Back in October 2023 I flew to Arizona to visit my long-time friend. We had a wonderful time, visiting a zoo, aquarium, bookstores and driving all over the Phoenix area. We were never caught in a crowd, even at restaurants.
On the flight down I wore my mask the entire time. I intended to do the same on my flight back home, but my asthma was acting up, and I had no choice but to take it off.
Three days later I tested positive for Covid. My doctor put me on meds that left a nasty taste in my mouth, but did help me get better faster.
Unfortunately, the symptoms never went away. Brain Fog took away my ability to write and made it challenging for me to process the written word. I got agitated in crowds, so much so that I couldn't think, make rational choices, and often found myself leaving lunch dates early.
I spent hours on the couch, lacking the strength to hold a book. Every morning, I went to the gym, but seemed to get weaker and weaker as the days went by. Before long Covid blindsided me, I could lift ten pounds with one arm, twenty-five with two.
Things got so bad that lifting a light-weight ball wore me out.
My doctor referred me to a Physical Therapist who knew less about long Covid than I did. I told him about PEMS, Physical Exercise Malaise Syndrome, a condition that leaves a person weaker after exercise than they were before. I only saw him twice because he had nothing to offer.
I was given an exploratory medication to take every night. It made a difference after a few days, then as weeks went by, I seemed to improve more and more.
I was able to write again, but only in short segments. At first I'd work until my head felt like it was going to explode, give up, and go rest on the couch.
Now I write for a bit, go do something else, write some more, do something else, and so on. I've been able to finish a short story!
I used the same strategy with reading. I read for a bit, change activities, read some more. I can now read for about fifteen minutes at a time.
I discovered that I could often get an audible copy of books I was reading. I'd listen to then in the car, at the gym, and at home when the TV wasn't on. Switching between text and voice helped me get back my understanding of words.
Some days I am able to do quite a bit at the gym. I begin working with weights. Pre-long Covid, I'd do three sets of ten. The PT said to reduce how many repetitions in a set (his one good piece of advice). So I'd lift five times, rest, five more, for two sets.
Now most days I can complete two sets of eight. And I've gone from playing with balloons to five-pound weights.
What I've learned is that I have to read my body. Some days I am still couch-bound. My joints hurt, my arms and legs too heavy to lift. On those days, all I can do is curl up and play games on my iPad.
When walking with my friend or my husband, some days I can only make it to the bridge. Other days I can cover the entire loop.
The same with swimming. I used to swim 32 laps, or half a mile. Once long Covid hit, I could only do four laps, not worth the bother. As time passed, I worked up to twelve laps: on good days. Last week I was exhausted after six.
It feels as if I'm improving slowly, a little bit day by day. It's two steps forward, one step back. Or maybe one step forward, one step back.
My advice to anyone suffering with long Covid is to not give up. Don't sink into the couch and stop living. Visit understanding friends who will work with you, going places when you have the energy, hanging out together when you don't.
Don't quit trying. Instead do something you enjoy for a few minutes, come back to it after a bit of a rest.
Ask for support. Call on family and friends to help with chores. That way the build-up of dust won't bring you down. Maybe they can cook something for you, or drop food off, so you're not stuck eating whatever junk food happens to be lying around.
Get out of your house every day. If the weather is bad, walk inside a shopping center. When it's good, walk your neighborhood, if it's flat, or try out others for a change. Begin going around the block, then slowly going a tad further.
Don't give up when you have a bad day.
Shrug it off, then the next morning get up with renewed determination.
You can exist with long Covid. It's not easy, but it's possible.
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