Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

#trauma#forgiveness#Faith

When COVID came, my ex-husband got very, very sick. They took him to the hospital, and he was in critical condition. At that time, they did not let anybody inside. No visitors. No family beside the bed.

By then my children were grown. Shqipa — my miracle girl, the one I carried through nine months of sickness and prayer before she was born — had become a nurse. She called me and said, "Mommy, I have to go to Dad. Dad is very sick. He's in the hospital."

Even now, when I speak about this, I get very emotional. I was so scared for my daughter walking into that hospital, and I was scared for him too — because no matter what I went through, he was the father of my kids.

When she got there, he was in very critical condition. He could not talk anymore. He was on oxygen, and his oxygen was going down.

Then he asked my daughter to FaceTime me.

When I saw him on that screen, it was the hardest thing on earth. The father of my children, between life and death. He could not speak. But with his eyes, and with his hand, he was telling me something. I understood him. He was saying, "Pray for me."

I did not cry. But inside of me, I was breaking.

So I spoke to him. I said, "Listen to me very carefully. I want you to be strong. I want you to believe in God. In this sickness, you cannot get scared." I told him that people die because they are scared. "Don't be scared. Fight the fear and believe in God."

I told him to remember his father — a very, very good man who prayed a lot. I said, "Pray with your heart. I know you cannot move. Pray with your eyes. Pray with your soul. And God will be there. You are going to survive."

My daughter kept telling me, "Mommy, please pray for him." I said, "I promise, I am going to pray for him."

And it was not only her. All of my kids started calling me, one after another. They were scared. They were crying. "Mommy, please pray for Dad. Mommy, please forgive him and pray for him."

Even though he had been abusive with them when they were little — even though they carried their own painful memories — they did not call me with anger. They called me with tears, asking me to forgive him and pray for him.

That broke my heart in a deeper way. I had taught my children to pray. I had taught them that nothing can beat the prayer. Nothing. And in the scariest moment of their lives, I saw that they had learned. When fear came, my grown children did not reach for hate. They reached for prayer — the way I had taught them when they were small.

When I hung up the phone, I talked to God. There was no time to pray the way I usually pray. I just talked — with my soul, with my heart, with my mouth. "God, You know what to do. You know how to heal him. I cannot do it. No one in this world can do it — only You. I cannot see him dead. My kids need him. You have to heal him."

Then I called my older daughter. I said, "Listen. Go feed the poor, and make intention for your father to get better."

Within three or four hours, my daughter called me back. His oxygen was going up. He was going to be fine. They were going to move him out of the ICU.

After that, he recovered. And he changed. He started turning his face toward the kids. A few months later, he helped me get the apartment.

He told me later that when he was very sick, he thought he was going to die. And he asked God, "Give me another chance, so I can do for my kids." God gave him that second chance. And he kept his word.

I prayed for the father of my children when he was between life and death. And God answered. Sometimes the person you cried over in your hardest years becomes the person you pray for. That is what forgiveness looks like. That is what God can do.

)

When COVID came, my ex-husband got very, very sick. They took him to the hospital, and he was in critical condition. At that time, they did not let anybody inside. No visitors. No family beside the bed.

By then my children were grown. Shqipa — my miracle girl, the one I carried through nine months of sickness and prayer before she was born — had become a nurse. She called me and said, "Mommy, I have to go to Dad. Dad is very sick. He's in the hospital."

Even now, when I speak about this, I get very emotional. I was so scared for my daughter walking into that hospital, and I was scared for him too — because no matter what I went through, he was the father of my kids.

When she got there, he was in very critical condition. He could not talk anymore. He was on oxygen, and his oxygen was going down.

Then he asked my daughter to FaceTime me.

When I saw him on that screen, it was the hardest thing on earth. The father of my children, between life and death. He could not speak. But with his eyes, and with his hand, he was telling me something. I understood him. He was saying, "Pray for me."

I did not cry. But inside of me, I was breaking.

So I spoke to him. I said, "Listen to me very carefully. I want you to be strong. I want you to believe in God. In this sickness, you cannot get scared." I told him that people die because they are scared. "Don't be scared. Fight the fear and believe in God."

I told him to remember his father — a very, very good man who prayed a lot. I said, "Pray with your heart. I know you cannot move. Pray with your eyes. Pray with your soul. And God will be there. You are going to survive."

My daughter kept telling me, "Mommy, please pray for him." I said, "I promise, I am going to pray for him."

And it was not only her. All of my kids started calling me, one after another. They were scared. They were crying. "Mommy, please pray for Dad. Mommy, please forgive him and pray for him."

Even though he had been abusive with them when they were little — even though they carried their own painful memories — they did not call me with anger. They called me with tears, asking me to forgive him and pray for him.

That broke my heart in a deeper way. I had taught my children to pray. I had taught them that nothing can beat the prayer. Nothing. And in the scariest moment of their lives, I saw that they had learned. When fear came, my grown children did not reach for hate. They reached for prayer — the way I had taught them when they were small.

When I hung up the phone, I talked to God. There was no time to pray the way I usually pray. I just talked — with my soul, with my heart, with my mouth. "God, You know what to do. You know how to heal him. I cannot do it. No one in this world can do it — only You. I cannot see him dead. My kids need him. You have to heal him."

Then I called my older daughter. I said, "Listen. Go feed the poor, and make intention for your father to get better."

Within three or four hours, my daughter called me back. His oxygen was going up. He was going to be fine. They were going to move him out of the ICU.

After that, he recovered. And he changed. He started turning his face toward the kids. A few months later, he helped me get the apartment.

He told me later that when he was very sick, he thought he was going to die. And he asked God, "Give me another chance, so I can do for my kids." God gave him that second chance. And he kept his word.

I prayed for the father of my children when he was between life and death. And God answered. Sometimes the person you cried over in your hardest years becomes the person you pray for. That is what forgiveness looks like. That is what God can do.

Hi, my name is Nedelweiss. I'm here because I want to know more about long covid, ptsd, recovery, how to have fun with an illness

#MightyTogether

Hi All. My name is Leslie and I am looking for my tribe. I am struggling with Chronic Lyme along with Bartonella and Parasitic co-infections. Recently tacked on mold poisoning and MCAS. Also so very ADHD and perimenopausal. I was treated for Lyme with doxycycline years ago, but COVID brought out all the hidden nasties just waiting for a depleted immune system. And just like that, everything I worked so hard for is gone and I am just trying to survive. I am an eternal optimist, but this is heavy and so isolating. Just having a place to read others stories is pretty awesome right now. ❤️ It brings hope.

#MightyTogether #ADHD #LymeDisease

Hi, my name is TiellyTenn. I'm here because I am bedfast and think too much. I have long covid, Dysautonomia, OI (may have morphed into POTS), and new this week is CKD. Hoping to learn more here than I do from my fellow medical professionals.

#MightyTogether

Hi, my name is teachermom1992. I'm undiagnosed and I am desperate for answers because I need HELP. My body has been doing crazy things since 2024 and I have been to countless appointments, tests and specialists (what is avaliable in my area anyways)

This is going to be a long read but I am hoping (begging and praying🙏🙏) someone can help me.

​My "Before" Baseline :

​Baseline: Always active (high school English teacher, mom of young kids born sept 2022 and oct 2025), baseline normal always perfect BP.

​Lifelong info: Migraines since age 12, always freezing cold (loved jackets, fuzzy things, heated blankets, saunas, etc) but with a kinda low heat tolerance (would get super red faced and later a heat rash if I overheated - but it took a lot to get there, like a full day / days of being in the heat and being very active), easy bruising, extreme clumsiness (I run into things all the time, even doorframes), hyperextending joints in some places, and a few random fainting episodes over the years when tired/dehydrated.

​Where Everything Shifted (July 2024 while on vacation at Disney 😭):

​Out of nowhere in July 2024, I developed severe, unremitting cyclic nausea and vomiting. I am talking we were on vacation 18 hours from home and I woke up thinking I had to get sick and then I didn't stop for basically 7 months. Let's out it this way, I lost FORTY-FIVE POUNDS from being sick.

​Ended up having my gallbladder removed in Sept 2024 (HIDA scan said hyperactive gallbladder can cause that as well so we had to try something), but the nausea/vomiting came back 6 days post op. I was on short term disability from my job as a teacher from September to February, when i finally stopped getting sick daily.

​The Pregnancy Remission:

My symptoms started to get better, i thought because we had finally found the right medicines to knock it. Then, ​I found out I was pregnant in early 2025—and remarkably, all of my nausea and dysautonomia symptoms vanished 100% during that time. I felt amazing throughout pregnancy.

​The Postpartum Crash & What Episodes Feel Like:

Shortly after giving birth earlier this year, my body has slowly but completely collapsed into severe autonomic dysfunction since about 3 months pp. My daily episodes and symptoms have slowly started to come back and feel like:

➡️​Tachycardia & Bounding Pulse: Walking room-to-room sometimes makes my heart rate skyrocket (recently hit 150–170 bpm within minutes on a slow treadmill stress test). I feel a massive, pounding pulse in my face, ears, and head.

➡️​Temperature Storms: I get severe cold chills and deep internal shivering, which quickly flips into intense heat intolerance, facial flushing, and sweating. Like all over sweating for no reason. To the point I am so paranoid to be hot and I love in the south - so hiding inside isn't fun.

➡️​Sleep-to-Wake Inertia: Waking up is brutal—my BP drops low, and I feel like I physically cannot open my eyes or wake my brain up. Almost like I am drugged.

➡️​Physical Intolerances: Deep, aching soreness in my legs and feet (relieved by walking/stretching, was told it was plantar fasciatous since it gets better with movement), severe urinary urgency/frequency shifts, zero alcohol tolerance (and not that i was a huge drinker but I am a millennial, I have for sure woken up in a field somewhere and I had a good time in college), and sudden nausea flares and facial flushing. Also being HOT is the worst thing imaginable. Like I want to rip off my skin and run away from everything and everyone till I am cool and occasional my body will feel "heavy", mostly my legs, while I am going up stairs.

➡️​Systemic Stress Surges: When my heart rate spikes, my BP can jump as high as 180/91 from the adrenaline surge. But there have been days when I wake up and it is 83/42 and I can't get myself out of bed. I feel faint. And that triggers panic of course which makes it all worse.

➡️not wanting to argue or get political about it but it is relevant, I did have covid at least 4 times confirmed, once while I was 8 months pregnant and got the vaccine

➡️I have been tested for all the normal things. Diabetes, thyroid disorders, had an ANA panel. All came back "normal" or there was another reason something could have been off

➡️MOST RECENTLY AND WHY I NEED HELP

On Monday I woke up and my bp was low. I took nausea meds, drank water and tried to push through the things because I needed to leave for work. I started feeling like I was going to pass out to the point my husband came home from work, I had to call my neighbor for help and and we went to the doctor (not the ER because they always tell me i am dehydratedand send me away and I'd rather pay a smaller bill and see my doctor who is trying to help me find answers. THAT SAME NIGHT I PASSED OUT in the bathroom floor. I woke up nauseous and with stomach cramping, felt super hot, went to get sick and all I remember thinking is I need to lay down and being SO hot and sweaty. Next thing I knew I was laying on the tile floor covered in sweat and I couldn't feel my arms or hands and my body felt so heavy. I had to use an Alexa device nearby to call and wake up my husband because I couldn't yell loud enough for him to wake up.

​We are currently TRYING TO connect any dots that may be related or that could help find an answer. I had a negative tilt table test. I do take anxiety medication and have for years. I do not take extra to sleep if I need to wake up early the next day, but I do struggle to fall asleep. I had had a heart monitor on twice and an echo, my heart is structurally fine. Neurologist says she thinks it is some form of dysautonimia but wants to dig more.

Can anyone give me any insight?? Does this sound like something you have experienced?? I need HELP. Desperately. I want to be a good mom again. I have 4 kids, 2 of which are little and need me. I want to be a good teacher again and full of the energy and life that made me good at it. I want to live my life without carrying around fans, water, cooling towels and a BP monitor OR AT THE VERY LEAST know why, so when i have to explain things i have an actual answer. I just need help. I have never been so sad, terrified, and just defeated in my life. I just cry and cry and want answers

Please, I would love to hear your experiences or what has helped you! 💜

#MightyTogether #Anxiety #Migraine #ADHD

Tbh i gave up on my life 3 yrs ago. I was still striving to live back then. I had a little bit of wants and desires left in me. All my life I just wanted to just fall in love and get married to that person.
I never really got a chance to live my life by my own free will. Whatever decision I took or even thunk of has always been judged or rediculed. Ultimately, I just had to live by the choices made by my mom. I am 27, I thought I would have married to the love of my life and had kids by now. But no, I have close to zero autonomy and I am not even made to feel like a complete adult.
I have no desire or will to live. Nothing in life is making me feel happy or content. It feels like I have completely lost myself. The only time that I ever truly lived was when I was in Bachelors, first, second and third year. The last year everyone did college from home due to covid. Covid took that away from me as well. Since then gradually I became like this. Yes, I did go to the same college for masters, but things weren't tge same. I skilled up but I lost my dream, creativity and passion.
Not a single thing, good enough to wake up to. Just numbness and loneliness. I feel so horrible about myself I self isolate. I don't like meeting people of my age or younger or financially poorer, living a more loving and fulfiling life than me. I wanted to colour my hair, get tattoos, dress uniquely, date people, get married for love, have a career I love, make money to live my life however I want. But now I have 0 desire to make money for luxuries, I only make money for my survival. I don't even have any desire to prove my worth. I am so deeply broken that my emotions are not even working properly. I at least used to feel sad and cry when I was younger. Now, I am writing this with a poker straight face with a heavy heart and pain in the back of my throat at 4:35 am on 27th Aug '26. I couldn't sleep the whole, I am lying on my bed, tried sleeping the whole night but couldn't. I have cried myself to sleep since my childhood days. But now that also feels like a big task.
Hoping for a better life. I just have myself, no one or nothing worth living for currently.