Becoming a Long Hauler
Many of the millions of Covid survivors, which is now believed to be much greater than is being reported due to people having covid and being asymptomatic, turn into long haulers. I had covid in late November into December. I keep reading people say, “I don’t know anyone who has had covid.” I am here to introduce myself; nice to meet you, now you know someone with covid. I am here to stop people from saying it is a whole lot of nothing. It is a slap in the face to people who have these lingering health issues.
First, those who claim it’s just the flu are in for a special treat because it is not. I was pretty confident I was run over by a truck. Every bone, inch of skin in my body hurt; I mean, it was intense. It even felt like my eyelashes had nerves and were angry with every blink. I had a fever, chills, sweats. I lost my sense of smell and taste, which included some sweet, dry heaves. As the world’s most aggressive vomiter, dry heaving because your stomach is empty is good times. It felt like I couldn’t breathe, which ended with a solid case of pneumonia and a hospital visit. I didn’t eat, and when I finally mustered up some hunger, my intestines decided to flush it right out of my system.
Adding misery to the company…
When I was finally able to get out of bed and move to the sofa, the cough came. A hard, deep, barking cough. I have asthma and could feel the cough in the depths of my soul. I still have a lot of pain when I cough despite a clear x-ray saying all is well. I have my inhalers and all the other tricks to help the cough subside, but nothing is better than waking up at 2 am thinking a lung is going to pop out.
In addition to the coughing, I now have intense fatigue. All I want to do is sleep, but the fatigue doesn't go away no matter how much I sleep. I want to sleep some more. I wake up tired, shower with my eyes closed while I drift into a shower nap, take all my vitamins thinking about how soon is too soon for a nap, and then challenge myself to make it through the day awake.
The virus is not a joke.
Wearing a mask, washing your hands, and being cautious isn’t that hard. If you think it is, your a loser. Sorry, maybe that is harsh, but if you can follow all the other rules in our society, you can follow this simple ask. Finally, as your new friend who had covid, I am asking you not to turn your Mom, Dad, Grandma or Pops into a long hauler or worse, someone who will not survive. I am asking you to wear a mask, which isn’t a forever thing, but a temporary ask while we wait for herd immunity.
For those who still don’t understand this is a serious health crisis. Maybe you should call up someone who has lost a loved one to this virus and see if they believe it is fake news. I am going to guess that they don’t and set you straight. But anyhow, I am off for my morning nap. Best of luck, and remember me when you put on your keyboard warrior cap to argue that covid isn’t that bad.
