Long COVID: a clinical update – The Lancet – (Free article – registration is free, as well.)

…A striking characteristic of long COVID is functional impairment: individuals find they cannot do what they could previously do.

Many cannot work a full 8-hour day, resulting in withdrawal from the workforce if adjustments and phased returns cannot be accommodated. In severe cases, people are unable to undertake activities of daily living such as washing and dressing, or they find these basic activities so draining they require rest afterwards.

The course of long COVID varies. Recovery can progress at different rates, and some people experience periods of apparent recovery followed by relapse. The chance of recovery is highest in people who had a less severe acute illness, are in the first 6 months after that illness, and were vaccinated; people whose illness has lasted between 6 months and 2 years are less likely to fully recover.

There is little published research on people who have had long COVID for 2 years or more, but their chances of full recovery appear low.

At this stage, the condition typically relapses and remits with compromised quality of life.

People with persistent long COVID face substantial economic burden from their inability to work, either at their premorbid level or at all.

Long COVID can be caused or complicated by organ damage or systemic stress that occurred in the acute phase or emerges anew in the post-acute phase (eg, pulmonary embolism, stroke, myocardial infarction, acute kidney injury, hepatobiliary injury, Guillain-Barré syndrome, or sepsis).

Compared with people who were not infected, the risk of death or hospitalisation is increased for at least 12–24 months after the acute illness, especially but not exclusively in people who were hospitalised or had severe symptoms during their initial COVID-19 illness.

Clinicians should be alert to the increased risk of organ damage, including clot formation and downstream acute infarction consequences, in the subsequent months and even years, especially in the context of multiple SARS-CoV-2 reinfections.

New symptoms that emerge with time might reflect respiratory,

cardiovascular,

neurological,

musculoskeletal,

autoimmune,

and generic (eg, myalgic-encephalomyelitis-like)

sequelae or the effect of reinfection.

Some people will also have long-term sequelae of medical trauma (eg, post-intensive care syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Source: Long COVID: a clinical update – The Lancet

Good People Doing Good Things — Manu Solidaire | Filosofa’s Word

Today’s good people crossed my radar last week, but I more or less ignored him, so he came back again this week to see if he could get my attention … and he did!

His name is Manu Solidaire and he lives in a tiny apartment in Paris, France.  What makes him special, a ‘good people’, is his humanitarianism which, as you will see, is the biggest part of his life.  From CNN Heroes Salute …

Manu Solidaire is quick to admit that he is not a real chef. Yet the cooking livestreams that he broadcasts from his tiny Paris apartment have attracted a huge audience on TikTok. They aren’t watching to see complicated cooking techniques; it’s his generosity that’s on full display.

The 33-year-old spends hours preparing dozens of meals before hopping on his bike and distributing the food to people living on the streets of Paris. Solidaire takes his online audience along every step of the way.

“When I wake up in the morning,” he said, “I’m thinking about, ‘What do I want to make today?’”

From prep to packaging, Solidaire’s cooking sessions last four to eight hours. His kitchen is only about 30 square feet, so there is little room for others to keep him company. Instead, he often has an audience of thousands interacting online in a party-like atmosphere.

“We laugh, we dance, we move, we are like a family on the live session,” he said.

When Solidaire first began delivering his meals in 2022, he said that he wore a GoPro camera on his bike helmet for his own security. After a few months, he started asking people if they would mind being in his videos. He says he uses these videos to change perceptions around homelessness.

“It’s to show to the world some homeless people … they work all their lives and right now they have some problems,” he said. “And maybe you can understand their situation.”

Solidaire’s TikTok account has 352,400 followers and 5.6 million likes. His social media audience helps fund his efforts through links on the account and by donating during his livestreams. Last year, Solidaire won TikTok’s L’award d’honneur for his work.

Solidaire first got to know people experiencing homelessness when he was running a pair of e-cigarette businesses. He would allow people in need to charge their phones in his store and would offer free coffee. Then, during the pandemic, he says “the business decreased, and the happiness decreased, too.”

“I was thinking, ‘I have to find a new way to be happy,’” he said.

One day, he made pasta for his family and had three portions leftover. He spent 20 minutes walking the streets and found three people who would not have eaten had he not offered the meals.

“I come back home with a really huge smile,” he said. “It’s good for me and good for them.”

Solidaire found a new mission and started up his TikTok livestreams hoping to share recipes and sharpen his cooking skills.

His first deliveries proved that he had some lessons to learn. When he would approach people, he said they did not know what to make of a stranger alone on his bike saying, “Hello, are you hungry? I have free food.” Then he realized, “’Manu, did you really ask about homeless people if [they] are hungry?’ Sure, [they] are hungry.” So, Solidaire changed his approach, instead saying, “I deliver free food for you. Do you need it?” He found people were far more accepting of his offer.

Solidaire has his camera mounted on his helmet when he distributes meals around Paris. TikTok: @manu.solidaire

When he saw that their needs went beyond food, he began distributing hygiene supplies. He also sometimes offers to pay for hotel rooms.

Now, with the world’s eyes on Paris for the Olympic Games, many homeless people have been moved out of the city. Solidaire says he fears that the government is sending them to areas where they have no connection or resources. He argues this does not solve the underlying problems.

“We can’t just hide the poverty of the country without any solution,” Solidaire said, adamant that he will still feed the people who depend on him. “If I can’t find them on the streets … I will take the train to continue to deliver my food.”

One thing hasn’t changed for Solidaire since the first pasta meal he gave away: the joy that this work brings.

“When I see the smile I (get) on the street, when I see the smiles I have (doing this), and when I see the smiles (from) my followers … thank you for that.”

Since all of Manu’s videos are on TikTok which, if there is a way to embed a TikTok video, I haven’t found it yet, I went in search of and found a few YouTube videos.  Trouble is, they’re all in French!  But you can set the captioning to translate into English if you feel so inclined … here is just one sample and you can find more by Googling Manu Solidaire.

Source: Good People Doing Good Things — Manu Solidaire | Filosofa’s Word

The Sound of Poetry | From Behind the Pen

Image produced by Kym Gordon Moore for TPBC, 2018

The rhythm and sound of poetry is different for everyone. Our senses dissect the notes of every word to hear the message of the tempo march to a different beat. Toot your poetry horn!

Listen to the reverberation of versification
over my head, I hear music
through the roaring thunder and melodious rain
that is the sound of poetry.

Under my feet, I hear the sound of falling leaves
crunching with each step
as my feet pound on the earth’s rising
that is the sound of poetry.

Standing on a seashore, listening to colossal waves
crashing against a wayfare of aquatic trails
while high piercing squawks spoken from seagulls
that is the sound of poetry.

And when my ears hear no more
what my eyes have witnessed rhythmically
in silence that is deafening and still
that is the sound of poetry.

© Kym Gordon Moore

 

Source: The Sound of Poetry | From Behind the Pen