#also need a pneumonia one bc i have asthma

[roarsaidthedinosaur]

tagged by the wonderful @sarah-crewe!!

1. are you named after anyone? nope. my parents just liked the name :-)

2. when was the last time you cried? as prone as i am to being blue i don’t really cry all that often. mostly at touching books, movies, or tv. so i think the last time was last month when my sister had to put her puppy to sleep because he had a really rare, aggressive cancer. she just loved on him so much and made his exceptionally short time on earth full of comfort and happiness.

3. do you have kids? thankfully no i would be a terrible parent lol i am not even a good pet parent. i have no maternal instinct and i am way too protective of my alone time. i will someday be a very good auntie bc i think kids are so smart and great and fun to be around, but i like that i can give them back to their parents when i need a break and and i like that i’m not the one responsible for making sure they don’t turn out to be jerks

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? when i’m feeling spicy yah

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people? i tend to lipread since subtitles aren’t an option IRL, so the first thing is usually someone’s smile! like. noticing what people think is funny or how they look when they’re laughing. what shape their smile is, is it  : ] or  : ) or  : D or : > or : } or : | or  : B or : [] or : Ì (that one is a dimple)

6. what’s your eye color? brownish greenish ish ish

7. scary movies or happy endings? scary movies with happy/hopeful endings!

8. any special talents? i can make a water droplet noise with my mouth a la cameron from ferris bueller’s day off https://youtu.be/-HCW8PrmrCo?t=54

9. where were you born? dirty jersey baybeeeeee born n raised

10. what are your hobbies? sewing (mostly making my own patterns for little crappy toys for my friends), owning books, taking personality tests and quizzes and analyzing myself based on my results, making little paper crafts, doodlin, playing pathfinder, and lately cooking

11. have you any pets? i am stepmother to my gf’s two cats Honey & Cooper, or as I call them Big Lady & The Boy

12. what sport do you play/have played? i have tried every sport under the sun as a child, but was nerfed by the universe with pretty bad asthma so nothing ever stuck. i was a great kicker in soccer, but couldn’t keep up with the running. i loved horseback riding but got pneumonia and developed an allergy to them. i loved softball, but again with the running. tennis, martial arts, ballet... you name it, i tried it. except for hockey, that was never popular enough where i grew up to have a girls league team but i always loved watching

13. how tall are you? 5'3/4″ but my license says 5′1″ and i’m stickin’ to it pal

14. favorite subject in school? you all thought i was gonna say physics or math but it was actually english!! i loved all of the assigned reading in hs, and the not assigned reading that my teacher recommended to me outside of class, and spent most of my time with my nose in a book from age 4 (when i learned to read) until 22 when i got a grown up job. i’ve been reading stephen king since i was like, 12 lol.  in college i had a really engaging professor who fostered my love of writing. also tied for a very close second are physics and math lol gottem

15. dream job? this is a hard question because i was very fortunate and got my “dream job” out of college but realized quickly that i was not built for the environment that type of work requires or the people it attracts. my job now is technically the same function but at a very different company that is a much better fit for my personality and my values. so i have two new dream jobs (which honestly were always kind of there as pipe dreams). i would love to teach high school physics or be a writer. i am surrounded by a lot of creative people who encourage me to write which is lovely but i know i am not cut out for the instability of the entertainment industry lol nor do i think i’m talented or hardworking enough to make it there. one day i would like to make an indie horror film tho. also i second @sarah-crewe​‘s desire for a four day work week

#tw pet death #tag meme #the questions were asked and i answered

[ktae]

this friday i have another needle appointment and yash is gonna drive me bc my doctor wants me to take xanax for it. even though last time i didnt have a panic attack. but anyway this week im going to do the thing i've been doing where i just insert a needle into my own abdomen and then pull it out. but i also requested that we have a booster shot of something i'm due for (having a needle phobia, i'm overdue for several vaccinations and boosters!) and depending on how i'm feeling we might go ahead and do that!! i hope i feel okay enough with the self-stabbing part to get an actual real shot!! it would be a huge step and it would help boost my confidence for my covid shots and it would also help me get up-to-date on all my shots!!!

#i think the one we have on deck for friday is a tdap booster #also need a pneumonia one bc i have asthma #i also never got the hpv one bc....idk why exactly. my mom didnt want me to get it #either she was starting to become antivax or she thought it would lead to be having sex too early. both terrible reasons 🙄 #either way i would like to be up-to-date on my vaccines and also not get a preventable virus that could give me fucking cancer 😬 #needle phobia journey

[crystals-and-cosmos-blog]

Intro to the 7 Chakras

    The Chakra system originated in India between 1500 and 500 BC in the oldest text called the Vedas, according to this ancient Hindu scripture the human body has 7 energy points that start at the base of your spine and expand to the top of your head. You have more than your physical body, the chakra system can be thought of as your “energy body.” When one of these chakra points are out of balance, it can cause disease within the body, and the symptoms can be mental, physical, emotional or spiritual. These 7 chakras that originated from eastern medicine happen to align with modern medicine and are known as our Endocrine System. Yes, our chakras have much to do with the human body’s glands. A variety of health problems may be caused by Chakra Imbalances affecting the associated Endocrine Gland and resulting in illness. Whether a chakra is overactive or underactive it can cause problems within the body. When you balance your chakras you will have control of your mental and spiritual health as well as your physical health. 

    So what are each of the 7 chakras? They each serve a specific purpose and are interconnected. If one is imbalanced, you will not achieve true alignment and optimal wellness. The lower level chakras are more “physical” chakras that deal with you as an individual - the upper chakras are “spiritual” chakras that focus on higher dimensional frequencies. Let’s begin with the Root chakra located at the base of your spine. 

1. Root Chakra or Mūlādhāra (Sanskrit)

Translation: English: "root and basis of Existence."Mula means root and adhara means basis.) 

Largely responsible for how safe/secure you feel - based on your physical environment. 

When out of harmony we don’t trust our environment and feel in danger

Feelings of basic/primal needs not being met: Food, water, shelter, clothing, love, etc.  

Color: Red     Element: Earth     Affirmation: “I am.”

Location in the body: Base of spine / in between genitals & anus 

Glands: Adrenals 

Affected Physical Body Parts: Spine, legs, bones, feet, rectum, immune system, large intestine, teeth 

Lesson: To feel safe in your environment, to be able to ground yourself, manifest basic needs, and practice healthy physical sexuality. 

Physical dysfunction: Chronic lower back pain, poor posture, sciatica, problems with veins/blood flow, rectal tumors and or cancers, hemorrhoids, constipation, arthritis, immune-related disorders, depression, weight fluctuation. 

Mental/ Emotional dysfunction: the ability to provide life’s necessities, provide for your family, group safety security, feeling like you belong in a group, the ability to stand up for one’s self. 

Keywords for imbalance: Fear, guilt, shame, depression, abuse, neglect, unsafe, dangerous

-Natural healing-

Crystals: (Most Red stones) Ruby, Garnet, bloodstones, hematite, obsidian, onyx, black tourmaline, red jasper, smoky quartz, fire agate. 

Essential Oils: Myrrh, sandalwood, patchouli 

2. Sacral Chakra or Svadhishthana 

(Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, IAST: Svādhiṣṭhāna, English: "where your being is established.""Swa" means self and "adhishthana" means established.) 

Deals mostly with sexual/reproductive organs and activities, but also emotions and creativity. 

Can become unbalanced due to unexpressed anger - stifled creativity - feelings of shame/guilt - and dealing with feelings of lack or scarcity of money or material goods. 

When in balance you will cultivate healthy relationships, be in touch with your inner emotions, express sensuality in a positive/healthy way, and easily cultivate abundance. 

Location: 2 inches below the navel

Element: Water    Color: Orange     Affirmation: “I feel.”

Glands: Ovaries, testicles 

Physical body parts affected: womb, genitals, lower vertebrae, pelvis, appendix, bladder, hip, kidneys

Life lesson: Use your emotions to connect to others without losing your own identity. Freely express creativity and healthy emotional sexuality. 

Physical dysfunction: Chronic lower back pain, sciatica, gynecological problems, pelvic pain, impotence, frigidity, uterine/bladder/kidney problems

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: guilt/ blame, shame, negative money mindset, negative outlook on sexual relationships, hypersexuality, low sex drive, problems with power/control/dominance, creativity/ problems with expressing one's ideas, honor in relationships

Possible causes of energy blockage: sexual abuse/trauma, r*pe, harassment, gender issues, body dysmorphia/dysphoria, p*rn addiction, shame or repressment of sexuality, stifled creativity. 

Crystals: Carnelian, amber, moonstone, coral, orange tourmaline, Sunstone

Essential Oils: ylang-ylang, lemon, patchouli, rosewood, sandalwood 

3. Solar Plexus Chakra or Manipura

Manipura translates from Sanskrit as "resplendent gem" or "lustrous gem"

The 3rd Chakra or “Power Chakra” 

Location: Above Navel / Solar Plexus (beneath ribcage) 

 Element: Fire          Color: Yellow           Affirmation: “I can.”

Glands: Pancreas, Adrenals

Physical body parts affected: Abdomen, Stomach, Intestines, liver, gallbladder, spleen, middle spine 

Life lesson: To experience the depth of who we are as individuals

To live your life’s purpose 

To feel empowered and have good self-esteem

Physical dysfunction: Arthritis, Digestive issues, gastric ulcers, eating disorders, diabetes, indigestion, fatigue, hepatitis, nerve pain, weight issues, metabolism issues, cancers/tumors in the digestive system, etc. 

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: trust issues, fear, easily intimidated, low self-respect or self-confidence, sensitivity to criticism, phobias, self-esteem issues, self-harm, depression, inactivity/ stagnant energy, etc. 

Possible causes of energy blockage: Repressed anger, dominance/submission issues, problems with working on a team, controlling personality, instability with money, lack of passion for career/ purpose, childhood trauma, many failures, codependency, addiction, etc.

Crystals: Citrine, amber, yellow topaz, tiger’s eye, yellow agate

Essential Oils: Lemon, lemongrass, lime, lavender, rosewood, rosemary, 

4. Heart Chakra or Anahata

Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, IAST: Anāhata, English: "unstruck") In Sanskrit, anahata means "unhurt, unstruck, and unbeaten".

Location: Center of Chest 

Element: Air            Color: Green          Affirmation: “I love.”

Glands: Thymus 

Physical body parts affected: Heart, chest, lungs, circulatory system, shoulders, breast, ribs, lymph nodes, diaphragm, veins, etc. 

Life lesson: To experience empathy, compassion, and unconditional love for one’s self and all other beings. 

Physical dysfunction: heart disease, heart attack, asthma, allergies, lung cancer, lung disease, pneumonia, breast cancer, high blood pressure

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: Inability to love, hatred for others, resentment, grief, self-centeredness, loneliness, trust issues, inability to forgive 

Possible causes of energy blockage: repressed heartache/grief, trauma, negligence, a victim of abuse, unhappy relationship, poor relationship with immediate family, lack of support of friend group, isolation

Crystals: Rose quartz, emerald, peridot, other green stones.  Essential Oils: Rose, bergamot, ylang-ylang, Melissa, palmarosa 

5. Throat Chakra or Vishuddha

(Sanskrit: विशुद्ध,: Viśuddha, English: "especially pure")

Location: Throat     

Element: Sound        Color: Light Blue            Affirmation: “I speak.”

Glands: Thyroid 

Physical body parts affected: Thyroid, parathyroid, throat, neck, mouth, gums. esophagus, teeth, hypothalamus, neck vertebrae, arms, and hands  

Life lesson: To speak and receive the truth. To express yourself freely. 

Physical dysfunction: Raspy or sore throat, mouth ulcers, gum difficulties/disease, stiff neck, scoliosis, swollen glands, thyroid problems

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: Strength/will, personal expression, following one’s dreams, using personal power to create, ability to make decisions, addiction, judgment, faith. 

Possible causes of energy blockage: suppressing creative talents, difficulty expressing one's self, not feeling safe to freely express, swallowing words 

Crystals: turquoise, aquamarine, celestite, lapis lazuli, blue kyanite

Essential Oils: Lavender, rosemary, frankincense 

6. Third Eye Chakra or Ajna 

Ajna translates as "authority" or "command" (or "perceive") and is considered the eye of intuition and intellect. 

Location: Forehead, between brows 

Element: Light     Color: Indigo        Affirmation: “I see.” 

Glands: Pineal

Physical body parts affected: Brain, nervous system, eyes, ears, nose

Life lesson: To use insight and intuition

To see past the physical world and access higher dimensions 

Physical dysfunction: Brain tumor/hemorrhage, stroke, neurological disturbances, blindness, deafness, full spinal difficulties, learning disabilities, seizures, headaches, blurred vision, memory loss, 

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: self-evaluation, truth, intellectual abilities, feelings of adequacy, openness to ideas of others, emotional intelligence 

Possible causes of energy blockage: A lack of trust in one’s intuition or ability, 

Crystals: Lapis Lazuli, amethyst, fluorite, clear quartz

Essential Oils: Lavender, frankincense, sandalwood

7. Crown Chakra or Sahasrara 

(Sanskrit: सहस्रार, IAST: Sahasrāra, English: "thousand-petaled") 

Location: Top of Head 

Element: Thought    Color: Purple, white, gold      Affirmation: “I know.”

Glands: Pituitary 

Physical body parts affected: Muscular system, skeletal system, skin, central nervous system 

Life lesson: To experience the divine meaning of life. 

Physical dysfunction:  Energy disorders, depression, chronic fatigue, apathy, 

Emotional/ mental dysfunction: Ability to trust, values, ethics, courage, selflessness, ability to see the big picture, faith, inspiration, spirituality, devotion. 

Possible causes of energy blockage: lack of trust in the divine or the universe, lack of faith, distrust, believing in the worst possible outcome, manifesting negativity 

Crystals: Amethyst, clear quartz, moonstone, selenite, white topaz

Essential Oils: Frankincense, peppermint, sandalwood, lotus 

#chakras #spirituality #holistic #health #mentalhealth

[sparrow-ink]

covid diaries aka memoirs of the plague

trying to keep my thoughts organized and coherent has been a bitch recently, so i’m going to try to put them down more or less in order here and see where we end up. this is going to be heavy on personal covid content and might get long, so please skip if either distresses you.

so last tues, the uh... 24th i guess, i started feeling ill. mostly like allergies plus a bad headache. i had a feeling i was getting sick but didn’t want to alarm my spouse or housemate/best friend, so stuck with ‘could very well be allergies and dehydration.’ also it very well could have been, and it was very reassuring for us all to tell each other that. my company had already moved the majority of employees to work-from-home, including me, so i already wasn’t going to come into contact with anyone outside my home.

symptoms got worse over the next few days, congestion, headache, feeling feverish, cough started up. we didn’t own a thermometer, and my spouse and housemate tried every wal-mart, wal-greens, target, etc to find one. housemate said at one place they laughed at her when she asked if they had any. i tried ordering one on amazon with no luck. either they were $90+, out of stock, or not shipping until may. i settled on ordering on for shipment in may. the seller messaged me the next day and said they couldn’t fulfill the order and asked to cancel it.

from our last costco trip we had already (unintentionally) gotten stocked up on toilet paper, snacks, and some dry goods. at some point before I got sick, spouse and I bought a bag of rice and bag of potatoes, because I intermittently try to do mealprepping and seemed being stuck at home would be a good time to try again, what with national and state-wide states of emergency being declared. also seemed good to have them in supply. and we were still stocked up on cold and flu medecine from when i got bronchitis mid-dec to mid-jan. so we were/are pretty well-stocked on essentials? that was reassuring, as i was obviously, noticeably sick by last friday.

i was hoping i would get better over the weekend but i did not. still couldn’t find a thermometer anywhere. governor had issued the state-wide stay-at-home order on uh...thurs? weds? but already being sick, and already working from home, and not going out, it didn’t really affect me much?

i feel like i should mention at this point that since the state of emergency was declared and we started to transition to working from home, i’d been trying to ration my social media (tumblr/twitter/insta) time for my sanity. but also not having information makes me feel helpless, so i had the CDC covid page up and checked every day. and then the colorado state covid page too. seeing the numbers of confirmed cases double, and triple, from week to week was... hm.

also one of my younger siblings moved from colorado to arizona at the start of march, and presumably lost their phone because i haven’t heard from them since despite poking. that hasn’t been concerning during a global pandemic. not at all. they’re probably not dead. i mean, you’d think a bitch could call their older sibling to let them know they’re not dead, but whatever. i’m sure they’re fine. probably. anyway.

where was i. so by the weekend i was Not Feeling Well At All Actually. my cough had become “scary.” my housemate did all the dishes in the kitchen despite not being responsible for most of them. i felt, and sounded, disgusting.

i checked the covid testing requirements again, and basically found that in colorado you had to be dying to be tested for covid. cool.

monday rolled around, still not better. i ended up having work computer issues (their end, not mine) where i basically ended up laying on the couch in my office while IT did IT things. a blessing. i slogged through the rest of the day. just felt like i wasn’t tracking well, couldn’t focus on shit. that evening while watching shows with husbeast & housemate, i had a truly uncontrollable coughing spasm/fit that seemed to just go on. could barely talk without coughing. i coughed all night. i basically didn’t sleep.

tuesday morning i woke up, and started coughing again. i could hear a crackle echo up my throat when i breathed if i was in the right position. i sat up to try and get my breath. i think it was like 6 am. spouse creature (already awake from my coughing) gently rubbed my back. i started crying. i just wanted to sleep, and i couldn’t sleep, and i couldn’t stop coughing, and i felt like i could barely breathe, and things just hurt, and i couldn’t think straight. i felt so... defeated. i think it freaked out the spouse creature. i usually only cry during children’s movies.

i took the day off of work. i hadn’t taken a day yet because i was already working from home, and it was the end of the month which is the busiest for my team, and my boss had said last week that if i felt i could work, they needed me. by tuesday morning i was out of energy and also fucks. i got in the queue for a teladoc appointment. per the CDC and colorado covid websites, telehealth visits are to be the first option in order to help prevent the spread, etc. also i would have done teladoc anyway bc i don’t have a PCP.

it took a few hours to get connected with a doctor. i think i started coughing while he did his intro thing. he basically said, well i think i know what you’re calling about, but why don’t you tell me. i told him. and coughed some more. he said my symptoms are consistent with covid, and in a perfect world they’d be able to get me in for rapid testing, but they couldn’t. that basically people are only getting tested at this point who are getting admitted to the hospital. some people were able to access testing through their PCPs but even that was drying up. he advised me to self-isolate (already on it lol) and for my household to self-quarantine for at least two weeks from when i started showing symptoms. and i could un-self-isolate once the majority of my symptoms calmed down AND when i didn’t have a fever for three days straight with no meds. he prescribed me an inhaler and a cough suppressant pill, though he said the cough suppressant might not do much since it didn’t seem to be working for anyone else with similar.

husbeast had run out to get some more supplies by the time i got on the vidcall with the doc, mostly liquids and electrolytes. he went back out once i gave him the rundown, to fill my prescription and get me the good costco chicken soup once they were open. he also, miracle of miracles, managed to find and buy a temporal thermometer at costco for like $45 i think. a true champion. my temp seemed to be fine in the afternoon, a touch above normal but fine. i’m not actually sure what my personal base temperature is. i should also say that i’d been consistently taking dayquil and sudafed since the previous weds.

that evening my temp started to go up. and up. or at least i think it was tuesday night. maybe it was weds? freaked out spouse, i got up to 102 F even with sudafed and additional acetaminophen. i basically had a fever from tues through this morning (friday), while taking pills like clockwork. always seemed to get worse in the afternoon/evening and be better in the morning. today at least it’s stayed below 100F, even mostly below 99F.

the cough and difficulty breathing has been the worst part. i have delicate baby lungs to begin with, and i have allergies and a history of childhood asthma. so i’m already paranoid about my breathing even with a normal cold. but to hear that i would have to immediately proceed to emergency services should my symptoms progress to: can only get a few words out, can’t stand up or walk across the room, can’t maintain conciousness, to hear that was... something. because then it’s basically like, okay, if I get pneumonia and my lungs are filling up, then i can go see a doctor in person. cool. and i know it says on the websites that there’s no approved treatment for coronavirus, that treatment for less severe cases will be the same at home as it would be in person, but shit. i woke up so many times last night feeling like i was fighting for air, waking up because i was coughing so hard i had to sit up all the way to breathe, and i kept thinking, what if i just stop breathing in my sleep? not like i would notice, right?

it’s been scary. i’ve been trying not to freak out my people with more crying and whatnot, but i’ve already got anxiety and this shit aint helping. i’m trying to stay relatively calm and not make them deal with me losing my shit on top of already taking care of me and bringing me soup and water and pills and asking what they can do for me. i’m tired of being sick. i want a new pair of lungs. i want to not feel like i’ve been hit by a truck. my ribs hurt from coughing so much. my chest hurts. my whole body aches. the headache keeps coming and going. i can’t stop fucking coughing. i don’t want to die, i just want to maybe go into a coma and wake up when this is all over. once the line of dump trucks has stopped running me over.

and i’m just so mad at the lack of preparedness in the US. i’m so pissed that i can’t even get tested, i can’t know for sure what the fuck is happening to me. i’m so mad that the cheeto is president during this. i hate this fucking timeline. i hate that we don’t even have clear numbers on cases because of mismanagement. i hate that i keep feeling like i’m about to throw up because i’m coughing so fucking hard. real fucking reassuring to know that the symptoms i’ve been told to watch for, to know that i need to go to the hospital, are the same ones that constitute an emergency and would mean that i would basically have to be rushed there. wearing a facemask if we can find one.

ugh. the other worst part is that i haven’t even been really coherent enough to write. and i’ve only been able to settle on a few things to read and watch. being sick makes me picky and like, impossible to please. so i’m spoiled for choice with 4+ streaming services, but nothing sounds good. and my people are working from home, but they’re still working. they can’t spend all their time with me. i’m bored, and everything is garbage, and there are only so many times i can rewatch the princess bride. i have been napping quite a lot, but even that doesn’t take all day.

maybe i’ll write some crackfic. then it doesn’t have to be coherent. and it would be in the spirit of covid to write some real absurd shit i think.

anyway. i might delete this later. i feel better for getting events put down and venting.  also i apologize, i have no idea how to do a readmore cut on tumblr anymore.

#long post #covid diaries #plague memoir #meatspace recollection #meatspace adventures

[tinakimyee]

The gracious & might hand of God

Originally written on May 20, 2020

Just six days ago late night on May 14,  I received the shocking news from Joy that my mom was in the ICU in New York because of an asthma attack that came upon her late night that led to pneumonia in her lungs, seizures with possible brain damage, a heart attack and being sedated for three days while on a ventilator. She went through this alone as my dad wasn’t home when it happened, as well as it being the COVID19 period and only patients are allowed in the hospital, with no visitors at all.

We all let out a big sigh of relief on Monday morning as we heard the good news that she was awake and off the ventilator. I was most anxious to hear an update on her possible brain damage from the seizures. There was further good news that she doesn’t seem to have been that affected by it as she recalled all the details of what happened, and was able to show emotions – very real emotions. She was extremely angry and upset at my dad for not being there when it happened, and how she felt so alone and neglected. There’s history and baggage there about how she often feels unheard and not regarded at certain time by my dad. She was fearful that she could die at any moment, as this asthma attack could happen again and again. There was a sob fest going on when my dad, mom and sister all video chatted for the first time.

As the days continued, my mom’s emotions lifted gradually. I get my anxious thoughts and worries from her, and so I can imagine how fearful and stuck she feels knowing that she will be discharged soon from the hospital, but the very reason and trigger for how her asthma attack started in the first place is still unaddressed. She insisted and demanded that my dad get her a hospital bed and an oxygen tank available at home for her. I’d want that too. Thankfully, my dad, did go out and bought her a reclining mattress that will be ready for her when she comes home. We will try to get an oxygen tank for her too. We are praying for a good asthma & allergy specialist that we can get her connected with as that seems to be the continual struggle.

In all this, I can’t say I was at absolute peace, as I felt like a yoyo as well, up and down in my emotions and thoughts. However, I can admit that I felt an underlying sense of peace and purpose in all this. I saw the opportunities to share about God, and by his grace and I took it! I can see how much easier it is when people are vulnerable and in humbling situations to hear more about God. One of those nights when I was waiting to make the midnight call again to the doctor, I picked up Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper, and was reading through it. Then I decided to send the audio version in Korean to my dad. I went back and forth trying to rationalize it away, thinking that he won’t read it anyway, or he might read it and then get offended and angry, etc. But I went for it anyway, bc if there was any moment in my dad’s life when he was showing humility and remorse, it was now. So I took it. It’s been a few days and there hasn’t been any response from him about it. But I’m happy to have obeyed in this one tiny way to be bold and share about the hope and life I have in Jesus Christ.

When I talked with my mom for the first time on the video call, we both cried a lot. As I was crying, very naturally, the words flowed from my lips about how God loves her, has been with her, and has a plan for her, and that’s why she’s still alive. I told her that for as long as she lives, I am more resolute on sharing to her about who God is. She was listening and responsive, and I said when you get out the hospital, why don’t you learn more about God again. Her response to my surprise was that that she’s gonna go to church when this is all over. I wasn’t expecting that all. I am hopeful. Not in her, but in God and what he’s doing. I have no idea yet whether she will follow through or not, but I’m hopeful that God is definitely working in her through this whole ordeal. I was convicted to help and do as much as I can while I’m here. I recalled the time, more than 10 years ago now, when my parents were going through really hard times and I encouraged my mom through a hand written card with passages from the Bible. She kept that card under the mattress and read it from time to time, and she said it gave her peace. I’m hopeful that God will work in her heart. So, I’ve been sending her some verses, the first being Psalm 23, as it was the most relevant and understandable one for her at this time. She said she read it a few times. PTL.

What I’ve been praying for my dad the most is true repentance – that he’ll be led to realize that he is a sinner and he wouldn’t rationalize it away. I have another flashback from the past when we got into a fight bc I was trying to share the gospel with him, and I was at the point of the talk where I was telling him he was a sinner. He disagreed angrily and insisted that he is not a sinner, and that he’s a good person, and started sharing some of the good things he does. My prayer is that he in fact sees this time that he is a sinner. It’s not just a mistake or a bad habit that he has, but he’ll see it for what it is: sin. And it hurts my mom, it hurts people, it hurts God. If he doesn’t see that, then he’ll “change” his ways for a little while as long as this ordeal is in his memory, but gradually as time passes, he will go back to his old ways. That kind of short lived behavioral modification isn’t the change that I would want for him. Honestly speaking, I had to fight real anger as I also felt that he was neglectful, prideful, and careless. But I fought that with the gospel, telling myself that nobody deserves to know Jesus, and that we are all like that in one way or another. And then I felt compassion and relief soon after. I didn’t want to crush him with my harsh words (which I have done in the past), but I also wanted to let him know how grave this situation is. So, I shot him a message being honest about how he needs to change, but also encouraging him in that I know he loves my mom and is trying. Lastly, I made sure to let him know that true change is only available as God changes our hearts, and that I am praying for him. Then I sent him the 1 Corinthians 13 passage, I hope he read it, and his heart was opened to the Words of Life.

My mom made it alive this time. But the truth is, she will die. Whether it’s in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years, she will die. We all will. Therefore, keeping her alive physically isn’t my top priority – rather it is to lead her to take hold of eternal life. I felt a renewed conviction in my heart arise as my mom was recovering that for as long as my parents are alive on this earth, that I would speak generously and openly about the gospel. That would be my greatest joy and victory to see my parents and sister take hold of that eternal hope & life that is available in Jesus Christ. It’s a miracle that in just one weeks time, my mom went through an asthma attack, seizure, heart attack, and being sedated & ventilated for 3 days, to being discharged. I am so beyond grateful for that. God is good and kind. Now, I am more hopeful for the TRUE miracle that will come one day as my mom and dad take hold of eternal life with Jesus.

When I was little,and just learning about Jesus, I remember evangelizing to my dad. I told him that I want him to go to heaven with me. His response was, I’ll just hold your hand so I can go with you together. Even at that age, I knew it didn’t work that way. But looking back now, it gives me hope. It shows me that perhaps he does believe or even wants to believe that there is a heaven, and that there is a God. I pray that he will come to believe that there is a God who loves him and he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, so that we can be forgiven and live eternally with him.

[mandelene]

I really hope that it was the frustration talking and u didn't actually refuse to take your meds. Like what do u want to do at this point?? Be miserable anyway on Christmas bc u got worse and also make your entire family sick with worry since u are once again neglecting your health and this can easily turn really bad?? Maybe miss your surgery bc u r too sick?? This sucks and I'm really sorry u r still dealing with it but refusing to fix it is only going to make it worse.

I started the antibiotic this morning, I just refused the prednisone. I honestly don't feel like I'm ill enough to need it. The antibiotic is intended to protect my lungs from more serious infection, so I should be covered. It's not going to cure my bronchitis -- but it'll reduce my risk of developing pneumonia. That's why I called my GP yesterday -- because I recognized that I should take something so things don't get out of control over the holidays since I've been sick for nearly 3 weeks now. I'm not totally neglectful of my health. I try sometimes. 😅💕

My peak flow is decent and I'm ok on rescue meds for now, so prednisone is gonna stay in my desk drawer. My doctor prescribed it for me because that's his job and he had to, given my symptoms. He could have prescribed it for 5 days like normal instead of trying to torture me with 10 days. 😑 He goes overboard sometimes because I'm his best friend's kid, so he'll throw meds at me whether I need them or not.

Since I've had asthma my whole life, I'll admit that I gamble with it sometimes. I don't like taking additional meds unless I'm positive they're warranted. Steroids can do more harm than good. I don't want to take them for every upper respiratory infection I have. I tend to get sick every 3-4 months so that's 3 or 4 courses of prednisone per year, which shouldn't be happening when I'm on two daily controller meds (one of which is also a steroid). So, yeah, I get frustrated. It's not healthy for me to be taking prednisone after every cold.

I'll get over this. 👍💖 Missing my surgery because I'm sick doesn't sound so bad, tbh. I'm really dreading it. 😂

I should have called my pulmonologist but I don't call him unless I'm actually dying lol.

#mandelene's stuff

[afrodesiaq]

im having so much stress rn because im probably about to quit one of my jobs, i love a lot of things about it including that its a worker owned collective, but it's been legitimately so bad for my health and i can't put up with it much longer. it's very physically demanding which would be fine, like not FINE im chronically ill and it would be exhausting no matter what but it would be manageable ive done this kind of work for years.

but it's been compounded by several factors too long to get into that boil down to, because of a couple particularly racist and douchebaggy manarchist assholes in the collective throwing tantrums when they don't get their way, certain things have been mismanaged so that some of us (NOT the ones throwing the tantrums of course) have had significantly extra work for the past year. plus add to that a persistently hostile, racist transphobic dehumanizing work environment equal parts bc of asshole dudes but also because of the unwillingness of other collective members to put their feet down and stand up to them.

ive been toughing it out longer than probably i should because i genuinely believe in the collective model and want to see the collective flourish, we need more worker owned businesses and the way its going more they're going to continue to drive out people like me after but i feel genuinely suicidal every time i think of going to work AND my physical health has declined precipitously like i have just been working all month so far with walking pneumonia and it's exhausting.

i have two other jobs but one is very part time and one is contract work paid per gig so extremely uncertain. im terrified of the instability around how to stay fed housed keep my seizure asthma meds etc but also this is so unsustainable.

in the past this wasn't so terrifying because i always knew that when between jobs, steady sex work meant i would eat and not be homeless or without meds but thanks to sesta fosta it's really hard to find steady clients and so instead it's just this big dangerous uncertainty where the choices are like, street sex work or, maybe don't eat? who knows?

anyway i don't usually go in for these long personal rambles sorry y'all but it's just one of those nights.

#dont reblog #personal #long post

[snippyrocket]

mental health talk below the cut:

feel like shit lol my house is a mess, i’m a mess, my routine is a mess, and i’m just not............ the most talkative right now. 

might need to check out my thyroid again because sleepy bitch disease & insomnia are whacking me hard at random and i’m like. hm. my appetite is also through the roof again to where I’m needing to eat a ton of food, yet I’m not gaining weight. which probably means my body is begging for energy rn.

also, being isolated in a foreign country is the most crippling loneliness i have ever experienced??? I haven’t touched another human being in months and I haven’t spoken to anyone face-to-face in my native tongue since the end of March. I want a hug so bad and I’m jealous of all y’all who got family/roomies to quarantine with.

we’re due to go back to school next week which should solve the loneliness, but i’m a little bit skeptical about how they plan to socially distance as many students as we have??? i work in one of the biggest schools in the country and i see no way of distancing 40 pupils per classroom when there’s barely enough room to walk between desks placed two-together, nevermind providing 2m between every child.

add to that, the issues of distancing in the corridors during breaktimes and keeping everything ventilated when it’s getting hotter??? it’s a constant battle to keep fresh air circulating in the room under normal circumstances, nevermind with all this pandemic stuff.

let’s not even talk about the hour-long commute there and back, in which i’m normally crammed against people on a packed train. Yikes.

i’m also at risk bc of asthma and previous pneumonia bouts so i’m just. not happy right now. things are reopening too fast for my liking and i understand that kids need an education, but it feels like we’re just guinea pigs here??? idk.

yes, i’m goofing off here for the time being bc it makes me happy. but i’m not great. so i’m sorry if i drop off or w/e.

#( outofcharacter. ) #( tbd. ) #// mental health #// covid 19 #this is a lil bit of a vent post sorry dfjkkjdf #u can ignore i'll delete later!!!

[lightspren]

Year End 2017 Wrap Up

I’m gonna be straight up honest with y’all, I almost didn’t do one of these for this year because this year has sucked horrifically and I just didn’t see a fucking point. But I’ve done one every year for like, at least four years now, and it’s tradition, and I for some reason feel it’s important, so by damn I’m gonna look back on my text posts from the year and my memories of what I was doing and see what happened this past year.

Jan 2017 - Was beginning my last ever semester of undergrad this month. At this point I still thought I’d be going to grad school hahahah so much can fucking change in a few months. Started my AC sideblog so that’s cool. and even this far back (: we still see me struggling with debilitating pain (: which has been a trend ever since I’ve been doing these year summaries I think, is seeing how bad my pain was throughout the year. jfc. looks like I was struggling with some depression symptoms here too, go fucking figure. I had an interview for grad school too and we know how badly that went…

Feb - Here’s where I decided I thought i might be on the autism spectrum. I now think I was wrong on that self dx, but you know, journeys of self discovery are important and all that. but here’s lots more pain and tired and “brain not working” which was lots of depression symptoms I believe, sigh I let that get bad for a while there. Oh and then I learned I didn’t get into that grad school I got the interview for.  so yeah that was Feb in a nutshell l o l

Mar - Breath of the Wild came out this month and dominated my life for a month or two, I still love this game very much and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart, ti’s just so good and sweet and lovely. I still haven’t even really beat it LOL and I need to but. still. that’s never been the most important part of Zelda games to me. OOO THO I had beginnings of existential crises this month!! cause I was getting so bogged down in my thesis research and didn’t know if research was what I wanted to do forever and ever anymore!! isn’t that fun!! (it was not fun). but the rest of this month seems like. a whole lot of bitching about pain. paaaain pain pain. like holy jesus bitching about pain. maybe if I printed off all these posts and gave them to my doctors they’d believe I have a problem LOL.

Apr - So I had shitty dr appointments that further hurt my chronic illness identity, and then other Ongoing Identity Crisis because of not getting into grad school and wanting a job in which I could help people. this is the month I in earnest started applying for jobs; research tech jobs mostly, but some adjacent jobs too (don’t remember what exactly). I didn’t branch out very far at this point though cause I was still McFuckin Terrified. and then I realized that I didn’t want to leave hundreds of miles away for work, cause as much as a lot of the culture of southern Appalachia can suck sometimes, it’s still home, /my/ home, and I don’t want to abandon it. I know I freaked out a lot about getting my thesis done and presented this month too bc I was soooOooOOoO unmotivated to do that shit LOL like. whew. did not want to, did not care any longer, but still had to do it.

May - GOT MY FIRST EVER TICKET LOL THAT FUCKING SUCKED SO BAD. sigh. otherwise I was mostly vague as SHIT with stuff this month. I know I graduated, didn’t walk though cause I could not give less of a fuck at that point. I applied for every job I could find that I remotely qualified for that was close enough I was willing to move to. I even had a Skype interview for one, either this month or in April. it fell through, of course.

Jun - One of my very first June posts is “who the fuck am I/how do I become who I want to be” LOL so that identity crisis was still rip roaring obvs. then that time when I tried to explain disability stigma to one of my previous (cishet white male) bosses. Had another phone interview this month for another job I didn’t get lmfao. Pretty sure this is the month where I started applying for mental health case management jobs, like a bunch of them, at different locations all in the company I’m currently in.

July - So I think it must have been around the beginning of this month that I had my first in person interview? I bombed that one hardcore. didn’t stop another location from interviewing me though, and I got a second interview with them, which I then proceeded to fail because I had no prior experience. It was brutal LOL. and the new person started at my old job, and I had to start training her, and that whole situation was just awkward and weird and Undesirable. to the maaax. it was this whole ordeal too where they’d scheduled my last day to be the 28th of July, so that’s what I was planning on and like, focused on… but then it turned out my coworker got national guard orders and had to be gone two months, so instead of having newbie there by herself, they were like (to me) “hey… just wanna… chill for two months longer or until you find a job…” which was admittedly hella cool of them.

Aug - Lots of blogging about pain, lots of general vagueblogging. I did announce publicly on tumblr that I’m intending to convert to Judaism so that’s still cool, and still a thing, even if life has been repeatedly crotch-punching me so I haven’t been able to make much actual progress on it. but then, I had the interview for my current job. that i somehow passed with flying colors. And my asthma started getting worse, and I started getting soooooo so done with my old IT job, but I /got my new job/. ALSO THIS MONTH WE GOT RADS MY SWEET NEW BABY so now our family is made of me, my husband, and two kitties.

Sept - September. Oh, September. started out so innocently, with starting orientation for my new job. I was all starry eyed and hopeful for the new job because I thought that it was a perfect home for me. then I got there. started doing things. realized that I was terrified of trying to meet my new coworkers and learn their dynamics. realized I was terrified of trying to meet my new supervisors/superiors and learn their expectations. realized that in general I just didn’t know the culture of the place at all and that fucking /terrified/ me. and then the job itself, the job itself was something I’d never done before, had no experience in /whatsoever/, had no FUCKING clue what I was doing. I was a fish out of water with no bloody idea where I was going, and hoooboy. I almost quit by the end of September, I truly did.

Oct - tw: miscarriage at end of month I started therapy for my anxiety!!! yay!!!! I had a lot of adapting to work in this time too that I didn’t really talk much about on tumblr too I think. I mean I was learning a lot, I was meeting more of my clients, some even time. I was still terrified, especially of my other coworkers because I didn’t know them or understand them, but even at that, I was learning. [Stop reading if you need to avoid tw miscarriage and skip to Nov.] The other horrifically sucky thing to happen in Oct happened not to me, but to my sister. She’d found out a few months perviously that she was pregnant, at 37 years old. they’d just recently gotten all the genetic testings back and found out they were going to have a girl. unfortunately though, the baby stopped developing at 15w. my sister discovered this at what would’ve been 17w. she had to have surgery to remove the baby. she’s still recovering from this trauma, she’s heartbroken and just. very upset. I’m still upset for her too.

Nov - Last month I was doing ok I think. I was doing pretty well at work, kinda just coasting along but mostly getting the hang of things. Therapy had been helping I think; it’d been teaching me somethings, mostly only small differences but I think having someone to talk to had been helping frankly. Work was going well, and we’d decided to start looking for a house to /buy/ (realtor.com) but hadn’t hired a realtor yet. probably for the best. as it turns out now…

Dec - Fuck you, December. the good news is, my new job’s health insurance kicked in Dec. 1st. which is great, considering I got admitted to the hospital  Dec. 7th, a Thursday. the Monday prior I’d tried to pop a zit, no big deal. WRONG. it got infected. not just any old infection, though, oh no. FUCKING MRSA. so I got cellulitis in my face, my whole right side of my face swelled up three times the normal, I got MRSA/pneumonia in my lungs, I had MRSA in my bloodstream. when I came in the ER I had very low blood pressure and heartrate of 130, so I was septic. like. shit was going down. I stayed in the hospital 6 days, and they released me with a PICC line and having to do vancomycin (really strong IV antibiotic) twice a day via the line. I went back to work too early for two days, but saw my PCP on the third day and he put me off that again. /Then the chest pain started/. I assumed it was a side effect of the vancomycin, since back and chest spasms/pain are a listed side effect, but NO, apparently NOT, at least not to this DEGREE. The home health pharmacy, who I called to ask about it, called the on-call at my PCP, who advised to go to the ER to get checked for a “pulmonary embolism.” Doesn’t sound scary at aaaaaaaaaall. Get in ER, go through the whole terrifying ordeal, CT scan, x-ray, shit and shebang - what do you fucking know. I have a septic embolism. very rare. much wow. fuck me. so here I am, once again, in a fucking hospital room, tied up to IV antibiotics, at the end of Christmas day. At least they’re keeping the pain meds going now. Oh at one point my kidney function tried to drop, then it turned out I had a pleural effusion so they drained 550cc (half a liter) of fluid off my lungs (painful as fuck let me tell you). Ended up spedning 5 days total in the hospital, home now, but still in like. the same amount of pain as when I went in. Having to fight with so many things to get medicines sorted and shit. while feeling like shit too. everything is awesome.

So that’s it. 2017. That doesn’t even get into the way 2017 has sucked on a global, non-personal scale, that’s just how it’s sucked on a mostly-immediately-personal scale, and I’ve even left out some of the immediately personal ones I think. and that’s just the shit I remember LOL jesus christ. I really need to do an effigy burning of this year.

#kit being stupid #happy new year #year end 2017

[taromilks]

random thought time

#if i were in America i would be dead by now no cap #and im not just sayin this bc of the oandemic but bc of my medical history #family be broke as fuck and with the medication i need to just Breathe Properly at times puts a dent into our savjngs #and like last year and the year before were terrible to me #asthma played up so bad i overdosed on my asthma medication and got pneumonia #and like?? would i have survived in America with the income my family has??? #and the medicine i need??? #no. i dont think we would. #so like yeah just thinkin bout That at midnight o clock #also hopin scomo goes quarantine or atleast shuts schools down for the next 2-3 weeks #like bro if i get this viris i am Goneskies #and i gotta do hsc test tomorrow. Thursday. and friday #im worried abt my art one tho #i never got around to finishing that so i know ima fail #but also that ive been at home the last 2 weeks doing school at home #dont feel safe going outside when theres like 100 cases everyday in nsw #especially with one of the close towns that alot of the kids in my school go to live at are having a surge of cases #cant wait to contract corona mdudes #ok anyway rant thing finished #stream red carpet by jooheon #and stan ateez #gegge

[day0one]

What they don’t tell you about surviving COVID-19

Counties where COVID-19 cases are growing fastest Republican senators refuse to back Trump’s 'treason' claim against Obama Chron logoWhat they don’t tell you about surviving COVID-19 Most people who catch the new coronavirus don’t experience severe symptoms, and some have no symptoms at all. COVID-19 saves its worst for relatively few.

ICU nurse Sherie Antoinette has seen the serious cases first hand.

The lucky ones — if you can call them that — recover, but not in the sense that their lives are back to normal. For some, the damage is permanent. Their organs will never fully heal.

“When they say ’recovered,’ they don’t tell you that that means you may need a lung transplant,” Antoinette wrote in a Twitter post. “Or that you may come back after discharge with a massive heart attack or stroke, because COVID makes your blood thick as hell. Or that you may have to be on oxygen for the rest of your life.”

Antoinette’s tweet prompted a flurry of responses from former COVID-19 patients, family of patients and nurses working on the frontline of the disease.

We have selected some of their tweets and are running them with minor editing for clarity. SFGATE makes no claims to their authenticity.

I'm currently in the hospital after having a heart attack caused by clotting that resulted from COVID 19. I have a stent in my heart and need to wear a heart monitoring vest at all times. Now I face months of recovery including physical and occupational therapy. I'm only 29.

—Dan

I went into acute kidney failure and needed dialysis. I now have asthma, chronic cough and an irregular heartbeat. I have conditions I never had before, plus I’m wiped all the time. I hope this gets better, but you [Sherie] are on the money. And, mine was considered a low-moderate case.

— Stephanie McCarroll

These are my observations (of hospitalized patients):

1) Everybody is so swollen their skin has blisters and is so tight it looks like it’s about to burst, from head to heel. And skin so dry peeling and flaky that to slather Vaseline on every shift is almost necessary — all over.

2) Everybody’s skin is weeping clear fluid and has sores and the skin just slides off with slightest turn or rub, all over the body.

3) Everybody’s blood is thick as slush. Can’t figure out what’s making it clot like that, but it’s dark and thick.

4) Everybody’s kidneys are failing. Urine dark or red, which could contribute to the swelling, but we don’t know yet.

5) Everybody has an abnormal heart rhythm. Not sure of the cause. But even without underlying heart problems, it’s not beating normally.

6) Seems counterproductive, but the ones that are not breathing on the ventilator have to lay flat on their stomachs to breathe better. And even some on the ventilator are on their stomachs. And the slightest turn for some is what leads to their almost immediate death. Bathing, cleaning and turning to prevent skin breakdown causes most to code blue, so a decision has to be made on which is most important.

7) Everyone has a Foley catheter and a rectal tube — incontinent of bowel and bladder.

8) Everybody on tube feeding. Everybody.

Never before in my entire career have I seen a disease process attack in this way.

— 20-year veteran nurse in NYC via Dr. Dee Knight

I spent 10 days on a ventilator last March with ARDS [Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome] and I'm still on oxygen. Going home is just the beginning of the next steps in recovering. Every aspect of my life has changed for the worse. Please support and help anyone you know who survived. And wear a mask!

— Nurse @liveV4Vendetta

I'm just getting over a "mild" case after over two months. There's scarring in my lower right lung and my stomach and digestion are a mess like never before. But I'm coughing way less and can take walks again.

And, btw, this is the third time in two months that I've "gotten better." I'm just hoping it's the last and it doesn't all come back AGAIN.

— Eli

I’m a nurse on a COVID floor, I caught it. I am a relatively healthy 24-year-old and could barely walk up a half flight of stairs. My blood pressure skyrocketed, chest pain was debilitating. I’m 8 weeks out and still feeling the chest pain and shortness of breath. This is no joke.

— Alicia

I had COVID for over 60 days. I’m 33 years old, was super healthy, pescatarian, 125 pounds, and ran and did yoga every day. I couldn’t walk for two weeks besides a couple steps. It was the worst illness of my life.

I didn’t realize I had COVID symptoms for weeks. Here were the early signs:

- Waking up sweaty (I normally don’t sweat at night).

- Slight sporadic chills but no fever (or I thought I had no fever bc I only took my temp during the day).

- I could smell fine but would have weird smells like metallic or gas. Also, tasted metallic in the past 2-3 weeks. Apparently, a metallic taste or smell is related to lung problems.

- Loose stool but not terrible.

— Covid teacher (To read more about her symptoms and treatment, see her blog.)

I "recovered" March 29. I was born 65 years ago with chronic bronchitis that usually popped up maybe twice a year. Now, after COVID-19, I have acute bronchitis attacks 3-4 times a month and get winded walking to the mailbox.

— Hollis Charles

I got COVID in March, and in May, developed symptoms of encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome that leave me bedridden for days at a time. I’m so glad someone mentioned this so I know that I’m not the only one experiencing this.

— @PinkkYaYa

My mom worked on a COVID ward and contracted it, spent a month in ICU. She’s lucky enough to be home now, but she struggles to get up stairs and it’s going to be a long road to recovery. Thank you for everything that you do.

— Leanne

My coworker — an otherwise totally healthy 30-year-old — is still having issues breathing, two full months later. We’ve got patients coming back to the ER after they’re “recovered” because they can’t breathe or they get a blood clot. It’s so insane.

— Andi

I had it back in March and did 6 days on a ventilator. To date, I’m still short of breath with little exertion. I have pains all over that I have never had before. I’ve noticed I don’t urinate as much as I use to. And my legs & feet keep swelling so large no shoes fit. Even flops.

— Melly B.

I’m a healthy, active 23 year-old and I still have significant lung damage two months after I’ve “recovered.”

— Laney Whitney

Yeah, my mom "recovered" mid-May, except she had *nothing* left. Couldn't even eat or drink, they wanted to surgically insert feeding tube into her stomach. I had to invoke her DNR instructions, that SUCKED. She passed May 25. Thanks for all you do, be safe, good luck.

— @DevinCojones

Worst sickness ever. Left me and my husband sick and weak for almost two months. Almost killed my perfectly healthy 41-year-old nephew. Took down a 36-year-old friend with two bouts of pneumonia. Wear a freaking mask, people. How hard is that?

—Padma’s mom

My husband and I caught COVID two and a half months ago. While my symptoms were mild, he nearly had to be admitted because he couldn't breathe, and now, a month after he's recovered, we've discovered he has PERMANENT LUNG DAMAGE.

This is not “just the flu.”  It isn't.

— Sue Mii

I had a "mild" case in February. I wasn’t hospitalized. Still extremely ill with a myriad of symptoms, including inflammation and lots of pain for 3 weeks. I have no doubt this virus causes permanent damage. Talk with someone who's had it before you decide to go without a mask.

— Leicia Faye

—