Shivani Chaudhry

Today is #WorldMEDay #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis (ME) is a terribly disabling but neglected illness affecting millions ~75% can't work 25% home/bedbound ~50% #LongCovid patients have #ME symptoms Hoping for fast-track research & a cure #MillionsMissing #MEAwarenessDayhttps://twitter.com/WorldMEAlliance/status/1523573494209908736 …

The #ClimateEmergency & extreme weather events underscore the urgency for *inclusive* national climate action plans. These should integrate *vulnerability mapping* to identify & protect all high-risk urban & rural groups, including homeless people. @ndmaindia @moefcc @harjeet11https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1522537178441596928 …

Thank you @DrTedros @WHO for releasing this data despite all the political pressure. Countries can conceal numbers but they can't conceal grief. Millions are grieving the loss of loved ones around the world. We need to recognize & respect every life lost. We owe it to each one.https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1522195970825535488 …

Forever grateful to those who held me over this agonizing year. Heartfelt thanks to the amazing people in the #LongCovid/ #MEcfs/ chronic illness community. Sad that millions of us are suffering (many for 2+ years). But I'm hopeful we'll see the light of recovery.

We're all tired but #CovidIsNotOver. It's lethal. #LongCovid is Devastating. Debilitating. Unbelievably life-altering. Affects, on average, 1 in 5 infected people. You can get it even if fully vaccinated. Don't risk it. #WearAMask. Be safe. Protect the vulnerable.

What's urgently needed: 1) Intensified, coordinated, & well-funded biomedical research to develop cures for #LongCovid & #MEcfs 2) Policy to highlight, not hide, the danger of Long Covid 3) Expanded health insurance coverage 4) Disability benefits 5) Data accuracy & disclosure

Governments know the horrors of #LongCovid but choose to exclude it from public health messaging. Acknowledging it would require commitments they're unwilling to make. But they'll have to take action soon, as the socio-economic costs of ignoring #LongCovid will be explosive.

The toxic capitalist work culture—that permeates most organizations—ascribes human value only to *productivity*. Thus, those with serious illness/disability are either forced to work to survive or if they can't work, lose jobs and income. Most have no access to benefits.

Doctors don't always know what's wrong. But most won't admit it. *Medical gaslighting* is more common and harmful than imaginable. Dismissal of #LongCovid is condemnable. A compassionate well-informed doctor—who keeps up with medical research—is what each one needs.

Living with a chronic illness is extremely isolating. A wide chasm of *unrelatability* exists between the healthy and the unwell, which deepens over time. Most people don't want to deal with the *inconvenience* of your illness. Only those who truly care, stick with you.

#LongCovid brings unimaginable loss - of health, work, income, identity, ability, relationships... Each loss brings grief tinged with disbelief. #LongCovid is draining: physically, mentally, emotionally, financially... It's pushing many into poverty and homelessness.

#LongCovid is brutal. Didn't know such severe pain, fatigue, complications could exist in the human body. That too simultaneously, relentlessly, for so long. Each day's a struggle, of recalibrating life; of facing myriad unfathomable symptoms, not knowing what may strike when.