Thread by @FredFredderson1

*a thread*

I was rushed to emergency at 3am because my Eustachian tubes were completely blocked, along with my nasal cavity. I lost my sense of taste and smell. I was dizzy, faint, and had tremendous pressure in my head. Because I couldn't breathe, I was lunged into a series /1

of panic attacks that wouldn't end. I thought I was going to die. At the hospital they tested my lungs/ O2 levels and it appeared I was getting enough, but the fluid in my tubes along with the congestion continued to cause extreme pressure, dizziness and fatigue. /2

The panic attacks hammered me, and left me sleepless for many days/nights. The dread I experienced was inconceivable. I never felt so sick in my whole life, and this is coming from someone who suffers an auto immune condition. /3

For the next week I was in and out of the hospital because of my panic attacks, and because it felt like this illness would never leave. The doctor looked at me and all they could say was sorry. The agony was apparent. They told me I just had to hang on and fight. /4

In my anxiety, I really did think that I was going to die, and that my Eustachian tubes would never clear. It was like living in a fishbowl of hell, and then the tinnitus came. The anxiety, fear, dread, dizziness and ringing in my ears continued for months. /5

I couldn't believe the sustained impact this illness had on me. Was I ever going to get better? Well, unfortunately it got worse. My lungs appeared to have sustained injury from the main event, bringing about asthma that I've never had before. /6

Fast forward a year. Yes, it took that long for the full impact to go away. A year you say? That's right, I'm not talking about having COVID. About two years ago I had the flu, and it was the worst effing flu I ever had in my entire life /7

and YES it left me with many undesirable long-term side effects. This is not a unique phenomenon as some would like you to believe. /8

So here I am today, just fine. Better than fine actually. I'm fantastic. Do I want to go through that again? Hell no. But, am I afraid of Covid? Hell no. Why? Because it's natural to get sick. They want you to believe Covid is something special. It's "novel." /9

They want you to shut down your life and all of society for something normal, something inevitable. /10

I'm here to say, it's a flu. No one shut down the world for me when I got deathly ill. No one treated me like a leaper and quarantined me. I wasn't counted as a 'case,' and no one was wearing PPE when treating me. /11

Getting sick is strange. It is tough for some, and it's a cakewalk for others. But it really is just the flu. Don't give into the fear. Your body didn't just forget how to handle a virus after the media told you a scary new bogeyman arrived. You'll be fine. /12