I have COVID. Been sick since last Saturday. It started out with gastric distress, which is a nice way of saying I had diarrhea, followed by a horrible headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion despite having done nothing.
At least I think it’s COVID, though I haven’t been tested. I tried to get tested Monday at the mobile testing site, which advertised as being open from 9 AM to 5 PM. I drug myself to the car and got there at 1: 30 PM only to be told they’d administered their quota of tests for the day. Who knew they had a quota? Not me, and apparently not the person who created their Facebook post. Tuesday morning I went back but the line was long and I felt so bad that I left. I called my doctor’s office, explained my situation, and was advised to assume I have it and rest. I was told that if I experienced difficulty breathing, seek medical help. I went back to work Wednesday since I work from home, but I’ve not been doing much.
So here I am on Day 7. How am I doing? I still have a headache, I’m still tired, and I’m mad. I’m really, really mad.
I cared about you. I delivered your damn groceries to you when you were too scared to go outside. I wore a mask in public to protect you before we found out it protected us too. Thanks for returning the favor, fellow southerners (Note: sarcasm).
The vaccine? The booster? I did those for me, because I knew I couldn’t trust you motherfuckers. I knew when your golden calves made this a wedge issue that it was gonna be everyone for themselves. I suffered through the side effects of the vaccine and the shingles I got soon afterward (which I’m convinced was the result of a lowered immune system after getting vaccinated) because my life depended on it.
Our neighboring pro-Trump states never did wear masks. True to form, as soon as our governor said we didn’t have to wear masks anymore, many of you quit wearing them too. Not only did you quit wearing them, but you began to shame those of us who kept wearing them. You ridiculed medical professionals who were trying to look out for us. You flaunted your unvaccinated status as a symbol of patriotism, or faith in your god, or whatever fucking reason you and your fellow dumbasses came up with.
Meanwhile, instead of telling you all to rot in hell and sending vaccines to the rest of the world to build herd immunity and prevent variants from developing, our government left it to “The Market” to determine who was worthy of vaccination, because humans still think printed paper makes the world go ’round. But Mother Nature doesn’t give a fuck about paper, and she soon whipped up a ‘Rona variant that no one can hide from. Not politicians. Not talking heads. Not preachers. Not anti-vaxxers.
And not those of us who were vaccinated either. Now the CDC tells us that we’ll all end up getting COVID sooner or later. Funny how they didn’t seem to know that before. It’s like the whole world has had its’ head up its’ ass.
Anyway, here’s what I have come to say to the whole lot of ignorant, selfish, cows:
THANKS for all the concern you haven’t shown to those who are/were ill. Seriously. We’ve downplayed the sheer numbers of people who have died and the long-term effects on those who have survived COVID. How many of you even know Long COVID is a thing? And if you want to know what a mild case of COVID is, let me tell you, if this is mild, I doubt I’d have survived COVID if I wasn’t vaccinated.
There was a mass handout of money when it all started, but no plan on how to manage a years-long pandemic. Alabama decided to use its share of COVID money to build prisons. Even held a special legislative session to approve it. The feds told them no, but I’m betting they still find a way around it. Meanwhile Alabama has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation and some of the highest rates of transmission.
Our governor tells us it’s all about personal responsibility. Face it, Gov, putting my life on the line when others in your party are still telling me vaccines are dangerous, medical professionals are liars, and COVID ain’t that bad is very irresponsible.
THANKS for putting me and others like me in impossible situations. It’s been a week now and I needed to shop for food. My options were to pay for delivery/pick-up, or go shop in person. I looked into the pickup and delivery options, but I couldn’t afford to pay an extra $.25 to $1.00 for EACH item I purchased, AND a delivery charge, AND a tip. I put it off as long as I could but with the threat of winter weather this weekend I felt my best bet was to go shop today, so I went during my lunch break. Even then the place was busy.
Oh, and THANKS for not recognizing there would be ramifications from a long-term pandemic, like supply chain issues. Remember two years ago when there was no toilet paper or paper towels on the shelves? Same thing today in the grocery store I shopped at. Now we’ve decided we should make things in the US again, as though Americans can afford to pay for things made in America. You think you’re going to get enough Americans to keep McDonald’s and Walmart open AND work in factories for chicken feed? How many low-wage jobs do you think one person can work? Or are you going to change your mind about immigrants and let them back over the border?
Also a big FUCK YOU THANKS to those corporations who keep throwing money at these politicians that created this mess. We see you, even though you think we don’t.
Remember they said they would not donate to pacs and politicians that helped plan and/or support an insurrection against our democracy? When they thought we weren’t looking, they started donating to them again. Toyota didn’t even wait for us to look the other way. Funny how the same ones trying to kill our democracy are also trying to kill us. And they’re doing it on our dime, because you know damn well none of these companies pay taxes. What a slap in the face.
Do these corporations and their stockholders not see how they harm themselves? They’re giving money to lobbyists to funnel to politicians when they could be supporting their workers. But no, they’d rather pay their workers a mere pittance while making millions off their backs. They give those workers little to no sick leave, forcing them to come to work while spreading the virus when they should be at home recuperating. And they have the nerve to call those quitting such crappy jobs in record numbers lazy. Whatever. Serves you fuckers right. Go ahead and move your bases of operation to China. You’ve about extinguished your worker pool here anyway.
There. Rant over. I don’t feel any better. But at least I got that off my chest.
Let’s hope COVID is as easy to get over.
Dogpaddling Through Life 
I hope you feel better soon!
Thanks. I hope I do too.
Feel better soon.
Thanks. I hope I calm down soon too.
You nailed it per usual – I’m sorry you are going through this. Love you
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Back at ya Roy!
Absolute truth, Jen. The hospitals here are so slammed they don’t want, or have room for, anyone with other serious conditions. I could tell some tales …. I sure hope you feel better soon and have an easy recovery.
Thanks. My heart aches for those who need medical care and can’t get it because Jesus didn’t save some true believer from COVID.
Re: “… or faith in your god … ”
_____
Albeit a believer in Christ’s miracles, I don’t give much credence to the Biblical books’ writers’ perceptions of the Divine’s nature nor of the afterlife. All scripture was written by human beings who, I believe, unwittingly created God’s nature in their own fallible and often-enough angry, vengeful image. (This may also help explain why those authors’ Maker has to be male.) Too many of today’s institutional Christians believe and/or vocally behave likewise.
Also, I wonder whether the general need by humans (including me) for retributive justice is intrinsically linked to the same terribly flawed aspect of humankind that enables the most horrible acts of violent cruelty to readily occur on this planet, perhaps not all of which we learn about. …
I can also see many even finding inconvenient, if not bothersome, trying to reconcile the conspicuous inconsistency in the fundamental nature of the New Testament’s Jesus with the wrathful, vengeful and even jealous nature of the Old Testament’s Creator.
I’m not following you there.
Feel better! Sorry there are so many stupid people in this country!
You and me both. And thanks.
Oh wow, Jen! I’m truly saddened to learn of your condition. Since you’re vaccinated against COVID, you shouldn’t endure the symptoms for too long – if you actually do have the virus. You might also be feeling the repercussions of personal stress. After my mother died a year and a half ago, I became very ill and experienced plenty of flu-like (COVID-like) symptoms. I never got a test, but I’m certain that’s not what I had. I feel I was just coming down from the pressure of caring for aging, sick parents for so many years. From what I understand, you’ve been through a lot these past few years.
Just take it easy and please keep us updated. Something tells me you won’t go away quickly.
Thanks for mansplaining my health to me.
Take care of yourself. I hope you feel better soon.
The rich countries are making a mess of this. No one here can get tested currently, so we know the numbers are worse than they’re telling us. The numbers of young children (under 6) needing hospital treatment is going up rapidly which should be worrying, but the people (I use the term loosely) in charge are just sticking their fingers in their ears and telling us to get back to normal.
Childhood cases are going up here too. And after telling us we need our schools to stay open, many schools around here are going virtual because they don’t have enough teachers healthy and able to work.
The same thing is happening here with schools. Public transport is having to reduce services. Hospitals are struggling with many staff off sick. Rubbish isn’t getting collected in some places. Yet we have one of the highest vaccination rates and we’re all having a third jab.
I should probably add that the majority of people ill enough to be in hospital are unvaccinated and almost all needing to be in intensive care are unvaccinated.
And for a child to be hospitalized and in ICU because they were unlucky enough to have parents who were negligent in vaccinating them makes me feel sad and furious.
My son used to call having the ‘splatters’ as his bum was throwing up. Not a nice visual!
Oh but how appropriate!!!
Out of the mouths of babes as the saying goes.
I do hope you feel better soon Jen 💜
So sorry to hear you’re unwell Jen. I agree with you in your rant and want to seriously smack people over the head for not wearing masks or keeping their distance. We were laughed at in the very beginning wearing masks and gloves when we shopped and avoided groups. Now we’re laughed at because we still do and they don’t. Vaccinated and boostered, we have done everything we can to keep ourselves safe. Yet our guard was let down ONCE and our neighbour caught it, someone I had been chatting to over the gate, both of us maskless. We didn’t panic and went up to the chemist to get home tests, but we were gutted. We still test periodically and so far, we’re clear. But we don’t convince ourselves it’ll last and we’ll catch it eventually. Which is exactly what the governments want so that they can downgrade it to a new strain of ‘flu’. Hubby has read that the UK are going to stop testing in April anyway. How responsible………… NOT!!!!
I went through that last week. I hope you feel better soon.
I’m glad you’re better.
Damn it. We are sorry you’re sick, Jen, and hope you feel better soon.
I feel so bad for ‘liking’ this post. So sorry you’ve fallen to the virus. You’d think entering the 3rd year of this plague, people would have figured out masks, vaccination, and distancing would get us through this. We seem to be devolving, not evolving. Thinking of you and hoping you start to feel better soon.
Thank you for saying what I want to say but can’t find the right words. You did it perfectly. I do hope you feel better very quickly.
Jen, I hope you have gotten better, but if not I do want to point out that using certain spices like garlic and ginger and turmeric can make the respiratory inflammation go away in time if nothing else is working. Please try a smoothie which its called “carrot, ginger, turmeric” may not be tasty but is worth the effort to work a lot if used a lot. You might try turmeric, ginger & garlic on your food that you make in order to get past how your health is. I sure hope you can get past it & that I’m not too late to give you this piece of advice & information. I have had to use a lot of different spices & herbs to get through my health conditions I had as I was growing up & my push through better times.
Rodney
Thanks!
Your very welcome!