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I haven& #39;t been personally affected (yet).
I& #39;m still staying the fuck indoors as much as possible, and wearing whatever face covering I can manage when I go out.
(Thread. 1/17) https://twitter.com/KrystinaArielle/status/1263901184407924742">https://twitter.com/KrystinaA...
I& #39;m still staying the fuck indoors as much as possible, and wearing whatever face covering I can manage when I go out.
(Thread. 1/17) https://twitter.com/KrystinaArielle/status/1263901184407924742">https://twitter.com/KrystinaA...
I& #39;ve said before that if I get COVID19, I will probably die.
It& #39;s not an exaggeration. It& #39;s a statement born of the knowledge of what COVID19 degenerates into. I& #39;ve HAD what COVID19 degenerates into.
CW: Medical trauma.
2/17
It& #39;s not an exaggeration. It& #39;s a statement born of the knowledge of what COVID19 degenerates into. I& #39;ve HAD what COVID19 degenerates into.
CW: Medical trauma.
2/17
ARDS is terrifying for those who care for you and, until you lose consciousness and are placed on the vent, it& #39;s terrifying for you. You can& #39;t breathe. Every time you cough, you find blood. You& #39;re drowning, but there& #39;s no water.
3/17
3/17
If you& #39;re lucky, you wake up in the ICU after a few weeks of being in a medically-induced coma. There& #39;s a tube down your throat connected to the vent that& #39;s breathing for you. You have a feeding tube that& #39;s pushing nutrients that taste like a fish milkshake.
4/17
4/17
You& #39;re high on painkillers. It& #39;s how I know morphine mixed with ativan makes me hallucinate, and how I know about my vancomycin allergy. You look at your hands, and you can see each bone because your muscles have atrophied.
5/17
5/17
Every couple of hours, a nurse comes in to turn you onto your back to beat your lungs in order to clear out the mucus that& #39;s hardened onto them, then turns you back over to suction it out of your breathing tube.
6/17
6/17
You& #39;re kept in the coma during the worst of it. Most of my knowledge of this experience comes from my mom, who never left my side for the month I was hospitalized.
8/17
8/17
My lungs collapsed. I had 5 chest tubes put in - by the way, those are WEIRD when they come out, and the scars don& #39;t go away.
Because of the mucus and tearing in my lungs, I went septic. Ultimately, this is what almost killed me.
9/17
Because of the mucus and tearing in my lungs, I went septic. Ultimately, this is what almost killed me.
9/17
I was the first recipient of an adult-sized oscillator, since the ventilator wasn& #39;t keeping my O2 levels up. That oscillator, the wonderful doctors and nurses at @AlbanyMed, and - perhaps most of all - my mom are why I& #39;m able to sit here and type this thread.
10/17
10/17
I was 13 when I went into the PICU in April 2004. At that time, there was about an 85% mortality rate, and a girl a couple of years older than me from a neighboring school district had just died from it the week before.
Now, the rate is 36-52%.
11/17
Now, the rate is 36-52%.
11/17
I was lucky and made a remarkable recovery with minimal immediate complications once it started. About a month after finishing rehab - I needed to relearn how to walk and train my muscles back up - a cyst was found on my spleen. It was easily dealt with.
12/17
12/17
The lingering complications began later. My junior year of high school, I fainted after running because I couldn& #39;t get enough air. This was isolated, I thought, and I simply received a note from my doctor saying that I could no longer run.
13/17
13/17
My own respiratory therapy regimen that I created for myself was singing. It& #39;s what led to my studying voice in community college, and why I& #39;m not entirely tone-deaf. It was tough, but my lungs never felt better.
Then I had to stop.
14/17
Then I had to stop.
14/17
Rapidly, my respiratory health deteriorated. I& #39;ve seen multiple pulmonology specialists. I& #39;ve been diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and, because of the scarring from the ventilator, only have 60% of my lung function on a good day.
15/17
15/17
Taking a deep breath leads to a coughing fit and chest tightness. I still sing, but my breath control is shoddy at best because of this. My lungs hurt constantly. If you see me, I am probably in pain, but I& #39;m so used to it that I can put on a brave face and continue on.
16/17
16/17
