symptoms.
"It's hard to have a fever for 20 hours a day," Chris said. "It just wears you down emotionally."
While Cristina revealed that Chris is finally out of self-isolation after managing to go a full 72 hours without a fever, there was a point in which they were both self-isolating separately, and their three children -- 17-year-old daughter Bella, 14-year-old son Mario, and 11-year-old daughter Carolina -- managed to step up and take care of each other in a time of crisis.
Before the virus struck the family, Cristina said they'd been "doing a lot of cooking and baking" and that Carolina "learned how to make her own eggs."
"That became useful this week when she was hungry again," Cristina said. "Mario as well, he loves to cook every now and then. It's sweet. They're learning how to split the English muffin in half and put it in the toaster… It's been a fun educational process"
Living a healthy life is why Cristina, who has also battled Lyme disease, created her magazine and website, The Purist.
"Having seen others suffer through different ailments, I realize that it's all about our health. If we don't have our health, nothing matters. There's no economy, there's nothing that will survive this," she expressed.
That is also why she's been so focused on maintaining a heath regimen based around whole foods, vitamins, deep breathing and well-rounded nutrition.
"This isn't about treating the virus, it's treating your immune system, giving it the nourishing elements that it requires to stay strong," Cristina explained. "We need to develop immunities to these things, so I'm relieved that I got this virus. It will teach my immune system to be stronger and that's my fight. That's my battle."
For more on the Cuomo family's battle with COVID-19 over the past three weeks, see the video below.
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