Oh good! I never really know if folks are finding that part helpful. They’ll usually comment on what I wrote or on just one of the links. Thanks for the feedback! 🤗
Dagnab it, I said to myself I would be offline right now and here you are with a shiny new newsletter and lots of sparkling links to tempt my brain into engaging! So, a compromise: bookmarking now to pour over later.
FYI, we're near San Diego, well south of the LA fires. We are okay but vigilant, as the Santa Ana winds blow down here as well.
PS: see your cats' vet to get some gabapentin to have on hand. At the first sign of possible evacuations, dose them. It will make it a lot easier to load them into carriers if needed.
Sorry to be such a temptation! I didn’t realize you were in far southern Cali. Glad you’re okay and staying alert for changes.
And that’s such a great suggestion re: gabapentin. I have some on hand because I dose the elder stateswoman before taking her to the groomer, but I never thought of doing this with all three in a foreseeable emergency. Thank you for that!
So glad to hear this! It’ll keep me going with these. I love boosting other newsletters, too. I’m glad you’re giving some of them your attention. Thanks Flo!
Thank you for including me in this post and for writing about such an important topic. I'm encouraged seeing people talk about this... the more we talk about it the more we can find solutions to keep our community safe!
Thank you Amy … that’s very kind of you to say! Happy to be in community with you as well (and perhaps one day this amount of advocacy won’t be required anymore)
Cat dump. 😂 Thank you for sharing that essay my friend!
And re disability and climate crisis evacuations, NPR did a story on it this weekend and while it’s good to hear some steps being made, we have a long way to go. Beginning with awareness. I wasn’t surprised the story didn’t mention chronic illness (it’s rarely brought up in the mainstream disability conversation), but we need to continue to try to expand their narrative. I know so many individuals with chronic illness who can’t drive, so what does a mandatory evacuation look like for them? Anyway, I’m so glad you’re doing the work you’re doing Amy. And sharing so many incredible links. You’re a one woman resource hub!
Cat dump usually involves me photo dumping my brood, but your piece was so good, it needed to stand alone this week!
That’s such a great point about the media coverage. IF they cover the disabled during crises, it’s almost always those who are visibly mobility impaired (or maybe visually impaired or Deaf/hoh). But the amount of equipment, meds, supplements, and specialty/limited foods that spoonies often require would make evacuating nearly impossible without a great deal of support. It very much feels like we’re worse than an afterthought; we’re a non-thought by most 😔
This link roundup! I’m going to be here for hours and I would have been A-OKAY not know that Creutzfeld-Jakob disease existed 🫠😭 but also glad I learned something new.
The gossip cartoon! 🫨 “Those motivated to find out who’s behaving prosocially or not were, historically, more successful.” Also “Passing along good gossip is like bringing dessert to a party or triumphantly carrying a fresh kill to your pride.” 😂😭 Hilarious! Incredible!
Thanks my friend! CKJ is indeed a cruel disease. Watching how quickly it took my friend’s mom - a woman who had me at her dinner table countless times as a kid - was just devastating 😞.
On a lighter note, I LOVED the nosy lady birds in that gossip cartoon! The artist struck the exact right mood/feel. So delish! Glad you enjoyed that 🥰
I wonder if Superman acquired long Covid would he lose his ability to leap tall buildings with a single bound and get winded climbing up his front steps like I do mine?? Just saying...
That post was about the tools that we all need, but there's much more to the story.
Back in 2020 I published a peer reviewed paper on the effects of air pollution on susceptibility to COVID (and by extension, other infections). The particles in air pollution bind to the natural protective antimicrobials that our bodies make. Thus, they are not available to protect against infection. If you look at the historical sites when the highest density of deaths occurred during the pandemic, the highest tolls were in areas with poor air quality, especially downwind of industrial sites. It was also very bad in homes where wood smoke was present. Vitamin D deficiency also plays a role in exacerbation of air pollution induced susceptibility to infection. The full article is here: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00232/full
I’m so grateful to you, Mardi. We’ve been dealing with some bad air in our house this past week, coming from the wood fireplace, and I read your comment to my husband. We agreed to cut down on our fire burning and to get an air monitor. We already have purifiers and we open windows here and there. One of our cats especially LOVES the fireplace, to the point where after the fire dies out, he camps out on top of it like he’s staging a sit-in 😆. But I worry about his fragile little lungs and mind too!
The link roundup is honestly amazing. Thank you for doing so much work to collect such great info!
Oh good! I never really know if folks are finding that part helpful. They’ll usually comment on what I wrote or on just one of the links. Thanks for the feedback! 🤗
No, it’s so helpful!!
Oh, yay! TY 💛
I agree!
Thanks Flo!
Thanks for the shout out! I love your posts.
Dagnab it, I said to myself I would be offline right now and here you are with a shiny new newsletter and lots of sparkling links to tempt my brain into engaging! So, a compromise: bookmarking now to pour over later.
FYI, we're near San Diego, well south of the LA fires. We are okay but vigilant, as the Santa Ana winds blow down here as well.
PS: see your cats' vet to get some gabapentin to have on hand. At the first sign of possible evacuations, dose them. It will make it a lot easier to load them into carriers if needed.
Sorry to be such a temptation! I didn’t realize you were in far southern Cali. Glad you’re okay and staying alert for changes.
And that’s such a great suggestion re: gabapentin. I have some on hand because I dose the elder stateswoman before taking her to the groomer, but I never thought of doing this with all three in a foreseeable emergency. Thank you for that!
Wow this is such an awesome collection of resources! Subscribed to some great new Substacks and learned about some pretty cool stuff too.
So glad to hear this! It’ll keep me going with these. I love boosting other newsletters, too. I’m glad you’re giving some of them your attention. Thanks Flo!
Thank you for including me in this post and for writing about such an important topic. I'm encouraged seeing people talk about this... the more we talk about it the more we can find solutions to keep our community safe!
Your words inspire and influence me all the time, BBT. So happy to be in community with you here 🧡
Thank you Amy … that’s very kind of you to say! Happy to be in community with you as well (and perhaps one day this amount of advocacy won’t be required anymore)
Thank you, Amy! You’ve consistently been the BEST to me and so many others. I appreciate you for keeping it real with me and loving me for me.
You are exceedingly easy to love! And I’m always happy to boost quality stuff 🤓. Hope you get some new subscribers from it 🧡
Cat dump. 😂 Thank you for sharing that essay my friend!
And re disability and climate crisis evacuations, NPR did a story on it this weekend and while it’s good to hear some steps being made, we have a long way to go. Beginning with awareness. I wasn’t surprised the story didn’t mention chronic illness (it’s rarely brought up in the mainstream disability conversation), but we need to continue to try to expand their narrative. I know so many individuals with chronic illness who can’t drive, so what does a mandatory evacuation look like for them? Anyway, I’m so glad you’re doing the work you’re doing Amy. And sharing so many incredible links. You’re a one woman resource hub!
Cat dump usually involves me photo dumping my brood, but your piece was so good, it needed to stand alone this week!
That’s such a great point about the media coverage. IF they cover the disabled during crises, it’s almost always those who are visibly mobility impaired (or maybe visually impaired or Deaf/hoh). But the amount of equipment, meds, supplements, and specialty/limited foods that spoonies often require would make evacuating nearly impossible without a great deal of support. It very much feels like we’re worse than an afterthought; we’re a non-thought by most 😔
Got it. LMAO. Get mine?
Haha yes I did 😆
This link roundup! I’m going to be here for hours and I would have been A-OKAY not know that Creutzfeld-Jakob disease existed 🫠😭 but also glad I learned something new.
The gossip cartoon! 🫨 “Those motivated to find out who’s behaving prosocially or not were, historically, more successful.” Also “Passing along good gossip is like bringing dessert to a party or triumphantly carrying a fresh kill to your pride.” 😂😭 Hilarious! Incredible!
Thanks my friend! CKJ is indeed a cruel disease. Watching how quickly it took my friend’s mom - a woman who had me at her dinner table countless times as a kid - was just devastating 😞.
On a lighter note, I LOVED the nosy lady birds in that gossip cartoon! The artist struck the exact right mood/feel. So delish! Glad you enjoyed that 🥰
I wonder if Superman acquired long Covid would he lose his ability to leap tall buildings with a single bound and get winded climbing up his front steps like I do mine?? Just saying...
🤣🤣 PEM takes down the best of us. I have the perfect meme to send you, but I’ll have to DM it to you
Kryptonite would have the reverse effect.
Very witty!
Leave it to Beth 😂😂
Amy, thank you for linking your post to my post Tools for Empowerment: When wildfire air quality becomes a threat. https://longcovidjourney2wellness.substack.com/p/tools-for-empowerment
That post was about the tools that we all need, but there's much more to the story.
Back in 2020 I published a peer reviewed paper on the effects of air pollution on susceptibility to COVID (and by extension, other infections). The particles in air pollution bind to the natural protective antimicrobials that our bodies make. Thus, they are not available to protect against infection. If you look at the historical sites when the highest density of deaths occurred during the pandemic, the highest tolls were in areas with poor air quality, especially downwind of industrial sites. It was also very bad in homes where wood smoke was present. Vitamin D deficiency also plays a role in exacerbation of air pollution induced susceptibility to infection. The full article is here: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00232/full
I’m so grateful to you, Mardi. We’ve been dealing with some bad air in our house this past week, coming from the wood fireplace, and I read your comment to my husband. We agreed to cut down on our fire burning and to get an air monitor. We already have purifiers and we open windows here and there. One of our cats especially LOVES the fireplace, to the point where after the fire dies out, he camps out on top of it like he’s staging a sit-in 😆. But I worry about his fragile little lungs and mind too!