I got an email from my late SO's sister today. It's been a difficult week because yesterday,

[catbyte]

April 28, was the first anniversary of Rick's sudden, unexpected death. Things just suck all over but I'm slogging through it.

Her 21-year-old daughter has been recovering from Covid-19 and it's been a rough road to recovery and she's still not there yet. She was healthy with no underlying medical issues before being stricken with the virus. I'm enclosing a portion of her email that details her struggles. The hospital she speaks of is Sparrow Hospital, the hospital that those horrific "freedom" protestors obstructed in Lansing, Michigan. They are all lowlifes. Anyway, here's the email:

Erin is FINALLY recovering from COVID19. She had some complications
but we count ourselves lucky that she is recovering. The doctors
aren't sure if she will have some permanent lung and nerve damage, but
for now she is getting stronger by the day and returning to health.
She is probably going to be home on medical leave for the rest of the
month which doesn't make her employer very happy but he will deal with
it.

I cannot believe the crazies at the Capitol with their "protests". I'm
not sure what parts of this are confusing to them but they need to
stay at home and take to Twitter to vent if they feel so inclined.
They all need to live what Erin just went thru to fully comprehend
what this illness is and how unprepared this country was for it. She
was sent home from the ER one night because she needed a breathing
treatment and they didn't have the equipment or the medication. I
purchased her a nebulizer early on because BCBS wanted
pre-authorization so she already had the equipment at home and we
filled the prescription in the middle of the night so she could
breathe. She still takes these treatments every 4 hours around the
clock. That night the RNs were covering their shoes in Walmart bags,
wearing homemade masks, and wearing flannel shirts backwards as gowns
because there wasn't any PPE for the ER. These protests just make me
furious...

I'm so glad that Erin is getting better, but I'm still furious at the federal government's criminally negligent non-response. I hope all of you stay safe.

[hlthe2b]

1. I will be fighting my bitterness toward this administration until I die

and hoping to avoid those who are too clueless to know he honestly didn't give a damn except in terms of his own well-being.

Hopefully, there will still be enough things to be grateful for to give me some perspective.

So sorry for your loss.

[Walleye]

3. The first hummingbird showed up at my feeder this morning

They bring me so much joy. I’m trying to concentrate on that.

[hlthe2b]

4. My dog.. my wild baby rabbits nesting under my house...

still snow-capped mountains in the distance, and yes, spring.

[Walleye]

6. Sweet. I felt like, Mother Nature still loves me

[Raster]

34. Don't fight your bitterness. Embrace it. The clusterfuckian shitshow that is the tRump*...

... presidency deserves to be vigorously slapped about the head and shoulders until its spray-tanned ears bleed. There needs to be a strong marker for history that demonstrates the folly of allowing lesser men the pinnacles of power. These last 3+ years are something that none of us should ever get over, and should never be excused.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. *hugest of hugs*

[FirstLight]

5. wow...so glad she's recovering... and the rest... :(

It's gonna get so much worse before it gets even remotely better

[still_one]

7. I am glad she is recovering, and wish the best to you and your family. Take care

[Karadeniz]

8. Her email really brings it home! Best wishes for a continuing recuperation.

[niyad]

9. ((((((((((Cat))))))))) you bring so much joy, so many smiles to us every day. Please know

that your DU family is here for you and your loved ones.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

12. +1 Because I could not have said it any better!

[SheltieLover]

16. +1

Dear Cat, I am so sorry for your loss. I am glad the young lady is recovering.

Thank you for all the smiles & laughs you bring to the community.

Please know you are very much appreciated!

[More_Cowbell]

22. I was trying to think of how to say that; you said it perfectly

catbyte, I'm glad that your niece is doing better and I'm sending you best wishes (the best this lapsed Catholic can do!) and good thoughts from California.

[Beacool]

10. Thank you for sharing.

"That night the RNs were covering their shoes in Walmart bags,
wearing homemade masks, and wearing flannel shirts backwards as gowns
because there wasn't any PPE for the ER."

My goodness!!! We are becoming a damn third world country under Trump.

I wish Erin a full recovery. I'm glad that she's over the hump and getting better.

[Scarsdale]

13. All this, while Kushner

has been confiscating PPE supplies, and stashing them in various warehouses nationwide. He has the gall to proclaim that the administration is doing a great job. Just read about a young man in Wisconsin who went for a Covid test. The bill was over $2,000 until they deducted $500 for "Uninsured patient" tRump, Pence (who toured the Mayo Clinic without a mask) get tested regularly, plus anyone going into their orbit. Pence was the only person without a mask. He claimed it was because he "wanted to look into people's eyes"!!! He is a stupid as Don the Con.

[Meowmee]

11. Im am very sorry to hear of your loss

I am glad she is recovering finally. I have it too, i am one of the lucky ones who has had a milder effect, it is taking a long time to recover for me too. This all seems like the twilight zone pretty much. My father thinks he has it now too, he seems to be having mostly neurological effects.

[Blue_true]

15. If you don't mind describing the symptoms, what does a mild case feel like, what do you notice? nt

[Meowmee]

37. I should clarify that I am not yet having the severe effects that require hospitalization but I am

Pretty sick. I have double pneumonia and I have been having bad back pain with it low fever on and off, difficulty breathing etc with asthma/ pneumonia, using various inhalers, 24 /7 Lidocaine patches and pain killers etc. For 3 weeks now. I have been self monitoring at home. Pulse ox has been mostly great. My bp was high when I went to the field hospital. Blood sugar is crashing like crazy. I have been drinking several juice packs a day. I am supplementing vit c also now to try to help the pneumonia, each jp already has 100% required vit C.

It seemed to start out with a sudden swelling in my throat, where I felt like couldn’t swallow. Not wanting to go to the emergency room I lay down in bed and just hoped it would go away which it did. I often get weird sudden allergic reactions so I just thought it was something like that.

Then I had severe diarrhea and a bad headache all day which I thought was a migraine. My memory is not very good now and everything is kind of blending in together but I think I had already been coughing for at least 2 to 3 weeks before bronchitis or what I thought was bronchitis set in, and then the back pain started at which point I went to the field hospital maybe two days or three days after.

Although I do not think it was Covid in Jan now which I was suspicious of at first- I was first sick with a terrible sinus infection starting in the last week of January which never really resolved for which I took two courses of antibiotics.
I have pretty much been sick this whole time now. When the back pain started I started on Zithromax that I always have at home.

[tblue37]

14. K&R for visibility. nt

[Upthevibe]

17. Firstly, I'm sorry to hear that you lost your partner......

....... This COVID-19 situation is pretty much impossible for me to wrap my head around. I'm watching Rachel now and I don't even know how this is happening. I feel like this is a nightmare.

I'm glad her daughter is better but my God the hospital PPE scenarios makes my head explode. Well, I guess everything is making my head explode....

[SWBTATTReg]

18. From the top on down, rump and the federal government has been pathetic and criminally...

negligent in the CV episode.

America should never forget the incompetence or totally unprofessional actions on the part of rump or his fellow incompetent people (bordering on the criminal some may say) in dealing with the CV.

Even worse still, trump was holding areas of the Country hostage when they cried out for help.


Thanks for updating us DUers on Erin's personal CV experience. A somber experience, that, thank goodness, she seems to be coming out of it. I pray for her continued healing. My best wishes to all of you and your family.

[lunatica]

19. Hugs to you catbyte

and I’m glad your friend’s daughter is recovering. Knowing how it could have gone the other way, it’s a blessing she is recovering. That is good news indeed.

Hopefully she won’t suffer any bad after effects. (((((( ))))))

[Cha]

20. I'm so very sorry, catbyte..

I know somewhat of how you feel.. my sister and best friend passed suddenly, shockingly on Dec 26, 2019 in San Diego.

[UpInArms]

23. ...

[Cha]

24. Mahalo, UPInArms..

[Maru Kitteh]

26. Oh Cha! It breaks my heart to hear of your loss.

My deepest sympathy friend

[Cha]

28. Mahalo, Maru..

I couldn't even talk about it for so long.. now I'm crying on this thread, but I think that's good to get out when you can.

You're so sweet.. Thank you!

[appleannie1]

21. My youngest daughter is a nurse in a COVID unit.

She told me early on that even mild cases struggle to breathe just going from their bed to a bedside commode. Many of the survivors have chronic problems for the rest of their lives. This virus is unlike anything anyone has seen before and it is no joke. And the whole thing has been mishandled in this country from day one.

She told me she cannot watch any news anymore because she gets so angry she can't deal with it and she knows if she loses it, she will not be any good to anyone so the rule in her house when she comes home is no TV.

[Cha]

25. Much gratitude to your daughter and

everyone who is on the front lines of this deadly insane virus.

StaySafe~

[Maru Kitteh]

27. ED nurses in homemade PPE but HEY! The MFking MEAT is going to be taken care of, so rest easy

America. God FORBID Americans should be asked to discover a vegetable or something so that workers can live and their communities regain some measure of safety. Supposedly Trump used the DPA to order more N95s be put in production but I'll be damned if I've seen any of them. But hey - MEAT!

So sorry to hear about your niece, may her recovery progress to completion. Whoever her employer is, they should be told to sit tight, get comfy and shut the F up. Erin needs to recover at HER pace, not her employer's.

God how I hate these worthless, irredeemable assholes.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

29. I honestly wonder if "underlying health issues" may cover a lot more things

than we normally think of.

For one thing, being chronically short of sleep has a bad impact on the immune system. Or, if you smoke but are otherwise seemingly healthy. There may well be other things that haven't been identified as yet, but are a factor here.

Perhaps we all need to do a complete re-thinking of what constitutes being healthy, or what is really involved in underlying health issues.

[cp]

30. Hugs!

Catbyte, your posts are wonderful, and this one is very moving. Grief is tough, please know we're sharing it with you. Hugs to you and your kin.

[mgardener]

31. Thank you for sharing this with us

I hope you can find some peace too.

[Joinfortmill]

32. Glad to hear your loved one is improving. The Feds have a lot to answer for. November is coming.

[Pathwalker]

33. And they're back at the Capitol today, though not nearly as many

as before. Hope she gets better soon. Stay safe!

[JudyM]

35. So much grief, I'm so sorry you're in pain, catbyte.

Covid is trump’s biggest drama yet and somehow our lives seem to be happening in the background, instead of vice versa. Your SO must have been very special, you have such a kind heart.

[smirkymonkey]

36. I am sorry for your loss, catbyte and I am glad to hear that Erin is finally on the road to

recovery. However it still makes me so angry at the pathetic lack of response from our federal government which has cost so many more lives and sickened so many more.

Not to mention the economic insecurity being faced by millions because the republicans can't stand the idea that anyone outside of the 1% might get some financial assistance in their time of need. It is revolting. I honestly don't know how anybody outside of the privileged class could possibly cast a vote for a republican. I will never understand their dysfunctional, masochistic behavior. They are ultimately going to pay for it, but so will the rest of us.