#24: Where in the World is Long Covid?

LongCovidMD@gmail.com
LongCovidMD.com

This podcast, like Long Covid, has a global reach. Whether we see one another or not, we are part of a new community. And this community, while struggling, is pretty amazing. Today I highlight the diverse location of listeners, to remind you that you are not alone in your struggle.  Did I give your town a shout-out? Did I miss it? 

Transcript

Zeest Khan (00:00)
Hi, I'm Dr. Zeest Khan, the Long COVID MD. I'm a physician with long COVID and I've applied all of my medical expertise to my recovery. Luckily, it's working and I want to share what I've learned with you. On this podcast, I help you understand your body and understand the healthcare system so you can move your own health forward.

We've got a lot to talk about, but remember, nothing I say here replaces personalized medical advice from your healthcare team. Let's get started.

Zeest Khan (00:36)
Welcome back. am going to spend this episode just thanking you guys and shouting you out. The podcast is of course an ongoing project for me and I am learning how to pace myself, how to get out really informative and helpful episodes to you and that sometimes takes time. So in lieu of a scientific discussion here,

I spent a little bit of time looking through the statistics of the podcast and seeing where all of you are. And I think you might be interested to hear where you are listening from too.

Long COVID MD has listeners in 28 countries, 436 cities. Where are you listening from? I want to say hello to the listener in Madison, Wisconsin, Glasgow.

Scotland, Rolla, Missouri. I want to say hello to the listener in Yokohama, Japan. I want to say hello to the listener in Kingfisher, Oklahoma and those of you listening in closer to my stomping grounds. So we'll start California South, La Jolla, up here in Woodland, up here close to home Elk Grove,

Somebody in Lodi is listening. Tell me who you are. I want to say hello to the person listening in Roseville, in Berkeley, in Santa Clara. Again, my old stomping grounds. I want to say hello to the person listening in St. Louis. Those of you listening in Massachusetts, in Belmont, in Somerville. I want to give a big shout out.

shout out to the person listening in Cape Town. I have a lot of family in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. I know they are not listening. Otherwise, I would have heard about it on the group chat. But hello, Cape Towner. Boulder, Colorado, Sacramento, Zurich, Dublin, Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania, where are you at? Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Several people in Hawaii, Kailua is one. There are Canadian listeners in Montreal, Vancouver, and I know there was a few more cities in Canada. New Zealand and Australia, hello.

If you were in Melbourne or in Tasmania. Hello to Phoenix. Hello to San Francisco. Big, big hello to Chicago, a city that is very near and dear to my heart. I went to medical school in Chicago. I did my internship year of residency in Chicago. I met my husband in Chicago. My sister -in -law lives in Chicago.

Maybe she's one of the listeners out there. And Portland and Minneapolis and Denver and Brooklyn. Thank you guys so much for listening. The last one I'll shout out is Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. I love some of these names. we also have a pretty big German contingent.

Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt. I wanna shout out Frau Deberry, my high school German teacher. She was phenomenal. She was a vibe.

wherever you are. Hello, Frau.

What strikes me about the locations of people who are listening, and I can't, you know, before I get to that, I have to say salam to the listener in Pakistan. I wonder which province you are listening from. That's where my family is from. Hello to you listening in Cyprus.

and in Finland and in Oman. What strikes me as I was saying when I listen or look at and review where you are listening from is that one, COVID does not discriminate by nationality or creed. This is not a class -based disease process.

This is not a race -based disease process. We're going to have a guest on to talk about the global impact of long COVID and what we're seeing or the ways that we're seeing long COVID approached and treated all around the world. But I want to remind you that you are not alone in this struggle.

and that I imagine you are challenged by accessing resources that you need to make yourself heal. But we are in this together. This is even though it feels very isolating and it is a disease that causes people to become isolated by its very nature.

We are interconnected. We are sharing an experience. And I invite you to tap in to the internationality of it all. There is a community, whether or not you realize it, that you belong to. There is a culture that you belong to. And unfortunately, it wasn't your choice to join this group.

But based on the messages that I've received from listeners, this is a phenomenal group and one that I am very honored to be associated with. You guys are super interesting. You're very eloquent. You're curious. You're determined. And you are strong. I am very optimistic that we are all going to make

significant progress in our symptoms. I want to encourage myself and you to think about the group. I am going to spend the day reflecting on this amazing community that I am now a part of. So whether you are in Montreal

if you are in Stowe, Vermont, if you're in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, or if you're in Algonquin.

Keep this in mind. You're part of a bigger picture and we together are going to get through this.

Tell me where you're listening from. Email me at longcovidmd at gmail .com. You can check out my website and message me from there longcovidmd .com.

I'm taking a deep breath.

And I want to say thank you. Thank you for listening. I hope you continue to listen and together we are going to get better. That's my intention for today. That's my mantra for today. I hope you're feeling well in this moment. And until next time, bye for now.