A Serious Message To Start Off The New Year

 

Image credit: carbuzz.com

Belated Happy New Year everybody! The blog has been quiet for weeks now because unfortunately I got sick from COVID over the holidays. Thankfully I'm almost fully recovered but for several days I was the most miserable I remember feeling from an illness ever, except possibly from when I had dengue fever as a child but my memories from then are too vague to be sure.

Before I got sick I was very fit, with no medical conditions, regularly working out six or seven days a week, and doing endurance cycling with numerous 60 to 100+ mile rides under my belt. Even then COVID hit me hard. At first it felt like I was just a little tired and actually on the fourth day I felt like I was back to normal but the following day was when the fevers, chills, body aches, and headaches started. For the next five or six days it was all I could do to just sit around, nap, and watch TV to distract myself from how crappy I felt. My appetite plummeted and I lost 10 pounds over those few days.

I was lucky to not have the worst COVID symptoms but there were still a couple of days there where I genuinely worried I wouldn't pull out of this as my condition would slightly improve only to feel worse again.

I was able to hang in there thanks to my friends and family. I was determined this virus wouldn't beat me and I that I HAD to beat it if only to avoid saddening my loved ones and to repay their help during my illness.

Luckily after a few days of rest and taking the appropriate meds the fevers finally subsided and I gradually started to feel better. It still took several days more before I felt anything like normal with times where I would get short of breath from even light exertion or trying to talk on the phone.

Although I still don't quite have all my normal energy I'm back to normal enough now to have returned to work, and as a health care professional I was able to get my first COVID vaccine shot already. Between the short-term natural resistance I've gained from my illness and the longer-term immunity the vaccine should give me once I get my second dose in a few weeks, I shouldn't have to worry about getting sick from COVID again – but there are still plenty of people who do out there.

Having gone through what I have I just wanted to put out this message for everyone to please take this epidemic as seriously as it merits. Please wear a mask, respect social distancing, wash your hands frequently, and avoid unnecessary meetings with other people for now. There are thousands of people dying from this disease as we speak – I know I've lost many long-time patients already from it - and even though you may be lucky to be young and/or fit enough to not end up among the worst-affected that doesn't mean you're safe, or that your loved ones are either. Even if you don't die from COVID you may experience what I did and be absolutely miserable for days or weeks. Being young or fit gives you no guarantees about how badly COVID can affect you so we should all do our part to get this epidemic under control.

Now that vaccines are becoming available hope is on the horizon for a return to normalcy and if we all do our part that day will come even sooner. Think of wearing that mask as a badge of pride instead of an inconvenience. Wear it proudly and tell the world you care not only for yourself but for the people around you. That caring is what will ultimately get us through these dark days and until everything settles down I hope you all stay safe and healthy.