It has now been 4 years since the first time I had Covid-19. I barely remember that week, other than Ares rarely leaving my side during it.
He passed away not long after and I still mourn his loss. I knew it was coming and I am grateful for the extra time I had with him while I was sick.
But I also still mourn another loss, one that is hard to put into words, and that is the loss of myself.
We are all different people than we were before the pandemic started. We all carry a collective trauma from it.
For me and many others across the world, we will forever carry an additional scar: a life changed by Long Covid.
It has taken me a long time to accept that my brain has been damaged by COVID-19, and that it may never recover.
My ADHD? Significantly worse than it once was.
My Anxiety? Dialed up to 11.
I now know what dysautonomia is, what having to fight for accommodations and failing is like, and what it feels like to, ultimately, lose a job you love due to a chain of events started by the effects of a medical condition you cannot control.
I continue to deal with the field of medicine being woefully unprepared for managing Long Covid. Not just because it is new, extremely complex, and the research is still ongoing.
But because too many medical providers appear to be willfully undereducated about the condition, and are dismissive of the symptoms and the effect it has on their patient's lives.
Despite being woefully underfunded, there has been a ton of research on Long Covid in the past few years. Everything from the physiology of the different types, the risk factors associated with the condition, and possible treatments for some of it.
Globally, Long Covid is estimated to effect ~36% of people who had Covid-19. For many, it is temporary.
But for others, it isn't. It's lasted years and may, in fact, be permanent.
And the US medical system is failing to consistently provide proper care for all of them by allowing practitioners to be ignorant of even the basics such as recognizing the symptoms.
I am experienced in advocating for myself in a medical setting and I know how to navigate the overly complicated healthcare system to find the right help I need.
Yet even I am struggling to do so with regards to my Long Covid.
I can only imagine how difficult this is for those who don't have a lifetime of experience to draw upon.
My plea for you today is simple:
If someone you know is affected by Long Covid, listen to them.
Listen to their struggles. Listen to how the condition has affected their life. Listen when they set boundaries or limits due to their own health and wellness.
Don't dismiss their experiences by telling them "it can't be that bad" or to "just push through it". Or to "stop complaining, other people have it so much worse".
Support them by staying, hearing their words, and believing them.
Provide what support you can, even if it is something as simple as having a chill hang-out at home instead of going out.
Now, enjoy one of the last pictures I have of the Demon Kitty himself, my soul cat, Ares.
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