Angela Parker: A favor to ask — remember those fighting long Covid

I was ordered into medical quarantine on Friday the 13th of March 2020. Nothing could have prepared me for the next several days, weeks, and months ahead … let alone years. I watched the sun go down from my bed as I binge-watched stupid pet videos for serotonin and escapism while fighting off death for eight nights.

I was one of the first to catch COVID, and it nearly killed me. I still live that nightmare, through having long COVID. Long COVID is a lingering effect of having as few as one COVID infection (it is made worse with multiple infections, which is not unheard of since long COVID can harm your immune system).

Before COVID, I was an endurance triathlete signed up for a 70.3-mile race. I had a very full and rich life, taking comedy classes, singing in a choir, and working in a profession that I loved deeply. Now, nothing is the same. I can’t remember the last time I ran, due to an illness that most people don’t know about. No one wants to see us.

I’ve a question for you. Will you please think of us with long COVID? We’d love you to include our illness in your protests. Long COVID issues are social justice issues. Seven million-plus children and adult Americans need you to know that we’re still here, and we are tired of fighting alone.

Angela Parker

Amherst