Thread by @ansamaha

My 3rd Covid anniversary. The day my life was ripped away from me. My “mild” case that I thought I easily recovered from, until a few weeks later when it came back with a vengeance and never left again. /1
#longcovid #fblc #MedTwitter #covid19

I had never spent a night in the hospital before and that first year I spent 3 weeks. I went to the emergency room 4 different times, begging to know what was wrong with me. One of those times, when my oxygen dropped into the 70s every time I stood up and I was admitted, /2

my husband and I said goodbye genuinely thinking it would be the last time. I went from working out 4 days a week and being a smart, energetic, go getter, to a person who couldn’t stand in the shower, couldn’t remember the name of basic things, couldn’t drive. Long stretches /3

of my memory are gone now. It’s almost like dementia because I can recall 1998 more clearly than I can recall a few years ago. It’s like someone took an eraser to my brain and haphazardly went to town. The clots in my blood have done unknown damage, though I do know my /4

placenta filled with them when I was pregnant, starving my daughter of nutrients. The thought that I could have lost her kills me. But no one knew that was a potential consequence of this “cold”. I have come a long way but I need to pace myself to do anything. /5

A 15 minute walk can take 2 hours to 2 days to recover from. My dysautonomia causes my heart rate
to skyrocket to 160-200 just from standing up for a minute. Literally, 1 minute. They say it doesn’t cause damage or decrease life expectancy but I can’t really believe that. /6

Your autonomic nervous system is kind of important. 🙄 Though it’s been very difficult, I am SO thankful for my husband for sticking through this with me and for having the faith in me to keep fighting, long passed when others have given up. And I don’t judge them for giving /7

up, especially seeing how there is no help for us. No cure, pretty crap “treatment”. Long Covid clinics closing across the world, doctors throwing in the towel, millions likely permanently disabled globally. It’s hard not to be hopeless. But the internet is what has kept me /8

going, especially those years on the couch. Knowing we are going through this together, getting tips and reading research from other AMAZING people who are struggling too. I’m tired. And I’m sad to know so many other people in my personal life struggling with this now. /9

Or those who have died of sudden heart attacks, strokes, embolisms, etc. I tried to do what I could to warn everyone, but our governments were too loud on the other side, saying it is nothing and not to worry. By the time people find out they are lying, it’s too late. /10

Just don’t forget about us and how dangerous Covid is. We need help and it feels like everyone has thrown in the towel. If you get Covid, REST like you never have before and if your symptoms don’t go away, get help ASAP. This is a life no one should have to experience. /11