Been thinking about the people who’ve been left with post viral conditions as a result of covid, and how they’re appalled by the wait times for chronic illness services

I’ve never thought about how this is something healthy people might not be aware of? (A lil thread)

I’ve been under the care of a chronic fatigue unit for a few years now, but it took a long time to get there. I waited a full year for my initial appointment, and then about 16 months for my sessions with the OT

This is very typical of chronic illness services

Of course, there is no cure for my chronic illness, but there is also no medication provided on the NHS. There isn’t even really ‘treatment’ per say, more advice on how to cope with and try to reduce the amount of flares you have

This advice and the techniques have helped! But my health hasn’t actually improved, I’m just more aware of how to pace myself and try to avoid really awful flares (which i do still get anyway!)

Every chronic illness is different and there is more impactful care for some than others, but most people with a chronic illness will have experienced the long waits I have (feel free to share your stories in this thread if you’d like https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💞" title="Drehende Herzen" aria-label="Emoji: Drehende Herzen">)

Covid is being presented to us as either you die, or you recover, when this is simply not the case. If you are left with a chronic condition, as many have been, there is no ‘quick fix’. You will be dealing with it for the rest of your life, often with little support