It’s one thing to read about the physical and mental effects of Covid, but what affected me most in this piece is the social effects that Jez has been dealing with. That hit home for me more than anything else that I’ve read. Almost all of us humans are social by nature and need family, friends, or community. It’s one thing not to be able to see loved ones during lockdown, it’s another not to be able to see them after lockdown has been lifted. And then to lose contact friends on top of that because you don’t have the mental capacity to communicate with them. And then also to lose memories of friends and loved ones. Those are the things that we cherish most. When relationships end and people die, all we have left is our memories of them.
My heart really goes out to you Jez. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been jabbed. But if I meet someone who hasn’t, I’m gonna show them this essay to let them know that loneliness is another side effect of Covid, and it may be the worst one. Hopefully that will convince people to get jabbed.
Also, please give Piglet some extra pets for me. He’s got a lot on his four shoulders worrying about you and trying to comfort you in these stressful times.
****
Separate note: why does Ted Cruz look so orange in this photo, like the Mango Mussolini that is Trump? Is he suffering from the same form of malignant narcissism and the side effect is orange skin? Or is he so desperate to look like him that he’ll use the same brand of cheap spray tan?
What a heartfelt read, thanks for sharing and hoping you get better and better Jez. And to think people probably unfollowed you because they believe you’re making it up, shilling for big pharma, [insert other conspiracy theory with too many players to be feasible] is another pain that covid patients are subjected to. What a time to be alive and observing human nature in all it’s dysfunctional forms.
Thank you so so much for writing this Jez and for giving it a platform David.
I'm another Kiwi overseas with long Covid, with the great good fortune of living with my parents at the moment and with financial security because of that.
I think you've done a fantastic job at giving voice to the incoherence and inconsistency which is long Covid, and, although I have a partially different flavour of LC to you, that part about it taking a week to write because every paragraph feels like it was written by a different person is way too real. I had a year extension on my thesis and it still feels just like that now (got Covid March 2020). Also, even without struggling to remember words, finding a vocabulary for the bewildering and ever-changing constellation of symptoms it’s so draining in itself. So thanks again for dedicating significant energy/spoons to articulating all of that.
PS this was my (far less entertaining) attempt to write about LC last year, in case it makes you or anyone else with LC or chronic illness haplessly browsing the comment thread feel less alone <3
"Punch them from me. Say I said you could." Friends having to sneak their elderly mum out for a vaccine under pretext of lunch because her caregiver son spits on anyone who takes the vaccine as "weak, stupid, cowards" and wouldn't take her...well thinking of punching that in the face at least felt right. Thanks Jez.
Thank you for publishing this, David. Reading this essay broke my heart and made me laugh hysterically at the same time. This is a wonderfully written piece, and I’ll be sharing it everywhere I can. My thoughts are with you, Jez, and I wish you all the best.
What a wonderful, terrifying, hilarious, sad and generally overwhelming newlestter. Poor Jez. There but for the grace of not living in the UK go I. I also feel as not being able to go home to NZ but I at least live in Australia - far from perfect though a utopia c on oared to the us right now - and I’m fully vaxxed, in lock down, and wearing a mask/signing in with a at code literally everywhere. Or at least, the café over the road and the supermarket three streets away as there’s little reason to venture any further. I can’t imagine the fear of being in a different hemisphere, under a government who need to get in the bin and then set the bin on fire, unfamiliar with who I am now, and unable to return home. I miss NZ. Desperately. But jez oh my god, when you’re eventually back in NZ I’ll buy you a beer. Or a green tea. Whatever you prefer.
Wow, what an eye opener this essay was. Really feel for Jez. I have family in NZ and can easily empathise with his sense of loneliness. Here in Wales we seemed to have faired a little better - especially with the vaccination.
That was engrossing to read, sad and hilarious. What wretched luck moving to the UK in 2016. Five years when most of us ex-Londoners have been thankful every day that we moved to NZ before it got really bad and weird over there. But I remember the appeal of the culture-filled life I used to have in London - it was a sound reason for Jez to give it a go. Thank you for writing so vividly about a topic we don’t encounter at all in our daily lives here. It seems like an underappreciated aspect of Covid when focus is all on the numbers of infections and deaths. A much needed insight into the danger the virus presents when a government fails to protect the population.
An absolutely heartbreaking piece. I assume he can't come back because of the MIQ booking system shambles. I feel for him so much. I felt the piece was extremely coherent and well written, so his efforts paid off.
I'm sorry for your terrible experiences Jez, I'm in the UK and I know how much the last 18 months has sucked with no hope on the horizon. Lots of us are still following the hands/face/space but it is like a bottle of evian to put out a wildfire.
I live in the middle of England, so it is a different place to London. That said I have just been diagnosed with a heart rhythm problem and it is a three month wait for a cardiology appointment, it is terrifying. The brilliant NHS is being pushed to break so Boz can sell it to his mates. God knows what the future holds for the UK but this “Lockdown 4: Live Free and Die Hard” made me laugh so hard, it was tainted with bitterness though.
I hope you get home sooner rather than later, I strongly suggest never coming back. Britain has never been so broken.
What's still happening to Jez is brutal and I thank him for putting himself through the struggle of expressing what's going on for him with long-tail covid so that here in New Zealand we don't mistake the safety we've bought with a severe and early lockdown with imperviousness. I'm getting my jab and I'm terrified the borders will open before kids can be vaccinated. I want my kids to be safe too.
Well, it's a really great essay. As a writer/editor I couldn't fault it, plus it was super entertaining despite its grim content. So sorry to hear how awful it has been and thanks Jez, for sharing your message. F*ck anti-vaxxers so much.
From one stranger to another Jez, thanks for the words. I really love your style of writing and your humour, keep on keeping on my dude.
I have a handful of friends who don't want the jab, some because they are worried about the "experimental" nature of it (it's not) or the fact they don't know what's in it. That didn't matter as they snorted various things over the years or drink themselves into oblivion like that's any different.
Others are worried about side effects 10 years in the future, I tell them that the impact of COVID is here and now but that's not resonating for some reason. It's making me question the choices regarding friendship that I've made over the years as I generally only associate with people I see as smart - does that make me a dickhead? - and the decision to not take the vaccine is very, very not smart.
It’s one thing to read about the physical and mental effects of Covid, but what affected me most in this piece is the social effects that Jez has been dealing with. That hit home for me more than anything else that I’ve read. Almost all of us humans are social by nature and need family, friends, or community. It’s one thing not to be able to see loved ones during lockdown, it’s another not to be able to see them after lockdown has been lifted. And then to lose contact friends on top of that because you don’t have the mental capacity to communicate with them. And then also to lose memories of friends and loved ones. Those are the things that we cherish most. When relationships end and people die, all we have left is our memories of them.
My heart really goes out to you Jez. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been jabbed. But if I meet someone who hasn’t, I’m gonna show them this essay to let them know that loneliness is another side effect of Covid, and it may be the worst one. Hopefully that will convince people to get jabbed.
Also, please give Piglet some extra pets for me. He’s got a lot on his four shoulders worrying about you and trying to comfort you in these stressful times.
****
Separate note: why does Ted Cruz look so orange in this photo, like the Mango Mussolini that is Trump? Is he suffering from the same form of malignant narcissism and the side effect is orange skin? Or is he so desperate to look like him that he’ll use the same brand of cheap spray tan?
What a heartfelt read, thanks for sharing and hoping you get better and better Jez. And to think people probably unfollowed you because they believe you’re making it up, shilling for big pharma, [insert other conspiracy theory with too many players to be feasible] is another pain that covid patients are subjected to. What a time to be alive and observing human nature in all it’s dysfunctional forms.
Thank you so so much for writing this Jez and for giving it a platform David.
I'm another Kiwi overseas with long Covid, with the great good fortune of living with my parents at the moment and with financial security because of that.
I think you've done a fantastic job at giving voice to the incoherence and inconsistency which is long Covid, and, although I have a partially different flavour of LC to you, that part about it taking a week to write because every paragraph feels like it was written by a different person is way too real. I had a year extension on my thesis and it still feels just like that now (got Covid March 2020). Also, even without struggling to remember words, finding a vocabulary for the bewildering and ever-changing constellation of symptoms it’s so draining in itself. So thanks again for dedicating significant energy/spoons to articulating all of that.
PS this was my (far less entertaining) attempt to write about LC last year, in case it makes you or anyone else with LC or chronic illness haplessly browsing the comment thread feel less alone <3
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/16-09-2020/how-becoming-a-covid-long-hauler-made-me-rethink-disability/?amp
"Punch them from me. Say I said you could." Friends having to sneak their elderly mum out for a vaccine under pretext of lunch because her caregiver son spits on anyone who takes the vaccine as "weak, stupid, cowards" and wouldn't take her...well thinking of punching that in the face at least felt right. Thanks Jez.
Thank you for publishing this, David. Reading this essay broke my heart and made me laugh hysterically at the same time. This is a wonderfully written piece, and I’ll be sharing it everywhere I can. My thoughts are with you, Jez, and I wish you all the best.
What a wonderful, terrifying, hilarious, sad and generally overwhelming newlestter. Poor Jez. There but for the grace of not living in the UK go I. I also feel as not being able to go home to NZ but I at least live in Australia - far from perfect though a utopia c on oared to the us right now - and I’m fully vaxxed, in lock down, and wearing a mask/signing in with a at code literally everywhere. Or at least, the café over the road and the supermarket three streets away as there’s little reason to venture any further. I can’t imagine the fear of being in a different hemisphere, under a government who need to get in the bin and then set the bin on fire, unfamiliar with who I am now, and unable to return home. I miss NZ. Desperately. But jez oh my god, when you’re eventually back in NZ I’ll buy you a beer. Or a green tea. Whatever you prefer.
Wow, what an eye opener this essay was. Really feel for Jez. I have family in NZ and can easily empathise with his sense of loneliness. Here in Wales we seemed to have faired a little better - especially with the vaccination.
That was engrossing to read, sad and hilarious. What wretched luck moving to the UK in 2016. Five years when most of us ex-Londoners have been thankful every day that we moved to NZ before it got really bad and weird over there. But I remember the appeal of the culture-filled life I used to have in London - it was a sound reason for Jez to give it a go. Thank you for writing so vividly about a topic we don’t encounter at all in our daily lives here. It seems like an underappreciated aspect of Covid when focus is all on the numbers of infections and deaths. A much needed insight into the danger the virus presents when a government fails to protect the population.
I hope you get back to NZ before too long.
"Sex was suddenly a chore" bro that's just turning 40
An absolutely heartbreaking piece. I assume he can't come back because of the MIQ booking system shambles. I feel for him so much. I felt the piece was extremely coherent and well written, so his efforts paid off.
Hilarious photo at the end of the post!
I'm sorry for your terrible experiences Jez, I'm in the UK and I know how much the last 18 months has sucked with no hope on the horizon. Lots of us are still following the hands/face/space but it is like a bottle of evian to put out a wildfire.
I live in the middle of England, so it is a different place to London. That said I have just been diagnosed with a heart rhythm problem and it is a three month wait for a cardiology appointment, it is terrifying. The brilliant NHS is being pushed to break so Boz can sell it to his mates. God knows what the future holds for the UK but this “Lockdown 4: Live Free and Die Hard” made me laugh so hard, it was tainted with bitterness though.
I hope you get home sooner rather than later, I strongly suggest never coming back. Britain has never been so broken.
What's still happening to Jez is brutal and I thank him for putting himself through the struggle of expressing what's going on for him with long-tail covid so that here in New Zealand we don't mistake the safety we've bought with a severe and early lockdown with imperviousness. I'm getting my jab and I'm terrified the borders will open before kids can be vaccinated. I want my kids to be safe too.
Well, it's a really great essay. As a writer/editor I couldn't fault it, plus it was super entertaining despite its grim content. So sorry to hear how awful it has been and thanks Jez, for sharing your message. F*ck anti-vaxxers so much.
What, the Hannibal “draw a clock face” test is real? I thought it was just a cool scene. Great post and all the best, Jez.
Thanks for sharing this Jez. Fucking brave.
From one stranger to another Jez, thanks for the words. I really love your style of writing and your humour, keep on keeping on my dude.
I have a handful of friends who don't want the jab, some because they are worried about the "experimental" nature of it (it's not) or the fact they don't know what's in it. That didn't matter as they snorted various things over the years or drink themselves into oblivion like that's any different.
Others are worried about side effects 10 years in the future, I tell them that the impact of COVID is here and now but that's not resonating for some reason. It's making me question the choices regarding friendship that I've made over the years as I generally only associate with people I see as smart - does that make me a dickhead? - and the decision to not take the vaccine is very, very not smart.
Sigh.