Wednesday, June 18, 2025
ISSN 2765-8767
  • Survey
  • Podcast
  • Write for Us
  • My Account
  • Log In
Daily Remedy
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Podcasts
    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    The Fight Against Healthcare Fraud: Dr. Rafai’s Story

    April 8, 2025
    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    April 4, 2025
    The Alarming Truth About Health Insurance Denials

    The Alarming Truth About Health Insurance Denials

    February 3, 2025
    Telehealth in Turmoil

    The Importance of NIH Grants

    January 31, 2025
    The New Era of Patient Empowerment

    The New Era of Patient Empowerment

    January 29, 2025
    Physicians: Write Thy Briefs

    Physicians: Write thy amicus briefs!

    January 26, 2025
  • Surveys

    Surveys

    Perception vs. Comprehension: Public Understanding of the 2025 MAHA Report

    Perception vs. Comprehension: Public Understanding of the 2025 MAHA Report

    June 4, 2025
    Understanding Public Perception and Awareness of Medicare Advantage and Payment Change

    Understanding Public Perception and Awareness of Medicare Advantage and Payment Change

    April 4, 2025

    Survey Results

    Do you believe national polls on health issues are accurate

    National health polls: trust in healthcare system accuracy?

    May 8, 2024
    Which health policy issues matter the most to Republican voters in the primaries?

    Which health policy issues matter the most to Republican voters in the primaries?

    May 14, 2024
    How strongly do you believe that you can tell when your provider does not trust you?

    How strongly do you believe that you can tell when your provider does not trust you?

    May 7, 2024
  • Courses
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Support Us
  • Official Learner
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Podcasts
    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    The Fight Against Healthcare Fraud: Dr. Rafai’s Story

    April 8, 2025
    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    Navigating the Medical Licensing Maze

    April 4, 2025
    The Alarming Truth About Health Insurance Denials

    The Alarming Truth About Health Insurance Denials

    February 3, 2025
    Telehealth in Turmoil

    The Importance of NIH Grants

    January 31, 2025
    The New Era of Patient Empowerment

    The New Era of Patient Empowerment

    January 29, 2025
    Physicians: Write Thy Briefs

    Physicians: Write thy amicus briefs!

    January 26, 2025
  • Surveys

    Surveys

    Perception vs. Comprehension: Public Understanding of the 2025 MAHA Report

    Perception vs. Comprehension: Public Understanding of the 2025 MAHA Report

    June 4, 2025
    Understanding Public Perception and Awareness of Medicare Advantage and Payment Change

    Understanding Public Perception and Awareness of Medicare Advantage and Payment Change

    April 4, 2025

    Survey Results

    Do you believe national polls on health issues are accurate

    National health polls: trust in healthcare system accuracy?

    May 8, 2024
    Which health policy issues matter the most to Republican voters in the primaries?

    Which health policy issues matter the most to Republican voters in the primaries?

    May 14, 2024
    How strongly do you believe that you can tell when your provider does not trust you?

    How strongly do you believe that you can tell when your provider does not trust you?

    May 7, 2024
  • Courses
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Support Us
  • Official Learner
No Result
View All Result
Daily Remedy
No Result
View All Result
Home Contrarian

Experiencing COVID-19 Firsthand

Daily Remedy by Daily Remedy
August 8, 2021
in Contrarian
0

It began with a crack in the neck. An odd, sharp sensation piercing the top of the neck and slithering its way down my spine. That was the first symptom I felt. And for two days, that was the only symptom I felt.

And then as though on cue, the fatigue swarmed. At first it was gentle, almost like I was not well rested from the night before – my first instincts were to think I just need to power through it. But the more I fought it, the more fatigued I became. Until it became a figurative quicksand of fatigue in which any resistance to the fatigue only exacerbated its effects.

Stubborn as I am, I still tried to fight through it.  A quick power nap here, a few moments of rest there, and I continued about my day. It was my coworkers who raised the alarms. ‘you don’t look good’, ‘are you okay?’, ‘maybe you should go home for the day’.

And after enough of those over the course of the day, I eventually listened.

I went home and rested.

And then I came back the next day.

After all there was work to be done, and I would be damned if I did not finish it. ‘No excuses’ was my mindset, and I was determined to prove it to everyone around me.

Until two days later, when the proverbial closing charge arrived – with full force, the cramps arrived. An peculiar sense of heaviness, and then of pain, and then of outright cramps overtook my legs. I felt like I had pulled both my thigh muscles, but only my thigh muscles and nothing else. The strange localization of the symptoms were as noticeable as the cramps were painful. Soon enough, my thighs were ringing with sharp pangs interlaced with dull aches synchronizing in a dastardly dance of death.

It was about this time when the swarm of fatigue hit full stride and I knew I needed to rest. There was no powering through this. I knew I was – in the truest sense – bedridden.

People would ask if I had COVID-19, if I was contagious, and I never had a definitive answer. It was weird contradiction of what I knew and what I felt. I spent so much of my time studying COVID-19, educating the public about the disease, and here I was – at a loss of words to explain my own condition.

No, I did not have headaches, fevers, or difficulty breathing. No sneezing, no mucus – in fact, I had no upper respiratory tract symptoms.

Just the cramps and the fatigue – and until I got tested, a lingering uncertainty of what it could be. I doubted it was COVID-19 because I felt I was always careful, always wearing a surgical mask in public and always maintaining social distancing. But I knew I needed to get tested.

And when I did, and when I found out I was positive, I felt a deep personal disappointment.

I felt I was not careful enough, that I did not take the responsible measures necessary to avoid getting COVID-19. I informed my family and colleagues – none of whom had gotten it – thank god. But my isolation only worsened my self-flagellation.

I was the irresponsible, reckless one. I was the one who put everyone at risk. I was to blame.

How else to explain the positive COVID-19 test?

And that sense of self-disappointment exacerbated my symptoms and lulled me into an existential dread, wallowing in a sense of worthlessness.

And for days I lied in bed, wistful, dejected, balancing the thigh cramps with ibuprofen, and staying awake long enough to binge-watch whatever shows I had been putting off before the fatigue swarmed in and took over.

I avoided social media, well, as much as someone in this age can realistically avoid social media. I saw pictures of healthcare workers receiving the vaccine, proudly displaying their bandages of honor. And I contrasted them with myself. They were the heroes; I was the villain. They were the ones fighting to contain COVID-19. I was the careless one who did not take the necessary precautions. And while I was lucky not to have contaminated anyone close to me, who knows to how many others I must have spread it to in the initial days.

COVID-19 had no longer become a disease to study, it became a reflection of my self-worth. Somehow, when I became infected, COVID-19 transformed from a disease, a statistic, a projection into a moral appraisal of my self-identity.

I became less concerned about the symptoms of COVID-19 and more about what the disease meant for me as a person – as though the disease has become a judge of my character, reflecting a moral failing.

But it is only a disease. Yet this virus, which behaves according to the principles of biology, whose spread can be defined by physicians and statisticians, had render moral judgments about my own self-worth.

When I study the disease in others, I view it objectively. When I perceive the disease in myself, I view it subjectively. Some do the opposite – they view it objectively in themselves and subjectively in others.

The dichotomy of perceptions – from self, to others – creates inherent contradictions in our actions, perceptions, and beliefs.

When a politician who was advocating against masks gets COVID-19, we seem to find some sort of vindication – as though that politician deserved to get sick. When a young child dies from the disease, we mourn the death and rationalize our sadness and fears through science, through the inevitability of pandemics in society.

We never claim that the child deserved to get COVID-19. We focus on the tragedy and the opportunities lost from a life gone too soon.

We interject subjectivity into an objective biological process without even recognizing that we are doing it – affecting our decision-making individually, and the policies we enact broadly.

It is a powerful, subconscious force in our thinking that influences our behavior, even if we know better, even if we have the science to refute this type of thinking.

But we continue to think this way. And as a result, we continue to make the same mistakes that arise from thinking this way.

The same mistakes we made early in the pandemic, we seem to be repeating now. Largely because we have not understood how we conflate subjective thinking with objective facts that vary based upon the changing circumstances. We conflate personal preference with scientific facts.

First we were told that broad lockdowns and restrictions were essential in preventing the spread. Now we are told that targeted restrictions are more appropriate. First we were told that everyone must take two doses. Now we are told that some should defer the second dose until more vaccines are available.

The science never changed; it was merely our opinion of the science that influenced how we interpreted the science.

Just like for me, the disease did not change when I was studying it in others relative to when I became infected. But the perception of having COVID-19 relative to studying in others altered my perception of the disease and of myself.

In the end, no matter what I thought or continue to think, I was fortunate, I was lucky to have only a mild set of symptoms that relieved after a few days. Many are not so lucky, and I count my blesses.

But I saw firsthand the paradox in how we view COVID-19 among others and in ourselves – and how we choose to view it in others – a powerful paradox arising from our subconscious that creates a large impact in the decisions we make and policies we pursue.

And if we are to navigate through this new post-vaccine phase of COVID-19, we must study this paradox as much as we study the science.

ShareTweet
Daily Remedy

Daily Remedy

Dr. Jay K Joshi serves as the editor-in-chief of Daily Remedy. He is a serial entrepreneur and sought after thought-leader for matters related to healthcare innovation and medical jurisprudence. He has published articles on a variety of healthcare topics in both peer-reviewed journals and trade publications. His legal writings include amicus curiae briefs prepared for prominent federal healthcare cases.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Videos

Summary

In this episode of the Daily Remedy Podcast, Dr. Joshi discusses the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare laws and trends, emphasizing the importance of understanding the distinction between statutory and case law. The conversation highlights the role of case law in shaping healthcare practices and encourages physicians to engage in legal advocacy by writing legal briefs to influence case law outcomes. The episode underscores the need for physicians to actively participate in the legal processes that govern their practice.

Takeaways

Healthcare trends are rapidly changing and confusing.
Understanding statutory and case law is crucial for physicians.
Case law can overturn existing statutory laws.
Physicians can influence healthcare law through legal briefs.
Writing legal briefs doesn't require extensive legal knowledge.
Narrative formats can be effective in legal briefs.
Physicians should express their perspectives in legal matters.
Engagement in legal advocacy is essential for physicians.
The interpretation of case law affects medical practice.
Physicians need to be part of the legal conversation.
Physicians: Write thy amicus briefs!
YouTube Video FFRYHFXhT4k
Subscribe

MD Angels Investor Pitch

Visuals

Official MAHA Report

Official MAHA Report

by Daily Remedy
May 31, 2025
0

Explore the official MAHA Report released by the White House in May 2025.

Read more

Twitter Updates

Tweets by DailyRemedy1

Newsletter

Start your Daily Remedy journey

Cultivate your knowledge of current healthcare events and ensure you receive the most accurate, insightful healthcare news and editorials.

*we hate spam as much as you do

Popular

  • The Double-Edged Hype: Rethinking the Weight-Loss Drug Boom

    The Double-Edged Hype: Rethinking the Weight-Loss Drug Boom

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Feathers and Forecasts: Why the Bird Flu Surge Demands America’s Attention Now

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Anxious Generation: Why Gen Z Is Leading the Mental Health Revolution

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Grey Market of Weight Loss: How Compounded GLP-1 Medications Continue Despite FDA Crackdowns

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The First FBI Agent I Met

    3 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 628 Followers

Daily Remedy

Daily Remedy offers the best in healthcare information and healthcare editorial content. We take pride in consistently delivering only the highest quality of insight and analysis to ensure our audience is well-informed about current healthcare topics - beyond the traditional headlines.

Daily Remedy website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. We do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All rights reserved.

Important Links

  • Support Us
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Newsletter

Start your Daily Remedy journey

Cultivate your knowledge of current healthcare events and ensure you receive the most accurate, insightful healthcare news and editorials.

*we hate spam as much as you do

  • Survey
  • Podcast
  • About Us
  • Contact us

© 2025 Daily Remedy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Podcasts
  • Surveys
  • Courses
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Support Us
  • Official Learner

© 2025 Daily Remedy

Start your Daily Remedy journey

Cultivate your knowledge of current healthcare events and ensure you receive the most accurate, insightful healthcare news and editorials.

*we hate spam as much as you do