Just a long trip? No, it’s Long COVID.

What started as a normal annual checkup in the “before times” became a horrifying new reality in the after.

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In late February 2020, I attended a large company event in Atlanta, Georgia. On the day we were all headed back home, things began to get chaotic without much explanation as to why.

While I was waiting in the security line at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, they started shutting down sections of the airport, brought in a large number of K9s, and were inspecting everything and everyone (including myself) far more than the usual TSA patdowns.

Things felt scary and hostile, and no explanations were being given. As a notoriously nervous flier, that tension certainly didn’t help matters.

After leaving the airport itself, the flight home was normal. I sort of brushed off what was happening in Atlanta as an isolated incident that wasn’t following me to Boston.

This photo at a February 2020 team outing in Atlanta is the last photo of me healthy

The outbreak

The next day, I went to see my doctor for a routine checkup, and everything looked good! It’s always nice to have an…