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This week marks six months since my husband and I got sick with covid. We are still very much dealing with the aftereffects. Here’s the view from half a year out. (thread, 1/x)
My husband is still coughing. It’s nothing like the apocalyptic coughs we had during the acute illness, but it’s still there. He has been coughing every day for six months. It's been very, very slowly improving with the help of two inhalers. 2/x
Both of us, still, get out of breath very easily. Just the other day, I carried some groceries upstairs to our apartment, and at the top of the stairs I had to drop the bags on the floor and lean against the wall to catch my breath. 3/x
In my husband’s case, the doctor thinks this is because of the same airway inflammation causing his persistent cough. In my case, it’s because of inflammation around my heart, which tests revealed in July. It’s treatable! But it is, to say the least, scary to deal with. 4/x
I’ve been taking colchicine for two months, since that diagnosis in July. I have to take it for one month more. Then I’ll get more tests, which we hope will show that the inflammation is gone. 5/x
My senses of smell and taste still — still, after six months! — are not back to normal. I can smell some things but not others. The things I can smell are less intense than they should be. Sometimes I smell a weird scent that’s not actually there. 6/x
Adding up the explanations of benefits I’ve received so far, my doctor’s appointments, tests, and treatments have cost more than $10,000, which I'm extremely grateful is almost fully covered by my insurance. I'll be getting more EOBs, and more tests, in the coming weeks. 7/x
I’m young and had none of the underlying conditions that put people at higher risk. I feel gross saying that because — and I can't believe this needs to be said — people who are older or do have underlying conditions are just as important and don't deserve to get sick or die. 8/x
But I don’t know how else to tell the “I’m young and healthy, I don’t have anything to worry about” people that they’re wrong. 9/x
This virus isn't a goddamn joke, and death rates — which are MORE than unspeakable enough on their own — don't even begin to capture the full toll. 10/end
Such a great website
And if anyone needs a reminder of what the acute phase of the illness can be like: https://twitter.com/MaggieAstor/status/1247172357237719043
