Mary Trump - On COVID, at Long Last
It took four years, but I finally got COVID. For that I guess I have to thank going to the Democratic National Convention and being among more people than Ive encountered in the last eight years combined.
I wore a mask 95% of the time, but it was no match for the packed shuttle and cab rides to a from the United Center; the crowded lounges at the arena, the throngs of people pushing their way through the halls, and a stadium so alive with humanityand exhalingthat I didnt stand a chance. Did I mention that I was one of only a handful of people who wore a mask? That didnt help either.
It's hard to describe the experience of being in Chicago last weeka combination of exhaustion, exhilaration, pride, and a nagging anxiety (e.g.how can this election be close? What are we going to do about the electoral college?). My plan, when I got home, was to write about the entire tripfrom the twelve-hour drive west along I-80 through (Donald) Trump country, to the drive home, but fifteen minutes before I pulled into the parking lot a block from my building, I started shaking uncontrollably. Four hours into the trip Id hit a wall of exhaustion, but attributed that to the fact that I hadnt gotten more than four hours of sleep a night since Sunday. A headache had been developing since driving through the hills of eastern Pennsylvania. But it was a stressful and unhealthy week, so that made sense, too. But I couldnt make sense of feeling so suddenly unwell. By the time I parked in the lot, I wasnt sure if I could stand let alone walk the block home. But I managed. When I got to my apartment, I just wanted to get to bed, but I needed to take my temperature first, just so had had some idea what I was dealing with: 103.5 degrees. And then it hit methe last time I had felt like this was in the hours after getting my very first COVID vaccine back in March 2021. At that point, even without taking the test, I was pretty sure I had COVIDwhich I do.
Ive been much sicker in my lifea case of pneumonia that had me coughing up blood; asthma attacks that landed me in the hospital for days at a time hooked to an IV-drip of prednisone; and bouts of bronchitis so severe they sometimes required two or three courses of antibiotics before I started turning a corner. The difference is, I understood the contours of those illnessesthe symptoms, how I responded to the medications, how I knew I was on the mend.
https://www.marytrump.org/p/on-covid-at-long-last
Hope22
(2,873 posts)So many people at the convention, so many people flew in ..I bet the Covid numbers are sky high from the event! Get well soon Mary!💗💗💗🙏🏼💐