Thread by @SalvMattera

The reason why I continue to post about COVID and long COVID is because I've seen it cause so much devastation in the lives of my family and friends. I sometimes wonder, am I just particularly unlucky? Or are most people in denial? Examples:

My brother might have died from COVID. He died of pneumonia back in February 2020. No one was testing back then. And a few people who went to the funeral had COVID around that time.

Later that year, my aunt contracted COVID, and died of a heart attack 6 months later. She was in her 50s.

Then the vaccine rolled out, and people stopped dying, but instead, they developed all sorts of health problems after their covid infections.

One of my best friends lost his sense of smell and taste, and it still hasn't fully come back 3 years later. My step brother had his sense of taste radically altered. Even years later, he can't eat red meat because it tastes like garbage to him.

My step sister started fainting at work shortly after her second covid infection, and had to stop working. She hasn't been able to go back to work ever since. Recently, she was diagnosed with cardiac autonomic neuropathy, and will likely need a pacemaker in her 40s.

A close family member developed such extreme exhaustion he told me couldn't work for almost 9 months. Eventually, he recovered from that, but to this day, has issues with cold temperatures, to the point where he's had to give up all the winter sports he once loved.

Another close family member developed high blood pressure for a year after her COVID infection, and developed an intolerance to wine. Eventually, she was able to come off the blood pressure medication, but still can't handle wine.

My aunt (not blood related) started fainting regularly after her COVID infection. She also lost a lot of her sense of hearing, and now uses hearing aids in her 40s.

When I saw my uncle at a wedding, I noticed that he had lost quite a bit of weight. I asked him how he managed to lose the weight. "I can't taste anything anymore," he told me.

A friend of mine had to take a year off work after his second COVID infection because of such extreme, unrelenting exhaustion. To this day, he still has issues.

Another friend of mine developed heart issues for months after his first COVID infection. Eventually, those resolved. But then he was infected a few more times, and now he has such extreme exhaustion, he has a hard time doing anything. He just goes to work and comes home to rest.

And of course, myself. Although I'm probably 80-90% recovered at this point, I still have a few small issues. I can't handle heat: if it's more than about 85 degrees, my rating heart rate shoots up into the 120-150 range, and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

My sense of smell and taste has gotten better over the last 3 years, but is still muted. There are many things I just can't smell or taste anymore. During my last COVID infection, part of my leg felt like it was on fire for a few days. Ever since, that part of my leg is numb

This list is just the people I know who can trace their health issues back to COVID directly. I know many more people who have had odd health issues in recent years, like suddenly having intense seasonal allergies when they never did before.

Thyroid issues. A guy who lived a pretty healthy life having a couple strokes in his early 60s. Someone who had a heart attack and died in their late 30s with no obvious risk factors. "They had a really stressful job" people said.

It's impossible to trace these things back to COVID, but if you look at the research, getting infected with COVID increases your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke, or of developing thyroid issues. Would these things have happened if these people didn't catch COVID? Maybe.

And of course, all of these examples are from people I knew before 2020. Since then, I've made many friends who have been impacted in all sorts of ways.