I’ve been telling myself the pandemic would become real to people in the U.S. once X number of deaths were recorded. When the number is too high to be ignored. I’m wrong about that. The number doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. These are “fake deaths” in the minds of a whole bunch of people. Covid won’t be “real” until everyone knows someone (family or friend) brought down (death or serious illness) by the virus. If that doesn’t do it, I’m out of ideas.

“Great crises tend to bring profound social change, for good or ill. […] After the Black Death, nothing was the same,” Pomata said. “What I expect now is something as dramatic is going to happen, not so much in medicine but in economy and culture. Because of danger, there’s this wonderful human response, which is to think in a new way.” — (How Pandemics Wreak Havoc—and Open Minds)

I seem to recall a few courses in European History during my school days but I’m pretty sure they didn’t give much space to the Black Death. Interesting days ahead here in the USofA.

noun: the ups and downs of a pandemic. One day you’re loving your bubble, doing work outs, baking banana bread and going for long walks and the next you’re crying, drinking gin for breakfast and missing people you don’t even like.

“Many recovered coronavirus patients who did not need to be hospitalized are still facing serious health problems months later, according to a study commissioned by the Longfonds. While 94 percent say they do not feel as healthy as they did before the viral infection, some 60 percent of this group said they still have breathing symptoms which make it difficult to take a walk, and nearly half are unable to exercise, Longfonds director Michael Rutgers said in a statement. “We find this really shocking.”

“These recovered patients told researchers that they still suffer from symptoms like tightness in the chest, fatigue, headaches, or shortness of breath almost three months after recovering. 85 percent of participants said they were in good health before getting the coronavirus. Only six percent said that their health is back to what it was before their infection. The average age of those surveyed was 53.”

Nearly all who recovered from Covid-19 have health issues months later.

When you hear someone you love and think is smart and literate say Oh it’s no big deal if I catch the virus, say “I love you and you’re smart and literate, and please read this story, because you’re wrong about it not being a big deal.”

The virus is hidden inside of me. I feel its force and power. My body aches. Cold knots snarl in my calves and my thighs; my back feels frozen; shivers ripple up my arms. By the time I reach the birdbath, I’m sweating in the soft breeze. I close my eyes. The hardest part is taking the next breath. I must breathe very, very slowly, in a very specific way. Breathing has become like remaining steady on a balance beam over a dark pit.

Perfect example of save my life story-telling. (An essay by Heather Sellers)