What on Earth is ValentIllness??

It’s a chronic illness hashtag & selfie idea for Valentines from Long Covid activists @desertdracula and @mamasitaa__ /Seets.

I saw their posts on twitter on Feb. 14 and decided to quickly jump in with this picture.

I was wearing a red top already, which makes a difference in energy calculations for people with Energy Limiting Chronic Illness!

I got my husband to take these pictures today, which show off the vest a little better. It’s very pretty!

I’d been working on this textile arts vest for a year.

Lying on the couch sewing is pretty much the only “fun” (as opposed to drawing, which is work) creative activity I can do anymore. I have had terrible pain in my hips/butt for over a year, which makes sitting up at the craft table too painful even when I am strong enough to sit up.

I saw a bone doc and had a hip MRI last winter, but then didn’t follow up on it, as my pain drastically improved during my Shingrix vaccine and antiviral remission last spring. It came back in the Fall.

The dull, burning, constant pain is so bad now it takes my breath away sometimes. It’s probably sciatica, or other nerve related pain.

I really need to get on it, and the doctor is one of the nearest to us, but it’s really hard, because I can only do at most one thing involving other people a week, and leave the house once a week at the very very most.

And I already have so many doctor visits booked for the next three months!

Plus, the pelvis bone doctor is one of the most ignorant and gaslighty about Covid. I was sitting in her office waiting last January, in my prescription goggles and FFP3 mask, and I opened the window for ventilation. When she came in, she promptly closed it. She said, “I don’t want to get a cold from being cold.” Honestly, how can you trust a doctor who doesn’t know that colds come from viruses?

We are in hell, and doctors and Surgeon Generals are fanning the flames.

Sorry to end on a bummer!