Dolly Parton. Please Help Long Covid!

#DollyHelpLongCovid

Well hello Dolly. The word is spreading like wildfire on the internet that Jeff Bezos is giving you $100M for charity. I know you likely already have your designated charities. Please, please consider for a moment the Long Covid crisis. Upwards to 20-33M Americans are suffering from long-term damage from Covid; known as post-acute sequalae Covid (PASC) or "Long Covid." This is a global crisis, and due to the political "ping-pong" in our country, our government has dismissed this crisis.

What is Long Covid? It's a post viral illness that attacks multiple organs in the body including vascular, heart, lung, and brain. The symptoms can be maddening and endless including neuropathy, body spasms, tinnitus, vascular inflammation, brain fog (a polite way of saying brain damage,) and heart failure. In many cases it disables the immune system and wreaks inflammation havoc.

Trump mocked Covid-19, and now Biden has deemed the pandemic "over." It's not over. I used to run marathons and had a successful career in software. I have been sick for almost three years and haven't worked in two years. Our (USA) country's Social Security System is broken. Most are denied (upwards to 70-80%) claims and the appeal process takes months (mine has been in process over a year.)

I (difficult to say) believe my situation is better than most. My wife owns a small business and we've rented out our home over the last year. Others are losing their homes. Imagine those without resources to hire a lawyer to navigate this process? How do you pay rent or pay for groceries when you can't work while waiting over a year for a "no" from Social Security? Navigating this process is a "nightmare."

This is NOT just the old or person with pre-existing comorbidities. This affects children and healthy people like I was before getting sick.

Research is nearly non-existent in the U.S. in terms of funding. The NIH denied funding to Putrino Labs for the most-likely theory around "microclots." 

There have been three Bills introduced to Congress but they are collecting dust. Our country has turned a "blind eye" to those with Long Covid and it's not unique to the United States (although other countries like Germany and South Africa are ahead of the U.S in terms of research.)

All of this despair has lead to a high suicide rate among people with Long Covid with the financial despair, loss of identity, and maddening symptoms.

So what's the answer? I have detailed my ideas HERE, but more specifically we need funding. Here are a few of my suggestions;

Putrino Labs: a group of scientists lead by David Putrino; clinicians, engineers, artists, and story-tellers with one collective goal: using technology to help people perform better. It doesn't matter if you're recovering from a stroke or preparing for the Olympics, we use technology to build communities, empower, treat and inform. Investing in microclot and other leading theories around Long Covid. 

#MEActionNetwork:  A global network fighting for equality for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. #MEAction #pwME #MillionsMissing Donate: http://meaction.net/donate/ Now expanded to fight for those with Long Covid. 

Body Politic: Grassroots health justice org at the forefront of the patient-led #LongCovid movement. Home of Body Politic COVID-19 Support Group. Info@wearebodypolitic.com

Long Covid SOS: Grassroots health justice org at the forefront of the patient-led #LongCovid movement. Home of Body Politic COVID-19 Support Group. Info@wearebodypolitic.com

BloomingMagOrg: #MentalHealth Advocacy 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for people struggling with Long Covid. Provides direct cash payments to those in need. Need Support? Join us at http://BloomingMagnoliaNetwork.com

Love you Dolly. Hope you would consider helping those around the world with #longcovid. 

#DollyHelpLongCovid