![]() It’s really impossible to imagine this, without experiencing it for yourself. ![]() The reserves of energy I have to do anything-physical, mental, emotional, or sensory-based-are staggeringly small. Over the past decade I’ve become housebound and mostly bedbound. At menopause, age 54, it worsened dramatically, and dragged me down a deep hole. The illness gradually worsened as I entered perimenopause in my 40’s. During flareups I was weak and debilitated for days and weeks. Any significant physical exertion and I’d wake up the next day with what felt like a full-body hangover that lasted for days. My case was “mild” at first (meaning that after my initial, seven-and-a-half-month-long struggle with “Long Dengue,” I could still work a full-time job). Over the ensuing weeks and months it converted to an auto-immune disorder known as MECFS. Then, while on an eight-day scuba diving trip in Mexico, I caught Dengue fever. I did cardio and strength training three to four times a week. At 33, I had low blood pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol. I’d won the nature-and-nurture lottery, when it came to my health. This pandemic is hitting people of every age. ![]() Stereotypes like “frail and old” and “young and healthy” are damaging and untruthful. ![]() This post is an edited version of a recent Twitter thread of mine. ![]()
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