“I’ve been like this now for four and a half years nearly, and it’s baffling to not just the people who have it, but it’s baffling to the doctors,” she says. “They are some very smart people who are investigating and studying it and doing research, but all they keep finding is more and more damage that COVID has done to people’s bodies.
“I got some really good scans done and they found that at some point I had had myocarditis, which has scarred my heart,” Samms continues. “The consequences of COVID — I think we still have only just scratched the surface, and it’s terrifying to me that people think we are no longer in a pandemic. Because they so desperately want it to not affect them, they sort of pretend that it is has gone, and it so hasn’t.”
“Asking @CDCgov, from my bedroom, where I'm moored because of #LongCovid, why the CDC isn't recommending masking -- alongside handwashing, vaxes and testing (which they are recommending). Alt text of response from Dr. Brendan Jackson below. 1/7”
Excellent thread:
I tested positive for covid on August 12th.
I'm still symptomatic (cough, recurring fevers). In addition, I have two new rashes, a very bloody UTI, kidney injury, and liver injury.
My POTS and EDS are worse.
This was my first covid. And I'm immunocompromised.
“The COVID-19 pandemic took that from me. Actually, that’s not quite right. It was the perceived “end” of the pandemic that really ruined my teaching career. I am immunocompromised and rely on medication to manage an autoimmune disease. This means vaccine protection from the virus is probably less effective for me than for most people. Also, my particular illness – Crohn’s, an inflammatory bowel disease – has been shown to put me at significantly greater risk than most for long COVID: a potentially chronic condition that can be very debilitating. And despite how it may seem, COVID circulates widely much of the year: We are still in a pandemic.”
“Covid disabled me, took away my entire life. Reinfection made me a lot sicker, twice. Experts warn about reinfection and covid isn't gone.
Yet nobody who comes to visit me masks or tests or even asks me what precaution they should take.”
Thread:
About 3 months ago I was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) from long covid and I would like to share how difficult and frustrating it was to get diagnosed - every step of the way.
