by David Kubicek
If you become infected with COVID-19, you could die. That is the ultimate price you would pay; however, most people who are infected survive. But many COVID survivors end up with permanent health problems, such as organ damage that could plague them for the rest of their lives.
As I write this, there are 5,016,537 confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in the United States, 162,830 deaths, and 2,471,229 people have recovered from the disease. But providing these statistics is like taking a photo of a bird in flight–the picture freezes the bird in time, but after you snap its picture it has moved on. These statistics are growing and will be significantly higher within a week.
The reason I’m revisiting this subject more than three months after my first post is that since then this nation has been hit with the stick of stupidity so many times that it has raised a huge purple welt. The serious drubbing with the stick of stupidity has raised the level of foolishness to an unprecedented height, which has prevented us from grappling effectively with COVID-19 and returning to a semblance of normality like other countries that are cautiously beginning to reopen. Instead, the U.S.A. is forcing a reopening without even addressing the problem.
Health Crisis
Some folks predict a second wave of infections, but I don’t agree with them. We can’t have a second wave because the first wave hasn’t run its course yet–the infections, and deaths, just keep climbing.
The foolishness, of which I spoke earlier, is to politicize this pandemic. COVID-19 is a public health crisis, not a political football. “Being told to wear a mask violates my Constitutional rights!” may not be the most stupid words ever uttered, but they certainly rank in the top 10. If hell exists, Satan is preparing a special chamber for those who make COVID-19 about politics.
Survivors
The rapidly rising number of COVID-19 deaths is tragic, but I don’t believe enough media attention is paid to those who survive. Although some survivors will experience milder symptoms and easier recovery (although “easier” is a relative term), many others will have health problems for the rest of their lives, which may be shortened considerably by their encounter with this insidious disease. This is because the coronavirus triggers a cytokine storm, or in layman’s terms, it causes the body’s immune system to have a spaz attack.
I won’t get technical here because plenty of information about precisely what happens during a cytokine storm can be found online. But basically, the immune system senses an invader in the body and overreacts, sending a battalion of defenders to do a platoon’s job. In its panic, the battalion attacks not only the invading virus but also the body’s cells, producing a “storm” of tiny blood clots that swarm through the body damaging whatever organs it finds in its path.
Popular Targets of COVID
The most popular organs are the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, and the brain. Although these are the coronavirus’ favorite targets, they aren’t the only ones that can be affected, and the damage usually will be permanent. This can cause a range of problems, including breathing trouble, heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and decreased cognitive function, A cytokine storm doesn’t happen to everyone who is affected, but there’s no way to predict who will experience it, so taking chances of getting COVID-19 is like playing Russian roulette.
Safety
Remember, you can be infected with COVID-19 for up to 14 days before you show any symptoms, but during those two weeks you are contagious. If you infect 10 people, and each of those people infects 10 others, and each of those infects 10… You see how this spreads? You can infect tens of thousands of people before you even know you are sick.
I don’t wear a mask because my community requires that masks be worn in public places (at this time, Lincoln has such a mandate, but Nebraska’s governor has vowed to fight it). I wear a mask and social distance to protect myself and other people.
Wearing a mask doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be infected, but it greatly improves your odds of not catching this hideous disease, especially if everyone is wearing a mask (if you interact with an infected person who isn’t wearing a mask, even if you are wearing one yourself, you are at greater risk of infection). Combined with social distancing (at least six feet), frequent hand washing and disinfecting of surfaces, mask-wearing provides you with the best chance of staying safe and not infecting others.
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