They say environmental destruction, deforestation, hunger & going after “bush meat,” climate change, etc. are leading to more human/wild animal interactions causing more pandemics, though they don’t definitively say this COVID-19 coronavirus was caused by environmental harms. But the upshot is we can expect more and more pandemics in years to come. And it’s interesting that the pandemic has a silver lining of causing us a “sabbath” as one poster put it, thereby reducing pollution.
Some 6 years ago my husband and I went to India (his home place), stopping by Abu Dhabi to see a nephew on the way. We caught MERS (a coronavirus with 35% fatality). We thought we were going to die, like my lungs got full of fibrous something and I felt I had less than 5% breathing capacity (that’s how I visualized it). Very high fever, cough, flat on our backs, unable to do anything – not able to cook, but it was okay bec we were unable to eat. He was delirious, hallucinating. I was able with my last bit of strength go over to the computer and look up the symptoms, realizing it was the deadly MERS. But we didn’t want to go to the doctor or interact with anyone, not wanting to spread it. I thought this was the end, but felt at peace. A neighbor brought us some homeopathy meds and we think that saved us.
A couple of years later when they tested my lungs, they said they were below normal. Now that we are well past 70 yrs & with poor lungs, we’ll probably die if we get this COVID-19. So I guess we’d better get our will updated and take care of things.
The first reported case just came up today in the Rio Grande Valley, where we live, a visitor from up north. And we saw on TV the teenage spring breakers jammed together, celebrating on S. Padre Is., coming from all over the country, no doubt some bringing the virus with them… the same day the report came out that some young folks in Europe are also getting very sick from it & the first death from it in Trichy, India (where my br-in-law lives) is of a 12 year old boy.
As long as I’m still alive I’ll continue to do all I can to reduce my environmental impact so that there might be a decent future for the young folks.
