Ruan Coetzee

Ineffable poet. Amateur philosopher. Casual lover of science and nature.

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

@WikusVT 😂😂

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

👀

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

Four years ago, I caught COVID-19. It came and went (most of you are familiar with the fight I had to put up), but it never really left me. What I’m left with is something doctors call PASC (Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19) or Long COVID. What it really means is that my body is broken in ways that no one can see.

I wake up every morning exhausted, like I never slept. Some days, it feels like my body is made of cement—too heavy to move, too painful to exist in. Fatigue isn’t just “feeling tired.” It’s an invisible force that crushes me, making even the smallest tasks feel like climbing a mountain with broken legs.

But exhaustion is just one part of it. My veins burn. My legs, my arms, my skin—they all feel like they’re on fire from the inside. My joints ache as if they’ve aged 50 years overnight. My muscles are weak, sometimes unresponsive. There are days I can’t grip objects properly, days I can’t even trust my own body to support me.

My brain isn’t the same either.
I forget things in seconds. Mid-sentence, mid-thought, mid-action—gone. Conversations feel like running through thick fog, always one step behind, always reaching for clarity that never comes. It’s called brain fog, but that makes it sound harmless. It’s not. It’s disorienting. It’s terrifying.

Sleep doesn’t heal me. Rest doesn’t fix me. Some days, I wake up worse than when I went to bed. And when I push myself—even a little—the punishment is swift. Post-exertional malaise means my body crashes, sometimes for days, just from doing what should be normal. Going to the shop, talking too much, trying to exercise. My body doesn’t bounce back. It breaks down.

I am 32 years old. I should be working. I should be building my future. Instead, I just wait. Wait to feel better. Wait for my body to heal. Wait for my brain to work again. But it’s looking less and less likely that I will ever be me again.

For two years, I’ve been fighting this war inside myself. The hardest part? No one sees it. I look fine. I smile. I try. And because of that, people assume I’m okay. That I must be “getting better.” But healing from this isn’t like healing from a broken bone. There’s no set timeline. No guarantee. No certainty that I’ll ever be the person I was before.

I am on a Triple Anticoagulant Therapy (TAT), a treatment aimed at breaking down microclots in my blood—tiny clots that block oxygen from reaching parts of my body. It’s working, but slowly. And healing doesn’t come in a straight line. Some days I feel like I’m making progress. Others, I feel like I’ve been thrown back to square one.

This is my reality. And I’m not alone. Long COVID is affecting millions of people. Some, like me, have lost years of their lives to it. Some have lost their jobs, their independence, their ability to do even the most basic things without suffering for it.

So if you know someone who says they’re struggling with Long COVID, believe them. Even if they look fine. Even if they “should be better by now.” They are living through something that most people can’t begin to understand. I hope you never do.

March is #longcovidawareness month. Share this. Let people know that it’s real.

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

Chronic pain. Fatigue to the extent that some days I can’t get out of bed. Again, I’m 32. Sexy, right?

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

I haven’t been able to work (litigation lawyer) since September 2023. I’m 32. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

Just something I need to say: Long Covid at the level many people still have it can be completely debilitating. I feel like it’s not getting any public attention.

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

Just something I need to say: Long Covid at the level many people still have it can be completely debilitating. I feel like it’s not getting any public attention.

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

@WikusVT @Davidwashere07 👀

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

👀

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

@Davidwashere07 👀

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

https://t.co/NdITw7l6tz

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

iconic

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

girl, same

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

🎶 Come get me out of California
No leaves are brown
I miss the seasons in Missouri
My dying town 🎶

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

@WikusVT hahahelpimdying 🫠

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

going great except you can probably have me for basically two doughnuts right now 😂😂🫠

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

been cutting out all gluten, most sugars, and nearly all dairy

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

been cutting out all gluten, most sugars, and nearly all dairy

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

current obsession https://t.co/QgE9bBOXZM

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

I’m trying and failing to bring down my hope for this partnership 🤩

[Scuderia Ferrari HP @ScuderiaFerrari]

Chapter 1: Australia 📚🇦🇺

[Ruan Coetzee @RuanCoetzee93]

https://t.co/q63eXuZz1b