[baymeadows3408]

The one confirmed case I know is a 44-year-old male, previously in perfect health (recently ran a marathon), and has been in the ICU for just over a week, on a respirator the entire time, largely sedated and unconscious. Prior to his admission to the ICU he'd previously had to go to the ER twice due to breathing troubles, and he's about 18-20 days in since he first had symptoms. As of about a day ago, it seemed like he was finally starting to turn the corner, but it's been horrifying to see a relatively young guy with none of the risk factors be inches from death. His experience is exemplary of why the whole "this is just like flu" is such garbage - I've never known someone healthy and around my age admitted to the ICU for over a week for the flu.

Reading about cases like that scares me, and the accounts from people who had "mild" cases don't provide any reassurance, either. If this was some new strain of the flu, I wouldn't be afraid of the possibility of contracting it and feeling crummy for a few days. But when I read about how it can take up to two weeks to recover from a mild case and that it can kill or nearly kill a small number of young and healthy people, it makes me fearful.

[baymeadows3408]

The one confirmed case I know is a 44-year-old male, previously in perfect health (recently ran a marathon), and has been in the ICU for just over a week, on a respirator the entire time, largely sedated and unconscious. Prior to his admission to the ICU he'd previously had to go to the ER twice due to breathing troubles, and he's about 18-20 days in since he first had symptoms. As of about a day ago, it seemed like he was finally starting to turn the corner, but it's been horrifying to see a relatively young guy with none of the risk factors be inches from death. His experience is exemplary of why the whole "this is just like flu" is such garbage - I've never known someone healthy and around my age admitted to the ICU for over a week for the flu.

Reading about cases like that scares me, and the accounts from people who had "mild" cases don't provide any reassurance, either. If this was some new strain of the flu, I wouldn't be afraid of the possibility of contracting it and feeling crummy for a few days. But when I read about how it can take up to two weeks to recover from a mild case and that it can kill or nearly kill a small number of young and healthy people, it makes me fearful.