COVID-19 Doesn't Discriminate. Take It From This Millennial Recovering From The Virus

By Rainesford Stauffer


a couple of weeks prior, on a Thursday evening, Conor Dillon began noticing he felt a little bit off. A wave of lightheadedness swept over him, followed by a headache. He doesn’t own a thermometer, although by placing the back of his hand to his forehead, he realized he had a little bit of a fever. The 32-year-old, who lives in Tullamore, Ireland, also found he’d been developing deep muscular pains in his back — not like the average stiffness or wear-and-tear that pop up from sitting at a desk also long, yet brutal aches. He’d felt fine that morning.


By Friday, “I woke up and my head was exploding,” he tells MTV News. “It was as if someone was standing on my head. It was that painful.”


Dillon was diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness that is caused by the novel coronavirus, which doesn’t discriminate, despite the continuous myth that young people can’t contract the virus, or won’t experience grueling indications if they do. According to reporting by BuzzFeed, as of March 20th, New York City health officials mentioned that one in four people hospitalized for COVID-19 were between the ages of 19 and 49. That echoed a report from the Centers for Infection Control and Prevention that stated 38 percent of patients hospitalized with coronavirus were between the ages of 20 and 54.


Yet that hasn’t stopped people who falsely think the infection is something only older people or those with compromised immune systems need to worry about. In Kentucky, an audience of young adults held what they called a “coronavirus party” to purposefully defy social distancing; one of these was later diagnosed with the virus. And the Miami spring breaker who went viral for announcing, “If I get corona, I get corona,” has changed his tune, telling social media “don't be arrogant and think you're invincible like myself.” More and more young people are also being hospitalized for the disease: A 36-year-old school principal from Brooklyn, New York, died from coronavirus complications, along with a 26-year-old wrote about their hospitalization experience for The New York Times.


Each person feels invincible up until they aren’t.


whenever he explains he’s not one to google indications any time if he feels poorly, Dillon knew he felt off, and the headaches, body aches, and fever were enough to prepare him reach out to a doctor. Currently, the United States lacks a sufficient collection of coronavirus tests, although because he lives in Ireland, Dillon didn’t have a problem getting tested. A sound engineer, he had been in France, London, and New York in the space of two along with 1/2 weeks, which made him a brilliant candidate.


“On Friday afternoon, they mentioned, look, we're going to get someone sent to your house,” Dillon tells MTV, explaining that a health official was supposed to show up in a protective suit, ask some questions, do the swab, and issue results in 24 to 48 hours. By the following day, health services had set up a central testing location about a half-hour away from Dillon’s town; a rise in cases right now meant that they lacked the bandwidth to send individuals out vehicle by vehicle, person to person. “It was in the carpark of a hospital,” says Dillon. “It wasn't even in the particular hospital, because they wish to keep everybody away from the patients in there. Your vehicle was your waiting room.” Soon after waiting in the vehicle, someone from health services knocked on his window and gave him a mask. He was in and out of the tent in which they were giving the tests in five to 10 minutes.


Dillon thinks the early emphasis on social distancing and isolating in the event if you've indications, as an alternative opposed to running into the nearest doctor’s office where you risk spreading the virus to other patients and the medical employees themselves, is a difference between Europe and the United States. “We mentioned, ‘look, just chill; it's a tough time for everybody,’” he says, explaining they are focusing testing on individuals 65 or older, or patients who fall into higher-risk populations. 


Because there’s currently no vaccine or cure for COVID-19, Dillon’s treatment included plenty of rest and staying hydrated, additionally to the over-the-counter painkillers his doctor proposed. Even so, he would wake up with the same debilitating headache in the thick of his illness.


The most encompassing piece of the treatment was quarantining and self-isolation for a solid two weeks, something Dillon took seriously. At his sickest, he didn’t have the energy to do much, nevertheless he later focused on small tasks like alphabetizing his record collection to occupy time to keep his brain mobile as he recovered.


He saw people through his bedroom window, or discussed to his family member from down the driveway, additionally to keeping in touch with people online. Even his housemates left a couple of days right after they hadn’t displayed indications because it was easier for them to self-isolate other places. “It's the global picture of the full thing,” Dillon says about the role self-isolation has played.


He also opened up on social media, posting a message encouraging others to take the threat of COVID-19seriously. “This virus isn’t fun to have,” he wrote. “Every day is different. It hurts. It makes me tired. It keeps me from the ones I love. Yet self-isolation is the only way to contain/delay it.”


Dillon pointed out that social distancing, furthermore to closing restaurants, bars, and shops, is hard — and however, it is the only way to protect ourselves and loved ones from the virus’s aggressive spread. The post wasn’t for attention, he wrote. He wanted each person to have the intelligence to look out for themselves and others — and the answer he got was staggering.


“It was furious, the quantity of people that came out and just mentioned hello, texted me randomly to be able to see how I was, to call check-in, message me online or wherever,” he adds. “I've gotten more messages in the last week plus 1/2 of people that I only visualize maybe once or twice a year.”


He’s also been keeping up with how other young people around the world are answering to the threat of the pandemic. He recounts reading about someone nearby throwing a 21st birthday party that was shut off by police. “It’s so silly,” he says, explaining that he’s even told companions that, once @they could might not contract the virus from him, they run the risk even by stopping to get a coffee or a chocolate bar at a local food market. “Stay at home,” he says any time asked what he’d mention to other young people who believe they can’t get this. “It’s not about you yourself.”


Through it all, he credits digital community spirit with getting him through — and with helping other people understand how serious the infection is. “We're all in this together,” he adds. “Even though we're not with each other, we're in it together.”


You will support prevent the spread of COVID-19. Not each person has the alternative to reside at house, nevertheless in case could, you've got to! Social distancing is the new regular, and we’re here to help.