TL Gibson

Advocate/activist for those facing health challenges. Staunch supporter of our healthcare providers. Intolerant of intolerance. Pandemic and virus believer.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@1pcornwell Wishing you a very Happy Birthday! 🎂
But I feel that it’s you who has given us the gift.
I have never come across another author that could continue to grow and evolve characters and their complex relationships over so many years. Always looking forward to the next one!

[jennifer evans 🇵🇸🇱🇧🇨🇦 @nejsnave]

The majority of people who are unhoused in Ontario and across Canada are disabled.

[Creeson Agecoutay @CreesOnCBC]

How a trip to the Metis Homeland inspired dapper designs for this dachshund ❤️ https://t.co/hPopDaIZAM

[David It Up! @Dave_it_up]

COVID Is Different

I get it. You think COVID isn’t that dangerous anymore. You think it’s just like all the other viruses now.

A lot of it has to do with the times you grew up in. We don’t have much memory of viruses and bacteria killing thousands of people. We don’t remember when it was common for families to lose at least one child to infection before WWII. We don’t remember the permanent scars smallpox left on peoples faces. What we remember are colds and flu. Fever, aches, a few days down. Then you bounce back.

That became our baseline for what “sick” looks like.

COVID came around. At first, people freaked out. Millions died. Then something shifted. It slid into the same mental bucket as everything else. Just another cold. Just another flu.

It’s not.

If you grew up in a second or third world country, places where serious diseases still circulate, you know the difference. Zika is different. Ebola is different. Polio is different. Each virus does its own kind of damage. We used to understand that. Now we’re making the mistake of normalizing something we don’t understand.

Flu and colds don’t breach your blood-brain barrier. SARS-CoV-2 does.

Flu and colds don’t shred your endothelial lining and increase your risk of blood clots. SARS-CoV-2 does.

Flu and colds don’t persist in your tissues. SARS-CoV-2 can.

Flu and colds don’t damage your immune system, causing low T cells. SARS-CoV-2 can.

Now we’re seeing signs it may increase your risk of cancer. SARS-CoV-2 may do this.

The list goes on.

Long COVID is caused by SARS-CoV-2. It’s devastating millions of people. Stop expecting it to act like something it’s not.

Want to break the mental spell? Go to PubMed. Search SARS-CoV-2 or Long COVID. Hundreds of thousands of studies staring you in the face. Tons of damage.

Maybe you’ve been infected a dozen times and you still feel fine. Will that always be the case? Don’t bet on it.

COVID is different because you can catch it every year. You can catch it multiple times in a single year. It mutates fast. Do you really want something that damages your arteries hitting your system over and over?

I sure don’t.

[tern @1goodtern]

Covid infections affect your ability to fight other infections.

That's obvious to anyone who's actually looking.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

The best tea party ever. ❤️

[The Royal Family @RoyalFamily]

Our very special guests! 🧁☕️

The Queen has hosted a tea party for children supported by Dreams and Wishes, a charity dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families build precious memories.

🫖🥪 After travelling by horse-drawn carriage from The Royal Mews, the children sat down to sandwiches and cakes with Her Majesty at Clarence House.

The Queen’s Equerry, Major Treasure, also set the children to task with a treasure hunt… leading to the stash of chocolate coins hidden under the Grenadier Guards’ hats! 💂🪎

Dreams and Wishes was established in 2011 and is entirely volunteer-run, with a dedicated team committed to making every child’s wish a reality.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@Thinker7777777 @DrNeilStone Yes, it was a time before vaccines, and unfortunately insulin.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@BlaiseInKC @kinsellawarren Yes! Same goes for a bag of potting soil! 😆

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@TheChefsGardens Amazing how kids ever survived two months of summer vacation undamaged when families had a stay-at-home parent and kids weren’t enrolled in programs.

[Billy Hanlon @bhanlon15]

USA Today: 'They had major medical crises. Doctors called them panic attacks'

'Leno lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS)..and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)..her health further deteriorated after a COVID-19 infection...'

https://t.co/Rhi0RdLyVO

[Mark Paradis 🇨🇦 @markpa84]

A really interesting analysis of Carney's speech in New York.

And it is encouraging to see that Ambassador Hoekstra approved of the message.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

Swallowing issues in hEDS may worsen during symptom flares https://t.co/4Hshu3rssh

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@stats_feed If that’s true, then it would stand to reason that golfers would also have an increased risk. Do they?

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@hopefullizzy Beautiful garden! Outdoors can be so therapeutic. ❤️

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@raghu_venugopal @abctoronto_ I worked many years in TO in the hi-tech sector. We allowed bikes to be taken into the building, and many employees commuted that way. Bike couriers are also common in the downtown core. Many people don’t realize that they can be ridden through much of the winter months.

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@dougboneparth Agree. I try to live a healthy lifestyle. But cake is mental health!

[Prof. Akiko Iwasaki @VirusesImmunity]

Is there an association between human herpesviruses (HHVs) reactivation and Long COVID? We analyzed HHV DNA shedding in saliva and found that HHV-6 correlates with Long COVID severity. Claire Laxton, @S_Tabachnikova, Lily Cooke, Kexin Wang et al.

https://t.co/jsZznyXiGq (1/)

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@alandrummond2 @drjenirwin Thanks for your advocacy, Dr. Drummond. 🙏

[TL Gibson @TLGibson5]

@BarryHunt008 @arianek @raghu_venugopal @TDotResident @RobinLennox You’re making far too much sense, Barry. It’s discouraging, as I’ve hoped a route to successful advocacy is to show it saves money (have given up on trying to get action on saving lives). But even money doesn’t seem to move the needle anymore; they’re all short-term thinkers.