Aimeé
Dani Oliver is a writer who has a Twitter thread going viral about their experience with COVID-19. It has been brutal and going on for months. The thread is a serious warning about the consequences of catching the virus, besides death. People seem willing to risk that, but they might not be willing to risk this.
“Hey, so, I got #Covid19 in March,” they wrote. “I’ve been sick for over 3 months w/ severe respiratory, cardiovascular & neurological symptoms. I still have a fever. I’ve been incapacitated for nearly a season of my life. It’s not enough to not die. You don’t want to live thru this, either.”
Hey, so, I got #Covid19 in March. I’ve been sick for over 3 months w/ severe respiratory, cardiovascular & neurological symptoms. I still have a fever. I’ve been incapacitated for nearly a season of my life. It’s not enough to not die. You don’t want to live thru this, either. 1/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
According to Oliver, what has happened to them isn’t a personal phenomenon. Many people have seen their health wrecked by the virus, or felt like they were experiencing the symptoms for months and months. They also allege that there are many symptoms that don’t seem to be registered by the CDC, or openly acknowledged by many health officials:
The CDC is also refusing to add widely-reported, terrifying symptoms to their lists. So here’s a grab bag of what patients like me are experiencing, so you know: Extreme tachycardia. My heart rate was once 160 while I was sleeping. Chest pain, like someone’s sitting… 3/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
GI problems, diarrhea to severe acid reflux. I had diarrhea every day for two+ months. Unbearable nausea. Also: Inexplicable rashes. For me, little broken blood vessels all over my body. For many of us, a constant shortness of breath that doctors can’t find an explanation for. 5/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
The array of painful symptoms that Oliver seems to be experiencing sound far more serious than people realize. While many have heard about the high death rate, it seems to be widely misunderstood that recovery from the virus is nothing like the flu:
was waking up in the middle of the night, gasping for breath. I also experienced tremors while trying to sleep, like someone was shaking the bed. Also: many report a “hot head.” Mine literally radiated heat, despite not hitting a high fever. Then, there’s the confusion… 7/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
Everyone knows the lung stuff already, so I won’t elaborate. But it doesn’t just go away. I wake up every morning & when I breathe in, it feels like someone is crinkling plastic in my chest. And these are just the symptoms. I’m not even touching the physical damage done… 9/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
You’ll wake up feeling better and assume, like would be true for the flu or a cold, you’re on the mend. But then… you get worse. & then you’re feeling better again! & then you’re bedridden, worse than before. It makes no sense. You start to think you’re losing your grip… 11/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
their mental health needs pretty well. This experience is a whole other ball game. It is terrifying what it did to my mind. There are parts of the experience I am well aware I’ve blocked out in order to function, and times my partner has to remind me of things I’ve shut out. 13/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
The whole experience has left Oliver in bad shape not just physically, but mentally. And they want everyone to know that this is happening—and wear their damn masks:
…experiences like mine. It’s not “well, a tiny fraction of people die, and most people are better in two weeks.” This is simply untrue. So many of us have suffered for months. Ask yourselves: is going to get a coffee, or getting a haircut worth being debilitatingly ill… 15/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
…for a birthday party. Or a fucking bar night. Or visiting your fav restaurant. Good lord, I cannot stress this enough. Please. Wear a mask. Stay home as much as you can. And know that the recovery times associated with this illness are wrong. That people are suffering. 17/
— Dani Oliver (@DaniOliver) July 3, 2020
Many others shared that they experienced similar health disasters after COVID:
Every time I mention that the long term disability will cause big problems, a couple people pop up to tell me there’s no such thing. It’s baffling
— RumpledElf (@RumpledElf) July 3, 2020
He said it’s like “nothing on earth” and “I don’t know what my body is doing.” Unfortunately, those suffering from CFS or Dysautonomia or POTS are familiar with such symptoms. Hopefully infectious disease experts will take these conditions a lot more seriously than in the past.
— Dimitri Anastasopoulos (@Dimitri_Anastas) July 3, 2020
I caught Covid in March and developed chronic asthma too.
It’s still really odd to be completely fine for a week then asthmatic for an entire week. Then fine for a few days then asthmatic for a few days.
It’s completely maddening.— No Challenge No Change (@KaylessWhispers) July 4, 2020
Hi fellow Covid warriors! Day 108 for me. Just finished 2nd round of prednisone. Antibiotics too. Week 16-17 seems to be a turning point for many. We’ve been thru hell. It changes your life. Changes you. We are AMAZING! keep going!
— angela b (@angelabdreaming) July 4, 2020
I hate you’re a part of this awful club none of us wanted to join thanks to Covid19, but know that we’re here for you with support, research, treatment ideas. Thank you for sharing. I hope your “recovery” (not exactly the right word, as you said) improves AMAP.
— Emily Johnson (@emily_rj) July 3, 2020
Thank you so much for writing so beautifully about the affer effects of coronavirus. I was ill for the whole of April I have been left with blood clots and pleurisy oh & SO tired, my oxygen can drop down to 81 really easily. I think people need to understand that this is serious pic.twitter.com/GXekgwoTCM
— Amanda Powell (@AmandaPowell69) July 3, 2020
The chest pain. The back pain + radiating heat like my skin was on fire. The fatigue – ZERO energy for five weeks. Couldn’t get off my couch. The barely there fevers, making me think I was imagining things, until the chest pain kicked in. O2 sats in the 80s. Surreal and horrid
— Lea Anne (@LeaAnneWiles) July 4, 2020
I was an early case, and about 5 months later I’m still sick.
— Total Pleb (@veryangrypleb) July 3, 2020
Many people seem willing to risk death, which is crazy enough for me. But maybe if they understood they might also live, with painful, and limiting health conditions. There isn’t enough known about how the virus works and what recovery times are. Take the warnings seriously.
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