Speaker: Joe Maier
What is your first and last name?
Joe Maier: Joe Mayer.
What is your current, or former, occupation?
Joe Maier: I'm a computer programmer and at least work remote and they've been pretty accommodating, which has been awesome so far.
What has long COVID taken from you?
Joe Maier: It's taken from me pretty much my daily day to day activities. My hobbies, my even affects my day job where I'm. And so I'm experiencing chronic fatigue and what they're calling brain fog. It's that weird wall where, and also just like forgetfulness, but then even thoughts, words and parts of sentences disappearing. And, uh, I mean, with my day job, I, it's affected my ability to be productive to an extent, be like, I never thought programming would be that taxing and within two hours, three hours on a good day on worst days it's shorter. I'm already having to lay down and interrupt what I'm doing or I can't even think through what I'm doing. Uh, and so that sucked. I also write and do concert photography and attend concerts and it's taken away my ability to really do that. Uh, I pretty much have paused the concert photography part because even just standing at a show is taxing enough where on average three bands, I've had it where I've made it a band before I'm like laying my head down or sitting down or both, uh, or leaning against something and, and when it's worse, like when I hit that three band marker. So it's the same with trying to just be active and get regular exercise. It's what I've called brain melting kind of feeling where it's compression, it's lightheaded compression. And you just really can't think. So, it's like a combination of things and then underneath my eyes, I don't even, you can kind of see the darkness. It's just like always a constant heavy weight or anything. And so you just kind of try to push through if you really want to or decide that it's time for you to call, call it and try to get home, uh, and safely. And that's the other reason I paused, like, I don't even get out shows too frequently right now. Maybe I used to do 3 to 4 a week on average. I used to do even more. Uh, but like, it's such a tax I pay for, especially when I have done concert for Hungary. I will feel it for 1 to 3 days after this heavy fatigue. Uh And so I've paused the photography part and once a month ish, sometimes longer. Uh It's kind of when I've been at least trying to get out and still masking on, in indoor concerts and it's still taxing just to stand and watch and, but I, I freaking miss it and I try to get out and have it as little socializing. Um, and like, even just other hobbies hiking I used to do once a week, try to go and do like a day drive and go hiking and just around Arizona, like, you can go an hour to three hours or whatever and even come back in the same day in photography and hike. And I can do a 30 minute drive before I feel really horrible. And then I had to be careful of, I've just from grocery shopping trips, had it where I started to catch myself dozing while driving. And so I'm careful about that and have been doing those hiking trips because on top of just the drive being taxing, you know, the hike I have to, I can do, I've can manage at the nearby park just to try to get some exercise. I can do like a 12 minute, 14 minute lap around the lake here and then I just have to sit because then I get that. But I will repeat is brain brain melting feeling and it's just uh but I'm trying to be active and then even stuff to pass time while I'm stuck at home. Freaking, I can, I can play video games to some extent. I have found the faster moving stuff. The things that require faster response times like racing games and fighting games and some even first person shooters and like, I can do some adventure games and like Mario and platformers and those at least I can do and strategy. So the slower stuff a little bit. So some stuff to pass time. But otherwise it's taken even the ability to do anything while home in pastime, which makes it so much more boring. Uh, except when I find some of those shows that I like and movies that I can put on through streams and stuff and get to watch my local Sons and Diamondbacks and some sports help too. But it's taken a lot in my ability to just do much for more than half an hour to an hour. Unfortunately.
Please end your video by saying: "I am a pandemic patient."
Joe Maier: I am a pandemic patient.
