IT'S been a while, hasn't it? I do not remember the last time I wrote for this column. There is something about this pandemic that demands your full attention. Covid-19 imposes a lot on all of us, and as a healthcare worker and frontliner, it has been taking a toll on me too. Like me, you probably started trying to live day by day, adjusting and readjusting to the changes that the virus has brought us. Like me, you may have had the unfortunate experience of losing someone you knew from this dreadful disease. It has been a year since I lost two of my dearest friends and the pain is pretty much the same. When the vaccines came, I was filled both with glee and grief. Glee knowing that we will all be better equipped to fight off the complications that Covid brings. Grief for all the friends and acquaintances I have lost pre-vaccine because I know it would have given them a fighting chance to survive. I am sure that it saved me, having gotten the virus just as July was about to end. I spent 21 days in the hospital and pretty much went through all the signs and symptoms (including Covid pneumonia), but thankfully, I did not require any oxygen support. I attribute this to having completed my Covid vaccines because I have serious comorbidities that could spell death if I had not gotten them.
I spent another seven days in strict home isolation plus a few more weeks recuperating from the residuals of my Covid infection. I have what they call long covid, signs and symptoms that linger after you have gotten rid of the virus. I suffered from intermittently losing my sense of taste and smell for two months. I have bouts of fatigue and transient episodes of shortness of breath. I still get dizzy spells, one that used to keep me in bed until it disappeared, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting too. My headaches are epic! They feel like a hoodie of pain that starts from my shoulders and creeps up to my forehead. I have learned to differentiate them from my usual aches and pains because they hardly go away with medication. They improve over time so I am thankful!
The biggest surprise to me is the realization that mental issues post-covid really exist. After my discharge, I had become melancholic. The experience was a bit disarming because I expected to be exuberant, having gotten through the ordeal well. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased as Punch for surviving Covid but somehow, I have become quite emotional in the days post-infection. I also felt a sense of dread when I went back to work, a bit anxious and it was hard to concentrate too. It was difficult finding my way through the brain fog! I would find myself trying to analyze if I was just overreacting or if I was just making it all up, still, I am grateful to be back on my feet although I have to admit, it’s like walking through mud and murky water sometimes. It helped me a lot to be able to share it with my friends, especially those who have also gone through being infected as I have. I felt consoled and relieved that I wasn’t alone. So, if you have friends and family who have gone through Covid, take the time out to ask how they are. Spend time with them, it may just be what they need.