Photography and Text by Katie Kerl, Copyright 2022
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The Long Haul
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I am trying to remember the last thing I wrote here and I can not. Life is such a mind fuck. Yes, I said mind fuck. I had covid right after my father died in December and it is now March 30th. In between that time symptoms come and go every few weeks just as If I had covid again.
I write about wellness all the time, I take care of myself, I got the shots, I bought any and everything to get better. I felt absolutely insane complaining about being sick like this because not one person I knew felt that way except the one other person who got it when I did.
Months have past, doctors called, prescriptions written, and NOTHING.
I will go for one or two weeks and be completely fine. Then taken down again. All of this I was not fine with but it was manageable. I could not work out, and slept like a narcoleptic cat. If you know me, sleep is not really my forte.
The thing that finally was enough?
Standing in an upholstery store with my mother and getting chest pains across my back shoulder blades and down my arms.
I’m standing there trying not to upset my mother who just lost my father but the pain just kept spreading.
We ended up in the ER and the woman said this is the most common trait of long haul covid. She kind of smiled with a concerned look on her face and let me know she could give me a recommendation for a pulmonary doctor, but I would be waiting months out like everyone else.
MONTHS you could have serious damage to your internal organs and this woman is saying months.
I really feel for the first responders who have patients like me sitting there saying now what with zero resolution ZERO.
A week later that pain has subsided . I am still run down, but much better.
I decided I am going to live my life freely.
Not that I don’t now, but in a much different way. I will not waste my time doing things I do not want to do. I will see all the things I want to see, take care of my mom, make meaningful connections ,and help as many people as possible in the time that I have here.
The fact so many people have died leads me to believe the ones who are left were meant to move on to the next phase of life.
I am currently sitting in Atlanta at my work experience center area in Atlantic Station . Thinking how much personal work went into sitting here today. Also, how lucky I am to be in such a forward thinking company.
On my way to the airport I passed my old job.
Nothing had changed, the same workers, and I was no longer confined to a building. Amazing business to have the opportunity to design restaurants. I did not want to be a body in a store designing or not.
Last night on the news they said 4 million + people quit their jobs this month. The great resignation is an ongoing thing. You can watch the United States unravel daily. People are fed up. If you play it right you can make a living on Instagram and Tik Tok. That will never be totally for me, but for the people pushing out content three times a day…. GET THAT MONEY
Did I mention we are at war??? Not that I need to tell anyone but, It is 2022 and I feel like we may be using some of those fallout training we were made to do in elementary school. If anyone thinks for a second we’re just safe here I beg you to think again. To all of my Ukrainian friends and just the large population of Russian and Ukrainian people in the Philadelphia area. My heart goes out to both sides. People with families suffering, and ones who are being ridiculed for being Russian. When are we just going to accept PEOPLE as PEOPLE ?!?!? That is the entire point of the world catching fire the last three years.
Start living your best life now. Not tomorrow, not when you feel better, not when you lost weight, and not when you are in a better place .
This piece is going to be as ADD as my brain.
Anyone that has read my past pieces knows that I invest, and am into crypto. For the second time Game Stop and AMC have short squeezed. I held my AMC after trading it many times. I have watched CNBC daily for two years. The first time they said get into crypto was just a few weeks ago right after the war started. There are metaverse and crypto commercials daily on that channel. I had said to many people; crypto will run up again after the shorted stocks do. That is not a new occurrence, more people just caught on.
I took those gains right to my crypto.
I am not sure why so many people hate crypto when the stock market is corrupt. If you could potentially double your business revenue from NFTs & the Metaverse are you really that averse to change you would miss out on this type of real wealth?
Teenagers are making more money than their parents because they get it, just like social media. We are going to see more digital millionaires and billionaires in our lifetime because of this.
My company just created a metaverse, crypto coin, our own wallet, and avatars.
I highly suggest researching blockchain, stable coins, utility coins, transaction based, metaverse related ,and get into some of it now.
Before some are too high to buy into . Get Kracken /Gemini apps, and get interest on your crypto and your US dollar coin.
The Gemini dollar is like 8% some apps up to 12% in some cases.
You become the bank.
One of the old school banks I had an account left in infuriated me. They blocked some of my crypto trades. The teller’s response? “ We are trying to protect you”. Excuse me, overdraft fees ,0% on your savings ,and cards that do not work internationally just sound like they were controlling how I spend. I have never been happier switching than when I did.
It is two days after my 38th Birthday. Last year I was in Miami partying at Miami Music Week. Those few days always set me free. For the first time in a decade I came to the vivid realization that week was no longer for me. At least not in that way.
I still love Miami though. I went in December and did it a much different way. We went to Strawberry Moon pool ,and Dante’s HiFi. Rich Medina played an awesome vinyl set. What I took away from the two experiences; I don’t want to be at your oversold party, I do not want to get treated like a piece of meat at your table, or on your boat with strangers. I am not for sale. Granted not all of Miami is like this, but its the majority of d*ck swinging men trying to get the most pretty women to party with them.
My goal is to own the boat.
They say you meet people at the most unexpected times. If you would have told me I would meet someone at 3 am at a party we both didn’t intend on being at and bonding over Solana.( you would probably ask me what that is. I will let you google that and maybe it will inspire you.) It is now about to be April and he is as supportive of me, my goals, my dad’s death, being covid sick forever, and I am not easy to deal with for most people given my be yourself attitude.
Alice crossed a Mad Hatter who was just as out there and caring as her.
We will see how far this rabbit hole goes lol.
I am beyond blessed and thankful for the life I have right now.
Am I still grieving ? Absolutely
Do I still have awful reoccurring covid symptoms 100%
Did I just drop enough money into crypto in the last four month to help all that just a bit.
You are damn right I did.
Tomorrow I am going to a women’s executive networking event being hosted by KewCali of the Fostered Foundation in Atlanta. It is called The Kewl Experience. One Hundred women coming together to progress forward.
My ability to connect real people together is kind of my superpower. Sounds funny, but I owe everything I have to building relationships.
People ridicule you for going through acquaintances or friends. I will never understand that. If you do not change your circle how will you ever change your life?
How do you grow without expanding your reach and trying new things ?
I usually have some meaningful closing to these pieces.
Not this time. It is more of a warning.
LIVE
I do not care what you do; just START.
As someone who decided to do just that; I can’t wait to see more people in this position. A position to design your life. Not have it dictated to you.
While I never felt grief like this, I feel free.
No one will be taking that from me.
I walked through my fire . I dare you to do the same.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Katie Kerl was raised in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. She is currently living in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. Katie has a background in Psychology from Drexel University. She is a manager in the commercial/residential design field . Katie can be reached on Instagram @kerlupwithkate
For collaboration e-mail: Kate.kerl32@gmail.com
To access additional article by Katie Kerl, click here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/katie-kerl-philly-reloaded-life-after-lockdown/