IT’S WORKING—KEEP IT UP!

Be encouraged today! Social distancing and isolation are working to slow down the march of this nasty COVID-19 disease. When you get a chance, revisit the website I shared with you last week:

https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

When you look through death rates, they have cut the projections in half. BUT…the numbers are still staggering, and we MUST continue our diligence. Don’t let the improvements trick you into letting your guard down in all the protective behavior changes we’ve endured. The truth is, these numbers could quickly go the other way if we stop our social distancing and neglect the ways we are protecting each other and our families.

I’ve had some great questions from last week that I’ll tackle throughout this week, but I wanted to discuss a topic that will be vitally important over the next few months, and that is: 

Recovery

Yesterday I posted a question on two Facebook groups of healthcare providers on post-COVID-19 recovery and have been shocked by the number of responses. These responses come from front-line medical workers who have unfortunately contracted the virus themselves. It reminds me of how virulent SARS-CoV-2 really is.

Some consistencies in responses and lessons we all need to heed are these:

1) There is a considerable amount that we DO NOT understand about the pulmonary and cardiac involvement of SARS-CoV-2.

2) Discussions on how the virus attacks red blood cells and hemoglobin is growing…stay tuned for further information.

3) COVID-19 can really knock your socks off even in mild-to-moderate cases. For those of us with asthma, we understand this terrible feeling of not being able to catch your breath.

4) Symptoms can last much longer than any other virus you’ve experienced. People are reporting having come down with COVID-19 early in the pandemic and still not feeling back to normal.

5) I believe we will see some “lung and cardiac conditions” post-exposure. How long these will last, and what to do for them is of high interest to me and I’ll be sure to pass along any credible information I find.

6) Current testing seems to be very inaccurate and depending on where you are in the disease’s cycle, you could test negative. Then, add to this the growing number of false negatives, even with classic symptoms. COME ON ANTIBODY TESTING!

7) Post-COVID-19 treatment appears to be challenging. Most are treating this like asthma, and that does not always seem to be effective.

Takeaways:

1) Social distancing and isolation are working to slow the march of COVID-19. KEEP IT UP!!

2) You will see more and more information on recovery from COVID-19 and long-term effects from it.

Practical Tip of the Day:

Share your stories. It’s part of our recovery from the collective grief we ALL feel. It will be our collective healing, as well. And importantly, it will help the medical staff and scientists understand the long-term effects of the disease.

Stay safe and healthy…With love, Timothy