Some of those in the Youtube community who commonly watch videos on science and engineering may have heard about what happened to Physics Girl.
Her real name is Dianna Cowern, and she’s a Youtuber who makes videos centered around the theme of physics, sciences, and the joys of learning how things worked the way they do around us, answering many questions we may have had as a child, or now.
There were many popular videos about space, nature, experiments, and demonstrations of physics concepts in real-life scenarios that are later followed by explanations of the scientific background behind what occurred in these videos.
It also showcased a girl full of life, energy, and enthusiasm, encouraging and helping others learn more about the world around them.
However almost a year ago she contracted Covid, but unlike most of us who did, she suffered long-covid symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS.
There are no more new videos released on her Youtube, instead, we get occasional updates from her friends and husband once in a while on her health condition.
At current her symptoms are still severe and she requires full-time assistance at home. Being unable to stand or do simple daily tasks, she appears bedridden in a dark room. Her husband feeds her blended food through a straw as she even lacks the energy to chew her food on some days.
I myself had covid a year ago and recovered from it since then. I’ve seen it run its course through my family and friends over time. Despite taking precautions, wearing masks, and getting vaccinations, we still caught it.
Thankfully, we all made full recoveries with no long-term side effects. Though, occasionally I do question if I have worse memory now compared to before as some names of people and places seem harder to recall.
Seeing bad or unfortunate things happening to others around me makes me view life differently, compared to how I did before.
This incident and many others similar to it have made me realize how fragile life is, and how we cannot take what we have, be it our health, family, and loved ones, or even the ability to work, for granted.
It helped me compartmentalize things like work and other stressful scenarios in my life, not letting them overwhelm me.
Life is important, fragile, and worth preserving. It’s meant to be enjoyed, to serve others, and to be filled with purpose.
In some ways, hearing incidents like these make me insecure about the what-ifs that can happen, but it also reminds me to prioritize the important things in life and to hold on to my faith in God.
I pray more for those around me, and in general, I pray more for everything, even for those people who are not in my life, who are suffering, and who need support.
So the takeaway is this.
Love those around you, make the most of your time while you are alive and well, and don’t take things for granted.
I hope you well, take care.