Covid-19, Chronic Disease and People Who Refuse to Wear a Mask

Dealing with a global pandemic is shocking for everyone. Except maybe those of you who still think it’s a hoax, in which case, get off my blog, I don’t want the likes of you around here. Just kidding. If that’s you, you definitely need to keep reading. But, for anyone who was already dealing with any kind of illness prior to the strike of Coronavirus, it’s a different kind of beast.

I spent the majority of February in the hospital. Not once during my extended stay did I hear a single utterance about the threat of a pandemic, which seems strange considering it was only 2 weeks after my release that everything started shutting down. Made it out just in the knick of time I guess.

I was in the thick of my diagnosis process when the pandemic hit and everything shut down, so everything came to a screeching halt. But my daily symptoms didn’t. The threat of having to go back to the hospital for one reason or another still looms overhead every day and if there’s one place you definitely don’t want to have to go during a pandemic, it’s the hospital.

I’ve found myself reaching levels of fury I’ve rarely reached in the past over this pandemic. I won’t spend a lot of time in this blog harping on the gross mismanagement and total lack of leadership from our joke of a president, because that goes without saying. He’s incapable of leadership. We know this.

My rage is with my fellow citizens who can’t be bothered to pull their heads out of their asses and realize the world doesn’t revolve around them. If I hear one more person cry about their goddamn “rights” and “freedoms” for why they shouldn’t have to wear a mask, I might actually lose all sensibilities and go off.

If I hear one more person try and say wearing a mask is DANGEROUS, I’m going to slap you right across the face. RIGHT. ACROSS. THE. FACE.

Wearing a mask isn’t dangerous. So don’t come at me with that. There aren’t a bunch of people coming into emergency rooms with CO2 poisoning from wearing a mask. Doctors and nurses wear them constantly. They’re fine. If I can manage to wear a mask when I have a chest full of inflammation and get winded simply from talking too much, you can wear one too, Karen. Yes. Yes I did just Karen you, no, that’s not a slur. Dry your tears.

Are masks cumbersome? Sure. Can they feel a little claustrophobic? Hell yeah they can. Do you have the ability to overcome these things? You sure do my sweet summer child.

People are so selfish, they actually think the best solution is for people with chronic illnesses to just never leave our homes again. This is what has been a real source of rage for me. I know American’s are inherently selfish, but this pandemic has really brought it out in full force.

The sheer fury of these gun toting Michiganians who JUST NEEDED THEIR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO GET A HAIRCUT, but when it comes time for that to happen, they can’t be bothered to wear a mask in order to help keep everyone safe. What is wrong with you?

There are people who have real problems, and not being able to get a haircut or go grab a beer at your local watering hole isn’t one of them. How about a little perspective? How about the world doesn’t revolve around you? I know it’s shocking news, but there’s a great big world out there far bigger than the pinhead sized bubble you exist in.

I have to imagine the majority of the American’s who believe Covid-19 is a hoax have never traveled outside the United States. Maybe they’ve been on a Caribbean cruise, maybe (and it’s a big maybe) to Cancun (I’m trying to think of where basic white people spring break). But certainly never any further than that. As such, they believe the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

But oddly enough, and I know this is shocking, there’s a great big world out there full of REAL people who have also experienced the very REAL Coronavirus and ::gasp:: their countries have ::double gasp:: managed to get a handle on it.

Do you know why?

Because they didn’t handle it like it was a damn political debate. BECAUSE IT’S NOT. They handled it like the PANDEMIC that IT IS.

All this conspiracy theory shit is maddening. I mean, we’ve lost over 100,000 American’s to this in 3 months. THREE MONTHS. What is it going to take for these people to wake up and start doing their part?

Everyone is literally asking THE LEAST from you. Wear a mask when you leave the house. Wash your hands regularly. Keep social distance. How in the actual fuck is this putting you out so much?

I get it, we’ve been given A LOT of mixed signals. That’s not our fault. It’s because of our total lack of leadership. It is what it is. But what we do know, is that taking precautions like wearing masks is sure as hell not going to make matters worse.

I know empathy doesn’t come naturally to everyone. So it might not hit home when I say this, but I’ll say it anyway - If you are otherwise healthy and you’re not all that concerned about what would happen to you if you contracted Covid-19, count yourself as lucky and please hear me when I say, we aren’t all in that same boat.

I have no idea what my body would do if I contracted this virus. But considering the inflammation that already exists in my chest every single day, I have a feeling it wouldn’t pan out well for me. There are a lot of your fellow Americans who need you to give a fuck. We need you to start caring about us. We need you to realize that when you go to the grocery store without a mask, and you don’t bother to keep social distance from total strangers, you’re putting us in danger. I’m asking you to have some consideration.

Maybe it doesn’t come naturally to you to think about the impact you have on strangers, but now is as good a time as any to start paying attention. Most of us with chronic diseases don’t walk around looking sick. That’s why we talk about “invisible illness.” You wouldn’t know what we’re experiencing simply by looking at us. But you know, I still need groceries too. I still need to go to the doctor. I still need to be able to live. All I’m asking is for you to realize the world doesn’t revolve around you and your rights aren’t being taken away simply because we’re living during a global pandemic and you’re being asked to wear a facemask in public.

Your belief that people with Chronic health issues should take on the full burden of this pandemic and never re enter society because you can’t be bothered to do your part is next-level ableist. Do better.