COVID 2.0

I have been on hiatus for a few weeks and for good reason.?

1. Three weeks ago I decided to take my mask off for the first time in over a year. New infection rates were at an all time low per the CDC, I have been boosted since October of 2021, and everyone around me almost never wears a mask and they seem to be fine. More importantly, when you have pleuritis, wearing a mask can truly feel suffocating.?
2. I made a choice to take off a mask truly believing I would be okay. I was at Universal Studios with my cousin because I dearly needed the getaway. And before you judge me, I personally know many pharmacists and people in general who have been to Disney and/or Universal in the last few months without a mask and they all came back fine. I was in a wheelchair at the time (thankfully out of it now) so when we were eating at a restaurant, I didn’t wash my hands before eating. I didn’t need to use the bathroom and the amount of effort and pain that it was taking at the time to get up and walk a few steps was very trying. I’m guessing that’s how it happened.?
3. Universal was on Friday. I had this TERRIBLE dyspepsia Tuesday but I didn’t make the connection to the dyspepsia I had during the initial COVID. I woke up Wednesday and felt like there were daggers in my throat and I couldn’t breathe from the congestion. Antigen test was positive-and pay attention to how faint that line is. This was also the case during my first infection, a line is a line, so please be careful not to overlook one when you all are testing. Luckily I was back in Cleveland my PCP told me to get a PCR just to be safe, even though I had had repeatedly negative tests after the first infection. Well PCR was positive. No genotyping was done, but based on the symptoms compared to the initial delta infection I got, it definitely felt like omicron. I’m very fortunate to have qualified for Paxlovid and it worked really well for me, within an hour or so I was starting to feel better. The only side effect I really had was a bitter taste in my mouth (one of the main side effects is taste alteration) but that went away ~12 hours after the second dose.?

My acute symptoms are mostly gone now, 3 weeks later. No one knows what this means for my post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) or long-COVID. I am choosing to take it day by day and not stress because I can’t control my long-COVID. I am also most likely going to continue to wear a mask forever unless we are allowed to get boosted every 3 months because I can’t continue to live my life like this.?

If you were hoping for a more uplifting post, sorry, but this is life right now. I will say at the moment, I’ve been able to sleep laying down again because my pleuritis has been improving, and for the last 4 days I’ve been able to walk without a cane. So there is your happy news :). As always thank you for reading and be safe! Feel free to follow my day to day on Instagram @longhaulerchronicles.