When I started this Long COVID blog, I did not intend for it to be political. Unfortunately, in our country, health is directly tied to politics. We do not have high quality medical care accessible to all because that would be “socialism.” I fully expect that the misogynistic, egotistical leaders we elected this month will attempt to use their immense, but not unlimited power, to directly impact my health (and that of millions others) in the following ways:
Require the medical profession across the country to treat my presumed endometriosis and similar conditions as simply “women’s hysteria” curable by having sex and bearing children. As such, they will reduce or eliminate the availability of the hormone treatments (commonly known as birth control) that sometimes make these conditions manageable.
Convince the medical community, and the public at large, that Long COVID was simply a Radical Left Hoax and does not exist. Also, to convince us all that the coronavirus is gone, and there is no need to mask, vaccinate, or fund research into treatments, preventions, and cures for Acute COVID or Long COVID. Thereby, exposing millions more people to the risk of acquiring Acute and Long COVID and those of us with already compromised health to further risk, exposure, and damage.
Remove health insurance regulations, causing millions to lose insurance. Thus making it impossible for those of us with debilitating, pre-existing, and income-limiting conditions like Long COVID to afford the extensive health care necessary to manage our conditions.
This is a bleak and upsetting outlook. Unsurprisingly, my mood has been correspondingly dark since 11:30 PM on November 5, 2024. As I’ve discussed before, anxiety increases the severity of my Long COVID symptoms…although, for now, it seems that the adrenaline of anger is providing a counterbalancing energy boost. Managing these emotions is crucial for managing my Long COVID.
Music is a fundamental coping mechanism for me. I believe that is partly why I have an eclectic taste in music…so that I always have an option to meet the mood/needs of the current situation.
The current anger, despair, and something that is a blend of hope, confidence, and defiance calls for classical works featuring chorus with orchestra.
The choir I would be singing with right now, if I did not have Long COVID, is performing Giuseppi Verdi’s Requiem for their spring Classics concert.1 This composition is #2 on my post-election playlist. There is a unique power when 100+ diverse individuals join together their voices and instruments in the shared goal of bringing music to life.
Unfortunately, it is also a very physical activity, one of the many that Long COVID is preventing me from participating in as a singer. Fortunately, I can still participate as audience.
#1 on my post-election playlist is Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, which I have been fortunate enough to perform as part of the choir twice. The strength, power, and magic of this piece is palpable as either singer or audience.2
We are reminded of the conditions of life that the authors faced—for their life was indeed nasty, brutish and short. Men and women lived in a society that handed them a meager role, and few felt any control over their destiny. The song O fortuna! reminds us of all of this, even as it rings with a passion for life, a demand to seize and treasure the sweet moments that pitiful human existence affords.
Scott horton, “O! Fortuna” in Harper’s Magazine, 9/7/20083
Even in darkness, we can find community and light.
The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale will be performing Verdi’s Requiem on March 3, 2025. More information and tickets are available on their website: https://www.pccsing.org/classicalconcert. ↩︎
Carolyn Ristau 
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