COVID-19 survivor says after overcoming virus and diabetes
It wasn’t an easy battle for Tom Idema Jr. when COVID-19 knocked him down in October 2020. It took five weeks before he started to recover. Not only was he fighting off the virus, but he was doing so while diagnosed as an overweight Type 2 diabetic.
“I had seen in the news that certainly Type 2 diabetics had a bigger risk of having adverse effects from COVID, and, uh, being overweight was certainly not a helping factor either,” Idema said. “I was praying to God. I was like, ‘You know what; you get me through this. We’re going to make some lifestyle changes. We’re gonna fix this.’”
During the first week of December 2020, Idema made it back to his office, where he works as the director of Student Conduct at Central Michigan University.
Shortly after he arrived back on the job, he said human resources staff sent a request looking for Type 2 diabetics to participate in a program. Idema said he jumped on the opportunity.
His assigned dietician asked what his goals were. Idema said he needed to get healthy.
“It didn’t take long and I did; I blew right through the 300-pound mark, which I was, was just amazed at,” he said. “Then it was last March, uh, she said, ‘Tom, go take a walk.’”
Since that time, Idema said he walks every day, aside from a brief period where he had foot surgery. He said he lost over 100 pounds and is in remission from diabetes.
“I’m enjoying life immensely,” he said. “Not that I wasn’t before, but I’m a lot healthier now. I feel like I’ve arrived at a new place that I’m looking forward to staying in this place.”
Covid-19 two years in: the psychological toll, the way forward
The Rev. Michael Heath, of Fayetteville, is a licensed mental health counselor and a United Church of Christ minister.
I had an unfortunate experience recently when I wanted to buy a sandwich. Since I am 73 and have Type 2 diabetes, I am cautious about mask wearing. So, before arriving at the restaurant, I called ahead, just to make sure. To my surprise, I was told that, since masks were optional, no masks are being worn. Needless to say, I lost my appetite.
In reflecting on the incident, I suspected that my experience was not unique and realized that Covid’s long duration has taken a toll of our collective psyche. Indeed, Covid-19 has affected our lives in so many ways. Personally, two years ago, I stopped seeing clients face-to-face and began counseling via tele-therapy. When we first heard about coronavirus, who could have imagined that the medical crisis would have become so huge or would last so long?
What concerns me is that, although medical experts tell us that the crisis is not over, there are signs that many have reached their limits to cope or be reasonable. Getting back to normal seems to have replaced public safety as a top priority.
To maintain an even keel, mental health counselors have advised folks to focus on self-care and learning stress management techniques. Those whose ability to cope has been exceeded often deny Covid’s threat to themselves and have lost their concern for the welfare of others .
Evidence of Covid fatigue is not simply a social thing. It is also found among government officials who have ended masking mandates prematurely, perhaps in response to public opposition.
Even though rates have dropped dramatically since a peak in January, more recent data shows an uptick in Covid cases. Recent news has shown dramatic surges of Covid in China and Europe. Likewise, some health officials are saying that the latest Omicron variant, BA.2, would spike a rise in cases here in the U.S.
Despite the amazing speed of pharmaceutical companies to produce effective vaccines and the Herculean effort of the government to make the vaccines available free of charge, a third of our population have still refused to be vaccinated. The disappointing vaccination percentage brings me to my final concern. We cannot take our foot off the gas to get people vaccinated. The CDC has constantly stated that, ultimately, vaccinations will defeat this pandemic.
Apart from the medical risk, some worry that eliminating mandates sends the wrong message, i.e. that Covid is no longer a serious problem. When combined with an already emotionally exhausted populace, loosening health restrictions emboldens those who oppose safety measures and would most likely increase medically reckless behavior. Instead of inspiring us to pull together to defeat this menace, giving a premature, all-clear signal could increase social division and reduce compliance regarding common-sense health precautions.
We need not belabor the point of the tragic consequences of this irrational defiance. The facts speak for themselves: Hundreds of thousands of preventable hospitalizations and deaths have occurred and the goal of getting Covid under control has been needlessly delayed simply because of the lack of compliance with these reasonable measures.
Taking all of these factors into account, what is a reasonable person to do? Personally, I’m sick and tired of Covid, too. However, my best reasoning says that we can’t give up or give in to our fatigue. We must continue to be vigilant until long lasting vaccines are developed and or the virus is vanquished.
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