Forever Covid.

Most people who have read my blogs will know I had coronavirus last year. A very rough time and for a while we all thought I was going to kick the bucket. But luckily for me that didn’t happen so I fully expected to recover, and have done in many respects. That would be that and life would carry on as before but Long Covid came along and now its got me thinking, what if it’s permanent?…Will it be forever Covid?

A lot of countries are now more aware of Long Covid, and all the unpleasant things it brings. It lasts……  Well nobody knows for certain but the Doctor who ran the Long Covid Clinic said that my symptoms should slowly ease but when he said slowly I didn’t think it would be this bloody  slow! Or that some would reappear or get worse. It’s almost like the phases of the moon. It waxes and wanes. I caught the damn thing over ten months ago now and still get so fatigued it’s unreal. And some symptoms decided to return, like an unwanted visitor, and not wearing a mask either. Palpations came back last week for a while, as did painful joints.  Right now  the tinnitus is driving me batty. I’ve had it mildly for years ( I went to a rock concert years ago and thought it’s a was a good idea to stand in front of the speakers. Turned out to be a bad idea…) but since covid it’s far, far worse. Have you ever tried to do that thing with a wine glass? Wet your finger slightly and go round and round the rim? Eventually you get the hang of it and a high pitch whistle begins. Well imagine ten glasses either side of your head, all slightly different pitches, all at the same time, whistling into your ears. 24 hours a day. It’s like some weird kind of torture. And to top it off I’ve had the covid rash three times now so that made my chest look like a polkadot waistcoat.

And God knows what it’s done to my brain. Two plus two is……. Ah I don’t know! At the moment I just can’t seem to compute things. The other day I made a sandwich for me and my wife and I couldn’t count how many slices of bread I needed.  Also this may sound stupid but every now and then my muscles do a  jumpy spasm for no reason. Such a strange sensation. It’s like something inside my head flicks a switch and zap! Quick as a wasp sting and then gone. It’s a bit of a shock with a cup of tea in one hand and a biscuit in the other. I can’t stand sudoku or crosswords so I decided to start blogging to keep the brain active. Use it or lose it I suppose. Sometimes writing isn’t easy. I sent my wife a jokey email the other day, scanned it quickly then sent it. Now I’m no poet laureate or best selling author but I can write a sentence or two but this was atrocious! Bad spelling, bad grammar. This Long Covid has turned my brain to mush!

So what if this really is it? I know there are far worse things in life than Long Covid and it’s still a great pleasure to be alive and I will always look on the bright side of life as Monty Python told us to. But the thought of being like this forever is not a pleasant one if I’m honest. I’m hoping I haven’t flatlined and this is as good as it gets. And that the covid Doctor is right. Time will tell I suppose, if not my wife will have to get used to me making three quarters of a sandwich. At least the loaf will last longer I suppose.                                                    I’m very scared of catching the virus again, especially these new variants. And like me a lot of people are waiting for the vaccine. I suppose things may never get back to how life was before and we’ll all get used to a different kind of normal, whatever that may be. And that might not be a bad thing either. When the dust eventually settles we all might be a little bit kinder to each other, more tolerant perhaps. Maybe that’s being too optimistic, a bit naive even. Probably it’ll be back to that fast paced life of running around like headless chickens and all the stress it brings. It’s been a crazy time for all of us, one to tell the grandkids about. let’s hope lessons have been learnt  and the virus is a one off event and not a series of viruses that change every couple of years. Covid 20? Covid 21? Whatever happens, this will go down in history, one that stopped the world in its tracks.