About me

Video from my first ER visit on April 22nd, 2020:

I am a 33 year old, high school special education teacher in Chicago. I’ve had covid for 4-5 weeks and went to the ER 3x. Being one of the first, in my family and friends, to have Covid, I felt very lost, demoralized and confused. There are so many remedies and strategies that I wish people would’ve told me weeks ago. These past weeks, I’ve also received conflicting advice from nurses and doctors. The virus is so new, so hospitals are learning as they go.

I wrote this blog to help others and to open people’s eyes to how horrific this virus is. It doesn’t matter if you are young and healthy. I was young and healthy and I’ve never been this ill in my life. I felt close to death. Here’s a little about me.

I’m the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Northside Area Vice President, cochair of the Special Education Taskforce and a GSA liaison for my high school.

I’ve traveled to at least 31 different countries, won multiple grants to study abroad in places such as: South Africa, Mexico, Namibia, Brazil, Japan, etc. I just won the Fund for Teachers Award for summer of 2021 to study in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Peru for 35 days.

I’ve been blessed by being invited to speak at educator and union conferences in Japan 2x, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Canada, Turkey and other places.

Throughout my 11 years teaching, I’ve been a strike leader in 4 strikes, 3 were public school and 1 was a charter school strike. I’ve been on the CTU bargaining team for the past 3 contract.

I’ve learned all my activism through my activist parents.

My dad works at the American Islamic College in Chicago. He is an anti-war activist (ever since college) and has been fighting for Palestinian rights for over 10 years.

My mom was a bra-burning women’s rights activist. She currently fights for disability rights and healthcare rights.

Unfortunately, 20 years ago, my mom was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis, which causes her unimaginable pain. After growing up, hearing her scream in excrutiating pain, I’ve always worried about her health, my family’s health and my own (her arthritis isn’t genetic).

Throughout my whole life, I’ve been very health conscious. For 9 years, I’ve been pescatarian (I eat no meat, only seafood) and only 125 pounds. Before I became sick, I was walking/running 3-6 miles every day and doing yoga. That’s why people are shocked that covid hit me so hard. Covid is a serious virus which multiple mutations and strands. Very healthy people sometimes end up in the ICU or don’t make it.

Since I’m health conscious, I’ve been seeing an amazing acupuncturist for 10 years. I usually see her 2-4x per month.

People ask me where I found all these health remedies. I frequently talk to my general doctor and acupuncturist The nurses from the ER also call me every day to ask me questions and check up on me. Any new remedies, I use, I run past the nurses or my general doctor first.

Covid support groups have been very helpful in learning ways to alleviate symptoms and improve my immune system to fight covid.

I hope my blog helps you, your family and friends who are going through this. If you have any more questions to ask, don’t hesitate!