Let’s Make Art Together! #5 & #6
▲ 7 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

Let’s Make Art Together! #5 & #6

Hello, all you Long Hauling Heroes.

Over the course of the past year, I have been creating a series of Pulp Era comic book covers, and am now asking YOU to help shape the story.

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the ideas you have sent in.
Fun, creative and often wildly unexpected.

Today, dear listeners, I present these questions about the next two issues.

Issue Five: “LoCITT: We Answer the Call

* What is LoCITT?

* What crisis could possibly be so dire that it takes three incredible Long Hauling Heroes to save the day?

*Has Mateo worked with PeterPool and the Burning Bombshell before or is this a fantastic first time team-up?

Issue Six: “Discover the Zen Den”

* What are the mystical origins of the Zen Den?

* What powers does it bestow upon those brave enough to discover its secrets?

If you have the spoons to do so, send a message or leave a comment with Ideas, Thoughts, Questions, Answers, Plot Devices, Suggestions or Other.

Because they are all being saved, considered, and developed into an Old-Timey Radio Drama to be aired throughout Season Three.

“The Adventures of COVID is Stoopid”

The Radio Drama being co-written by the COVID is Stoopid Community.

I hope you’ll play along, I hope you’ll listen, and I hope you enjoy.

Strength and Health,

COVID is Stoopid

.

u/Individual_Living876 — 5 days ago
▲ 7 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

Let’s Make Art Together! #3 & #4

Hello, all you Long Hauling Heroes.

Over the course of the past year, I have been creating a series of Pulp Era comic book covers, and am asking YOU to help write the story.

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the ideas you have sent in.

Today, dear listeners, I present these questions about the next two issues.

Issue Three: “Prisoner of The Fatigue”

* Who is The Fatigue?

* What is their evil plan?

* What powers does he (or SHE) possess?*

Issue Four: “Soaring High Before the Crash”

*How did Mateo obtain the power of flight?

*Where is he flying with such urgency?

*What happens after the crash?

Send me a message or leave a comment with your Questions, Answers, Ideas, Plot Devices, Suggestions or Other.

Because they are all being saved, considered, and developed into an Old-Timey Radio Drama to be aired throughout Season Three.

“The Adventures of COVID is Stoopid”

The Radio Drama being co-written by the COVID is Stoopid Community.

I hope you’ll play along, I hope you’ll listen, and I hope you enjoy.

Strength and Health,

COVID is Stoopid

.

u/Individual_Living876 — 11 days ago

Let’s Make Art Together! #1 & #2

Hello, all you Long Hauling Heroes.

Over the course of the past year, I have been creating a series of Pulp Era comic book covers, and am asking YOU to help shape the story.

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed all the ideas you have sent in.

Today, dear listeners, I present these questions about the first two issues.

Issue One:

* Who is this mysterious woman?

* What planet are they on?

*Whose rocket ship is that?

Issue Two:

* What is the origin of the vaccine and what powers does it possess?

* Where does the dark spooky tunnel lead?

* What’s the deal with the giant snake?

Send me a message or leave a comment with your Questions, Answers, Ideas, Plot Devices, Suggestions or Other.

Because they are all being saved, considered, and developed into an Old-Timey Radio Drama to be aired throughout Season Three.

“The Adventures of COVID is Stoopid”

The Radio Drama being co-written by the COVID is Stoopid Community.

I hope you’ll play along, I hope you’ll listen, and I hope you enjoy.

Strength and Health,

COVID is Stoopid

u/Individual_Living876 — 17 days ago

Recovery After Relapse?

Hello all you brave, beautiful, amazing Long Hauling Warriors.

One of our own has asked for help.

She has been in the Long Haul Club for almost five years.

In the time I have known her, she has gone from perpetually bedbound to exploring her flat, to experimenting with short visits to the terrace, to walking to the store and back.

Last Feb, she had a major relapse.
(We suspect a second COVID infection.)

Whatever the cause, it casually (and callously) erased the years of hard fought progress and sent her straight back to bed.

Now she is once again left alone in the Dark Silence we all remember from harder days when we couldn’t tolerate even whispers of light or sound.

Its been over five months, and she is losing hope.

She asked if I knew any stories of Long Haulers who have recovered from a “back-to-square-one” relapse.

If thats you (or you adjacent), I would dearly appreciate it if you could share some of your second recovery story.

She needs to hear that our bodies did it once, and they will do it again.

But even if your own story has remained free of secondary infections, free of major setbacks, and free from the shackles of the ‘dark silence’ I mentioned earlier, I know everybody in this group is writing their own version of the Long Haul Recovery story.

If you have the spoons to share a few words of encouragement, they will be copied over to WhatsApp, where I will share them all with her over the course of the next week.

Thank You All(!) to the moon and back.

COVID has taken so much from us.
So many parts of self we thought used to define us.

But we are not defined by what we lost.

Hell No!

We are defined by what remains.

And from where I’m sitting, what remains in you all are the very best parts of what makes us human.

Your collective compassion and kindness never fail to make my heart smile.

I love you all

I see you all

I would hug you all if I could

Strength and Health

COVID is Stoopid

reddit.com
u/Individual_Living876 — 1 month ago

Recovery After Relapse?

Recovery After Relapse?

Hello all you brave, beautiful, amazing Long Hauling Warriors.

One of our own has asked for help.

She has been in the Long Haul Club for almost five years.

In the time I have known her, she has gone from perpetually bedbound to exploring her flat, to experimenting with short visits to the terrace, to walking to the store and back.

Last Feb, she had a major relapse.
(We suspect a second COVID infection.)

Whatever the cause, it casually (and callously) erased the years of hard fought progress and sent her straight back to bed.

Now she is once again left alone in the Dark Silence we all remember from harder days when we couldn’t tolerate even whispers of light or sound.

Its been over five months, and she is losing hope.

She asked if I knew any stories of Long Haulers who have recovered from a “back-to-square-one” relapse.

And that’s why I’m here today.

If thats you (or you adjacent), I would dearly appreciate it if you could share some of your second recovery story.

She needs to hear that our bodies did it once, and they will do it again.

But even if your own story has remained free of secondary infections, free of major setbacks, and free from the shackles of the ‘dark silence’ I mentioned earlier, I know everybody in this group is writing their own version of the Long Haul Recovery story.

If you have the spoons to share a few words of encouragement, they will be copied over to WhatsApp, where I will share them all with her over the course of the next week.

Thank You All(!) to the moon and back.

COVID has taken so much from us.
So many parts of self we thought used to define us.

But we are not defined by what we lost.

Hell No!

We are defined by what remains.

And from where I’m sitting, what remains in you all are the very best parts of what makes us human.

Your collective compassion and kindness never fail to make my heart smile.

I love you all

I see you all

I would hug you all if I could

Strength and Health

COVID is Stoopid

reddit.com
u/Individual_Living876 — 1 month ago
▲ 117 r/StarWars

You see it, Right?!?

I ordered a new drain for the bathroom…

But they sent me a lightsaber instead.

Anybody know where I can order a Kyber Crystal?

The Force will be with you, always.

u/Individual_Living876 — 2 months ago

Do you engage with Trolls?

Hello, Friends.

I am curious how you typically handle comments from the internet Trolls?

Every so often, I get comments from folks claiming my ‘illness isn’t real’, ‘I got sick from a vaccine’, or other inflammatory comments.

If they are especially nasty I block them and sleep just fine at night.

But with far more, I thank them for sharing their opinion and ask followup questions about why they said what they said.

So far, very few have responded and exactly zero have resulted in any sort of meaningful conversation.

Somebody suggested some of them may be Bots, but I have too little familiarity with that to have an opinion.

But I am curious about your own experiences?

Do you engage with your haters?

If so, how has it gone for you?

Thank you, friends.

Keep on Creating!

reddit.com
u/Individual_Living876 — 3 months ago
▲ 18 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

2000th Day (Again)

Hello all you Extraordinary, Long Hauling Legends.

Last week I shared a milestone with you.  

It was my Two-Thousandth day as a Long Hauler.

Meaning, it was one thousand days ago that I wrote my first ‘Love Letter’ to the Long Haul community as a way to commemorate those first thousand days

That original post was an important moment in my recovery, as that was when I made the choice to continue writing all these silly, optimistic stories about my ongoing love affair with long hauling. 

In the thousand days from then until now, I have told you about my challenges, my victories, my doctors, my therapists, my other therapists,  my other, other therapists… 

(So many different kinds of ‘Therapy’!!)

This week on COVID is Stoopid, I am setting some time aside to consider questions I can’t answer, topics I haven’t processed and ideas with which I yet wrestle. 

I don’t have the energy to be who I was Yesterday.

So, where does that leave me Today?

And what does it mean for Tomorrow?

Spoiler alert- I have no fucking idea.

And that’s OK.

These aren't “things I’m failing at,” or “questions with no answers” so much as they are the “very important, deeply personal research questions in my ongoing experiment called Mateo’s Search for Meaning.”

But even if they weren’t… 

That would be OK too. 

If you have the spoons to listen, I hope you enjoy.

I love you all

I see you all 

I would hug you all if I could

Strength and Health,

COVID is Stoopid

.

u/Individual_Living876 — 3 months ago
▲ 103 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

Happy Star Wars Day, Warriors!

Early on, a fellow Long Hauler told me that Long Hauling felt like Han Solo trapped in Carbonite.

And he wasn’t wrong.

But sometimes, it also feels like Cinnamon Buns tied to our ears.

Or the light of the saber hurts our eyes.

Or… Boba Fett.

But however you feel. Wherever you are.

Know that “Luminous Beings Are We. Not this crude matter.”

And we are all connected… In the Force.

I love you all

I see you all

I would hug you all if I could

Strength and Health

COVID is Stoopid

u/Individual_Living876 — 4 months ago
▲ 20 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

Hello to all you Amazing Long Hauling Warriors!

(Super Hella, Wicked, Amazing Warriors, I mean.)

It lifts my spirits every time I see Long Haulers accomplishing incredible things in spite of the many challenges they face. 

We face. 

Every. Day. 

Even on the days when it really, really sucks. 

Even on those days we’re still dong the things we have to do Today, to give ourselves a stronger, faster, smarter Tomorrow. 

Which brings me back to the Accomplishments of the Aforementioned Amazing Long Hauling Warriors. 

One in particular brings me here today.

It comes to us from our friend Scott. 

You might remember him as u/LionheartSH

I first made his acquaintance here on Reddit.
At that time, he had been Long Hauling for a little over six months, and was organizing an effort to promote the GoFundMes of other Long Haulers in need. 

Even then, when so much had been taken from him, he was finding reasons to be grateful and ways to be helpful. 

(I like that in a Long Hauler.)

And he continues to this day. 

He, and a group of very talented, very wonderful people, have created a brilliant fifteen minute film called “Storm

I watched it. 
It is a kick in the feels. 

In the good way. The way that matters. 

Not only because of the stories we hear about his Life that Was, but also because of the Amazing Tale of his Life that Still Is!

I consider it an honor to be on this ridiculous MarioKart Ride Back to Health with extraordinary humans like Scott. 

Or Sophia. Or Mindy. Or Yvonne. Or EJ.  Or Melody. Or KD. Or Grace. Or Gavin. Or Jon. Or Lisa. Or Paddy. Or Rebecca. Or Other Rebecca. Or So Many Others. 

Or YOU!!

So many of You have refused to give up.

So many of You demonstrate every day what it means to Live While Sick. 

So many of You inspire Me to continue trying to tell the whole world that We Are Still Here. 

Still navigating our own invisible Storms.

If you have the spoons to watch the film, I hope you enjoy. 

Strength and Health,
COVID is Stoopid

u/Individual_Living876 — 4 months ago
▲ 65 r/LongCovidWarriors+1 crossposts

Hello all you Incredible Long Hauling Legends.

This week on COVID is Stoopid, we return to my personal journals. 

April 2021.   Five years (Or is it Seven Lifetimes?) ago.

A month of Tests. A month of Scans. A month of HUNTING and SEARCHING for anything that might explain the worsening symptoms.  

A month that found me in the hospital for a few days, hanging with the Ologists, doing more Hunting and Searching, and ordering breakfast for dinner every night. 

A month that announced my condition via an Interview Wifey and I did with Iowa Public Radio

A month that asked me to consider questions like , “What does accepting offers of help mean to me?” “What does my life look like after therapy?” and “What does ‘slipping mentally’ look like?”

While I’m not sure if I found answers to these questions, I really did get to order Breakfast for Dinner every night in the hospital… So it’s not all bad.

I love you all

I see you all

I would hug you all if I could

Strength and Health

COVID is Stoopid

  

u/Individual_Living876 — 4 months ago