COVID-19 and BII
About a month ago, the nation stood still…well, it shut down. I felt like I should write something since it does affect me, and you, and everyone really. No one saw this coming. In February, there were rumblings of someone being sick with a new virus coming out of China. We’ve heard it before though and it never really affected us, so most of us didn’t take too much notice. After all, that person was in Seattle and nowhere near me.
My boyfriend and I went on our planned trip to BVI. The day after we arrived, I got very ill with some sort of virus that woke me up gasping for breath for days. Just a day later, my boyfriend also got sick but stricken with very bad chills. One by one, most of the other passengers on the boat of 9 got sick as well. We all presented with something fairly different from the previous but clearly related. We still don’t know what it was, and we haven’t been tested for COVID-19 antibodies. It’s still difficult to get tested and not very reliable.
The whole shutdown and the resulting loss of work are certainly causing me stress, and even if I try to hide it, my body betrays me. My body is still too amped up with inflammation to handle this kind of stress well, but I am trying to take things one day at a time.
How does this affect breast implant illness? Well, all of those women that have been waiting for their surgeries have now been canceled. There are no elective surgeries going on while the world tries to conserve PPE. I know the anxiety these women are feeling. It is very difficult to get on a plastic surgeon’s schedule without being pushed off due to a virus that we don’t know when it might go away. From the day I found out about BII, I wanted those toxic bags out of me. As each day passed waiting for surgery, I felt like I was losing my mind with all of the unknowns. Unfortunately, there are no clear answers for women right now. I feel for you all and am send you lots of love while you wait.
The other way it affects women like me is that we are all immune-compromised. Our systems are either overworked or suppressed due to drugs. There has been so much inconsideration for people throughout this pandemic. We need you to wear a mask for us. We are not treading on your rights. We are asking for help. We still have to work if possible, and we certainly need to be able to get groceries and such. We leave the house early in the morning to be the first ones there with the fear that we could get sick and cause our bodies to have another overreaction to something most people can handle well. I don’t think it’s much to ask.
PLEASE WEAR A MASK!! Let’s get through this pandemic with kindness and as quickly as possible.