Countless videos and over six months in isolation later, Christiaan van Vuuren - the TB-afflicted man who became a YouTube star after posting rap videos from quarantine - has finally been given the all-clear to leave hospital today. Rising to fame as the "Fully sick rapper", van Vuuren used YouTube and social media to stay connected with the outside world while being confined to a small Sydney hospital room, after he was struck down with a multi-drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis in December last year.
His spoof clips and comedic raps about his time in hospital - about 13 of them have been posted to YouTube - have been viewed nearly 1.5 million times and van Vuuren's online celebrity even got him a regular gig on prime time national news in New Zealand, rapping the news of the day. Asked how he felt about his imminent departure from hospital, van Vuuren said he was "buzzing". His clear test results only came back on Friday.
"I'm just pumped to get home and sleep in my own bed, breathe fresh air and enjoy some of the sunlight ... I'm just excited to get back into life in the real world again," he said in a phone interview. Out of his six months in isolation, van Vuuren has only left his room for x-rays, tests, and just in the last few weeks, limited outdoor time upstairs in hospital to get some vitamin D.
"The only things I could really do was exercise, go online or watch or read something," he said. His doctors say he has to lay low at home for a week or two to gauge the effects of stopping one of his six medications, which was causing nasty side effects. "Then I'm going to fricken run a muck," van Vuuren said, adding he would be able to properly celebrate his 28th birthday on July 6. But ongoing medication means he won't be able to drink alcohol for about another year.
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