U.S. Senator Dr. Rand Paul (R-KY) tested negative for COVID-19 Tuesday signaling the end of his personal fight with the coronavirus and the beginning of his fight to help other patients.

Dr. Paul is now volunteering his time and services in his hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky at the TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital.

Senator Paul made the announcement on social media Tuesday afternoon saying,

“I appreciate all the best wishes I have received. I have been retested and I am negative. I have started volunteering at a local hospital to assist those in my community who are in need of medical help, including Coronavirus patients. Together we will overcome this!” 

The hospital’s CEO Mike Sherrod expressed his gratitude in a statement writing,

“We appreciate Senator Paul and his support in recognizing our healthcare workers and providers at TriStar Greenview for their unwavering response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Paul’s victory over the coronavirus is his second recent demonstration of resilience. In 2017, he was attacked by his neighbor Rene Boucher while mowing his lawn. Paul suffered six broken ribs and a punctured lung, part of which had to be removed.

Those injuries made Dr. Paul a high-risk patient for health complications stemming from COVID-19 which he credited as being the sole reason he got tested. 

In 2019, the assault led to a jury awarding Senator Paul more than half of a million dollars in restitution. It was the second close call for Rand who was also on the field during the 2017 shooting at the congressional baseball charity game where Steve Scalise was shot.

A practicing eye surgeon, Senator Paul practiced in an emergency room as a physician early on in his medical career. Dr. Paul has earned a reputation of generosity for providing free eye surgeries to impoverished families in America and around the world.

Senator Paul remains the first and only case of COVID-19 in the U.S. Senate.