Joan, Steve & Jay, it's so good to see that you're all doing well, i won't lie, i've missed this forum, much of my decision to stop posting here was more than likely my mental health getting the better of me... right or wrong, i poured my heart and soul out into my posts about Long Covid in this Forum so when i felt some were starting to question my motives along with what i was living through, i couldn't cope and had to walk away.
Steve, you're eyes will roll at this, i felt ready to return to work after my second shot in June, my employer 'appeared' very happy about that and placed me on a 4 week phased return to work with reduced hours... that lasted for two shifts.
On the third shift in week one, i received a new rota that increased my worked night shifts from 7/fortnight (of 19 years!!) to 10/fortnight... when i queried that, i was told that my hours worked were reduced so what was my problem... they couldn't (wouldn't?) understand that it wasn't about hours worked, it was about recovery time as a night worker to work from shft to shift.
Suffice that i'd had enough so tendered my resignation with immediate effect.
I thought long and hard about whether i wanted to fight them in an industrial tribunal for constructive dismissal but i'd had enough of them and this virus, i couldn't have coped with the remnants of Covid and a long drawn out court case, so i walked away.
As for where i am now?
For nearly 12 months (oops, i said 18, edited to reduce that to 12 to better reflect when i had to down tools and stop working) i clung onto the hope that one day i would return to work and begin to rebuild my life, my first two shifts back at work had me elated that that was finally beginning to happen so when my employer ripped that hope away from me i was gutted, literally it felt like my heart had been ripped from my body.... i couldn't believe that after everything i'd been through that they would do that to me.
While the AstraZenica vaccine had cleared most of my Long Covid symptoms from my body, i'm left fighting chronic insomia, mild(er) than it was short term memory issues and more.
My Doctor has diagnosed PTSD, and possibly depression, caused by the trauma of not knowing if i'd ever recover from Covid-19 and being left with no help, plus the trauma of 'grieving for a job i held down for 19 years but had to leave' through no fault of my own.
I haven't yet been prescribed any help, my Doctor referred me to someone called a 'Link Officer'.
Apparently the Link Officer has the power to refer me to anyone she feels can help me whether medical or not, including help for claiming state aid now that i have no income at all.
That's scheduled to happen tomorrow, Wed 13th.
In the meantime i'm still fighting for help and living off my quickly depleting savings.
FWIW, The WHO pdf in section 3.3 (and elsewhere) refers to "members of LongSOS patient group and clinicians and/or patients nominated by WHO regional office case management officers"
That's wrong, LongSOS should say LongCovidSOS
It goes back to Sept 2020 when the WHO met LongCovidSOS:
https://www.longcovidsos.org/post/longcovidsos-take-part-in-historical-meeting-with-the-whoIn other words, i'm still fighting and still a mess, but not quite the mess i was in a year ago... it's a different mess but a mess nonetheless.
As for the anti-vaxers and idiots like them, i wish them the best of luck but i long ago gave up caring what happens to them... if they want to make their bed without a vaccine then they should shut the f up and lie in it and await the garbage truck to come and tip them into landfill...
Stupid is as stupid does.
Sorry for the rant.