If you or someone you know are among those who dismiss the threat of #COVID19 because there's a 99.75% recovery rate, listen up.
My mom is fairly sure she had COVID in March. She was never tested (because there was no testing at the time) but she had all the symptoms:
My mom is fairly sure she had COVID in March. She was never tested (because there was no testing at the time) but she had all the symptoms:
Profound exhaustion, a migraine-like headache, crushing chest pain, and a cough. She was sick for six weeks.
Since being sick, my famously unflappable mother, habitual climber of mountains and inveterate world traveler, has suffered with intense, crippling anxiety.
Since being sick, my famously unflappable mother, habitual climber of mountains and inveterate world traveler, has suffered with intense, crippling anxiety.
Then, about two weeks ago, she went to the dentist for a checkup and they took her blood pressure. It was sky high - 220/98. The dentist told her no way he was doing her cleaning and she should go straight to the emergency room. She did, and they ran some tests.
These tests revealed that not only does she now have high blood pressure, she has hyperthyroid and is borderline diabetic. If you know my mom, you know she's a paragon of good health, exercise, and good diet. She walks five miles a day and eats out of her own garden.
Her entire life, she's had low blood pressure and zero thyroid or diabetes symptoms. Until now.
We are still learning about this virus, but we now know that COVID can have long-lasting, unpredictable effects on a range of bodily systems. This is true whether you have mild symptoms and quickly recover or you get very sick.
My mom, my daughter, and me in Palmyra, Syria, in 2009. Anxiety? Not really her thing. 
