I plan to elaborate on this later, given I’ve had many months to reflect on *GESTURES WILDLY*, but clearly, as I feared back in my previous post, we humans are our greatest enemy.

First off: STOP BEING SELFISH, PEOPLE.

It’s not just about you, it’s about the people around you. Your family, your friends, literally everyone you encounter in public, especially if you’re not wearing a mask or practicing social distancing.

COVID-19 is NOT a hoax, it’s not just going to magically go away. Even if you barely get sick or don’t get sick at all, don’t assume it’s done and over with for the rest of your life once the year is over and when restrictions finally lift for the longer term (yeah, that’s gonna take awhile).

How Do I Know This Shit Is Real? (And Why Doesn’t Everyone?)

Well, during a recent annual physical, I discussed with my doctor the persistent flu-like symptoms I had back in January and February (with relapses in the months since).

A handful of choice symptoms I experienced:

• Burning eyes and throat
• Dry cough
• Tummy issues
• Severe fatigue and brain fog (More than the usual for me)
• Fever and chills (I’d wake up shivering and shaking in a cold sweat – but beyond a normal flu-like feeling)
• Deep ear pain and pressure (Like my ears needed to pop, only they wouldn’t)
• All-over muscle pain and headaches
• Phantom sounds and smells (Loud ringing, buzzing, and the vague smell of something smoky in my nose)
  
  I could go on…
  
  He said what I was describing fit what some of his patients who tested tested positive for COVID-19 had. Only, nobody realized it was a major threat in the United States earlier this year, and nobody was testing or thought we needed to.

Hello? Is Antibody Out There?

My doctor agreed I should get an antibody test a couple of weeks ago (early November 2020) and it was negative (I should be glad, yet it doesn’t explain ongoing health issues that didn’t exist prior to my suspected infection).

Worth noting: COVID-19 antibody tests aren’t perfect as it is, plus it’s been so long since I’ve had active symptoms. I also couldn’t get tested when it might have mattered (nor did I have any reason to think I could have had this “mysterious virus” in January, nobody did). So, it’s hard to know who may or may not have had COVID-19 early on before the widespread outbreak, and many didn’t seek urgent medical attention at the time (I didn’t, but I did stay home and quarantine before that was even a thing – YOU’RE WELCOME).

These days, I wear a mask out in public and do my part to limit contact with others along with the rest of the forced isolation that’s wearing us all down right now.

Remember, the entire fucking planet is going through this, it’s not just you and me being inconvenienced.

We have to collectively look out for each other if we’re going to make it out of this. And no, life and the world in general will never be the same; we can’t and shouldn’t want to go back to how it was before this – clearly that’s why we’re in this mess to begin with. But maybe, just maybe we can actually learn something about being compassionate and responsible human beings so we can get on with whatever’s ahead of us.

Sadly, I can see that approximately half of the voters in the United States don’t think sensibly like this left-leaning Independent voter does, but I digress. Joe won, Don lost, snap out of your brainwashed state, GOP supporters, please, thankyouverymuch.

COVID-19 Is Not Your Average Cold or Flu Bug

I do plan to go deeper in another post on how COVID-19 felt for me and why I feel fortunate to have access to decent healthcare (something that’s out of reach for far too many people). Let me just say that “Long COVID” is a very real thing and for some, the damage may be irreversible and life-changing regardless of how serious or mild a case might be. I didn’t consider my case all that bad (more of a mild-to-medium experience, but naggingly so) – I’ve been sicker, but not with the combination of symptoms I experienced and not for many months after the fact. So, please take COVID-19 seriously.

Lastly, be thankful if you haven’t gotten sick, and especially if nobody you know has – these inconvenient lockdowns may bite the big one, but not doing so could have been so much worse (and may be worse yet, thanks to those ignoring or selfishly dismissing the situation).

2020 has been a real shit show, and it’s not over yet.