They say the COVID virus leaves after two weeks. But what if it doesn’t?
What if COVID lingers, squatting in your nervous system like an unwanted tenant, rewiring the fuse box of your whole goddamn life? What if your immune system remains convinced for years it still has COVID?
That’s when it becomes Long-Term COVID, or Long COVID. Or the biggest Pain in the Ass—and everywhere else—you’ll ever know.
Long COVID is the Pandora’s Box that opened up one day inside me and millions of other Americans.
For us, the Pandemic never ended.
Long COVID isn’t a myth. It’s a slow unspooling—of energy, of memory, of who you used to be. Brain fog thick enough to lose a decade in. Bones that burn like radio towers. Fatigue that swallows language mid-sentence.
Doctors now call it PASC. Most of us who have it call it Hell.
Just like Baskin Robbins, Long COVID comes in a variety of flavors—none of them worth tasting! Heck, one of the few widely known facts about Long COVID is that some folks lose their sense of taste for years, if not permanently.
To date, there are over 200 symptoms—and counting!
You don’t need a positive test to be wrecked. You don’t need to justify your illness. You need answers, a plan, a lifeline.
At first, Medicine didn’t know what to do with us—they’re learning still. But others who have Long COVID can find strength in one another.
You’re not alone. You’re not crazy. You’re not weak. You’re still here.
And maybe that’s the miracle.
By the way, I’m not a healthcare professional of any kind. I’m a Long COVID survivor.
I crossed death’s doorstep more times than I can count these past few years—I’m still alive.
I wrote a memoir about my Long COVID Recovery called “BRONX NIGHTS” 🌃🍎.
“BRONX NIGHTS” 🌃🍎 is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon.
To read “BRONX NIGHTS” 🌃🍎 for free at VikingWord, click here.
To listen to me read excerpts from “BRONX NIGHTS” 🌃🍎, head to my YouTube page.
Educational Resources on Long COVID
Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions
World Health Organization – Long COVID
Mayo Clinic – Long COVID: Lasting Effects of COVID-19
Mount Sinai – Center for Post-COVID Care
Harvard Health – Long COVID Explained
Patient-Led Research Collaborative
Body Politic COVID-19 Support Group
MEAction – Long COVID and ME/CFS
