Introduction
My name is Devin. I’m a Covid Long Hauler, despite my best efforts. Since March 14, 2020 I’ve been sick riding the “Corona Coaster”, as one of my fellow Long Hauler friends calls it. The term doesn’t quite do it justice. Two years prior to contracting Covid, I had suffered from Chronic Lyme Disease for about eleven years. Those who suffer from Chronic Lyme also call that experience a roller coaster, but I’d take eleven years of Lyme Disease over one year of Long Haul Covid without batting an eye. There’s no doubt this has been the most challenging year of my life … and I’m still unwell. I’ve lost my job, been mostly housebound (except really for medical appointments), spent an obscene amount of money trying to get better, and have been quite sick the vast majority of those 365 days, with little quality of life. If my violin strings were all in working order, I’d get my fiddle out and play it for myself.
Pre-Covid life saw me as the manager of a wellness center with an integrative medical practice operating inside of its space that had a focus on the chronically ill, for four years. The opportunity for that position came about because of my Lyme Disease struggles. My Long Haul Covid issues prompted me to think, how can I turn this into a positive, and continue doing what I came to love, helping people in need of help? Thus, I formed Covid Castaways and created this website in order to do just that.
My intent is to support those struggling to find help, whether it’s aiding in finding them practitioners, or disseminating important information, or raising money for those who need it. Covid Castaways wants to do all it can. There will be more to come down the road, but for now, even if one person benefits from this site, I know my efforts matter. I hope to keep progressing in my wellness and get to a more stable point, so I can put all the energy that I’m used to having into this great cause.
To all those fighting Covid or Long Haul Covid, keep your optimism. You can recover as I’ve seen many improve. It may feel hopeless at times and you may be frustrated at the lack of support you’re receiving, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel … and I’m using that analogy in the good way. We’re in it to win it, for the Long Haul. What other choice do we have?
