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December 14, 2021

COVID-19 Sh****** Experience Ever!

Since the onset of the pandemic, I had been COVID-19 free! Thank goodness!

About two weeks ago, I suddenly felt extremely light-headed. For the first time, I had this intense “out of body experience”. The next day was met with dragging myself out of bed. I brushed it off as “working too much.”

I had no other symptoms other than a sore throat which lasted a couple of hours. As the hours and days went by, it was undeniable, I could no longer concentrate. Comprehending emails was difficult, comprehension of speech suddenly became tough and I could barely string a coherent sentence together. My cognitive abilities were non-existent.

I exerted myself, trying and go on, until I realised that no matter how much I was pushing, I was going nowhere slowly. Then came the news of being “positive,” I was quite depressed when I found out, it felt like a life sentence. As expected, the strange questions started – are you vaccinated? Where did you pick it up? Do you know which variant it is?

The brain fog was hands down the worst experience I have ever had, I had to create constant lists of even basic activities, write everything down and keep referring to this. On the outside, I looked as fit as a fiddle, with the red lipstick brightening up my appearance on MS teams, Zoom and everything else. Although, what I was going through was invisible, unless I disclosed the information. It reminded me of how so many chronic conditions are invisible and patients are often suffering with pain despite looking “normal”.

I am not the type to roll over and sleep. Eventually, I had succumbed completely and resorted to resting, rejuvenating and feeling a tonne better! I hope this lasts, I am extremely fearful of having any long-term symptoms.

By now, so many around the world have experienced being “positive”. There is absolutely nothing positive about this experience, hell, with that level of cognitive impairment and exhaustion, I don’t ever want to catch this again!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr Shakira Choonara is an award-winning public health practitioner, and pens #ThoughtSpace with a touch of inspiration, critical thinking, and creativity.

Tweet: @ChoonaraShakira

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