I didn’t know I had covid for at least 2 weeks before I was diagnosed . I realize now that I had it weeks before I went to the ER bc I had random metallic smells and taste. I also had digestion issues. The week before I was diagnosed, I felt out of breath while walking but I just thought it was anxiety.
Luckily, during this time, I wasn’t going around ppl and I wore masks when I took walks with my roomie.
This reopening is extremely dangerous. Illinois’ cases are still increasing. Most ppl are asymptotic. Studies of covid in Iceland found 70-80% of the population had covid and most were asymptomatic.
You are feeling lonely and want a drink? Imagine every breath hurting.
Imagine only being able to walk 2 steps and you get winded.
Imagine buying a home-urine kit so you could urinate in your room because it’s too difficult to get up.
Imagine feeling like you ran a marathon and your heart rate tripling after you walk up stairs.
Imagine begging your ER doctor to keep you in the ER because you are worried your oxygen will drop too low in your sleep and you will die. And then you spend $150 on an oxygen monitor to wake you up when your oxygen dips too low.
Imagine going from a 125 pound athlete to having an enlarged aorta in your heart bc your heart is desperately trying to pump oxygen to your body.
Imagine crying in your room multiple times a week bc after 38-50 days, you worry you will never get better.
Imagine, sending your family your will and final thoughts because you feel so close to death.
If you are okay going out, then you should be okay with choosing which family members will die after you spread it to them.
If you are NOT okay with all this, then stay home.
And to clarify, I am not saying be closed forever or wait for a vaccine. I’m saying we shouldn’t reopen until the curve has flatted a great deal and it hasn’t flattened in IL. And when it does flatten, we should reopen in phases like California did.
And wanting to open up because you “want to go back to normalcy more than keep people healthy is not okay.”
We are the richest country in history. It is horrible what ppl are going through financially (our country’s systemic racism and economic inequalities are showing even more) but it’s not worth people’s lives to reopen. There are lots of resources out there too:
Schools give out 3 free meals a day, there are food stamps, $600 per week of unemployment on top of state unemployment which usually equals $4000 per month, there’s an eviction freeze law and food stamps.
Opening up too early is unsafe and not worth your health or others’ health. And getting sick and having hospitals bills or permanent lung or heart damage is much more costly than staying closed for a month or two longer. There are also tons of orgs giving out money and supplies.
I made a giant document of 40+ orgs in Chicagoland area. Try metropolitan family services first. People should also contact their aldermen, state rep or senator for help with local orgs. I included a link on how to do that. The document is below.
Also, covid is very serious. 1 out of 20 ppl have covid for over a month and many are healthy and young like me with no pre-existing conditions. The article on that is here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/15/weird-hell-professor-advent-calendar-covid-19-symptoms-paul-garner
Stay safe, stay home. We should wait to reopen in phases until the curve flattens in a month or two.
Here is the doc I made with resources for finances, utilities, etc:
https://covidteacher.com/2020/05/14/resources-financial-mental-health-support-etc/
Covid Teacher 