After 10 months of serious illness, close to 10 months of advocacy from patients like myself, @fi_lowenstein and @shelbyhedgecock, & after months of pleading to the public to set aside their ignorance about just how serious #covid_19 is - as it causes #longcovid in even those who previously recovered as well as in those with mild illness - we finally got the ear of Congress with *$1.15 BILLION* being funded at the @nihgov for research! (See here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr4_rQzrtfU&feature=youtu.be)
Months of unbelievable stress, desperate attempts at getting through to the public, interviews upon interviews sacrificing our health and well-being for the sake of educating others, and oodles of volunteer work on top of our own recoveries, professional & personal lives...I can’t tell you just how amazing this is!
If a bunch of sick people who care deeply for others can change the world...I hope you understand that anything is possible so long as you have heart & love at the root of it.
But while I don’t want to dampen the amazing news, this isn’t a place to stop sharing or advocating: it’s reason to do it more, because the entire #chronicillness community needs to benefit from the work surrounding #longcovid that’s to come.
The medical community must start focusing upon & researching & innovating when it comes to all #invisibleillness (including #mecfs, #lymesdisease, #fibromyalgia, #endometriosis, & the list goes on) as our medical system is really only knowledgeable about & able to treat acute illnesses. Given that millions upon millions are suffering from chronic invisible illnesses worldwide, without any support or treatments, this really must be our next step as a human race: to expand our medical & technological abilities to help make these deeply in need people able to get the recognition, respect & support that they desperately need.
Since many are unable to work, have a reduced quality of life since chronic illness happened to them & not because of them (how millions have developed #longcovid in the first place, many previously healthy), & so much more, we must use this time to #endableism once & for all. Life depends upon it.