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Feb. 17th, 2022 10:49 amA few weeks ago I tested positive for COVID on one of those home tests. My symptoms were really mild, to the point at first I thought it was a false positive and even once it started kicking in t wasn't much worse than seasonal allergies and a night of not sleeping well. Just as I was getting over that though I had some rather tough cognitive issues. Making mistakes at work, trouble making the words go even more than usual, forgetting I’d put dinner in the oven and letting it burn, all that. Anything that required any brain function at all, it seemed like I was fighting through a fog to do the steps. It almost felt like a concussion, though I’m certain I’ve not hit my head so didn’t think I was.
I use past-tense because this morning it's finally easing up. Still there but it's mud up to the ankles rather than the thighs, if that makes sense. I'm writing this after all.
Turns out this is a not-unheard-of symptom as people are getting over COVID, even from really mild cases. And the concussion analogy isn’t entirely unapt: for some people the disease makes parts of the brain have mild swelling, even when the disease itself doesn’t impact the brain, so it kind of is like a bruised brain without the head-conking. Thank goodness for that! Because on top of being inexcusably stupid this last week, I was frustrated at myself for it all. I mean, I'd had such a mild case compared to everyone I knew, and I just couldn't handle it all; how pathetic, etc. (That's my headspace, not the reality.)
It does explain an awful lot about the American culture these last few years, though. If even a small portion at any given time had this level of brain malfunction, then either being frustrated with themselves or displacing that on everyone else? And the way we moralize illness so much around here, like it's a personal failure? Well, it makes me a lot more sympathetic toward us all, because this is a lot to deal with, and right when you think you're through with the disease and should be getting back to normal. Sheesh!
PS- I shared this on Tumblr but don't think I ever did here. I was feeling a bit isolated and needed something to hug (because of all the quarantining), so I bought a new Friend off Amazon in the form of a seal-shaped pillow. He's grumpy-faced, fat and so very very soft; just what I needed.
( Read more... )
I use past-tense because this morning it's finally easing up. Still there but it's mud up to the ankles rather than the thighs, if that makes sense. I'm writing this after all.
Turns out this is a not-unheard-of symptom as people are getting over COVID, even from really mild cases. And the concussion analogy isn’t entirely unapt: for some people the disease makes parts of the brain have mild swelling, even when the disease itself doesn’t impact the brain, so it kind of is like a bruised brain without the head-conking. Thank goodness for that! Because on top of being inexcusably stupid this last week, I was frustrated at myself for it all. I mean, I'd had such a mild case compared to everyone I knew, and I just couldn't handle it all; how pathetic, etc. (That's my headspace, not the reality.)
It does explain an awful lot about the American culture these last few years, though. If even a small portion at any given time had this level of brain malfunction, then either being frustrated with themselves or displacing that on everyone else? And the way we moralize illness so much around here, like it's a personal failure? Well, it makes me a lot more sympathetic toward us all, because this is a lot to deal with, and right when you think you're through with the disease and should be getting back to normal. Sheesh!
PS- I shared this on Tumblr but don't think I ever did here. I was feeling a bit isolated and needed something to hug (because of all the quarantining), so I bought a new Friend off Amazon in the form of a seal-shaped pillow. He's grumpy-faced, fat and so very very soft; just what I needed.
( Read more... )