Last week Dianna Cowern participated in an 11 hour livestream to raise money and awareness for #LongCovid. Dianna has suffered with long covid for 2 years - she is completely bedbound and totally unable to care for herself. This is her husband Kyle, writing on her behalf. During the livestream she did not talk to the audience, because she can’t. She can only lie flat in bed, have a few brief conversations each day, cannot toilet by herself, and must be in a dark room to avoid over-stimulation. It is torture. For many people, watching this livestream completely shifted their understanding of the disease. We also raised over $130K for research and clinical trials. By showing her life, we hope to raise awareness about how brutal long covid and other post-infectious diseases can be. My hope is that you can also use this content to push for more funding and accelerated treatment. We need help. She needs help. @SenDuckworth @timkaine @SenMarkey @BernieSanders @GavinNewsom #LongCovid #MECFS youtube.com/live/v8HWt9g4L0k…

From Kyle, Dianna’s husband: Two years ago, I married my smart, adventurous, curious best friend. I loved her curiosity and so did her 3M+ followers on her Science YouTube channel. Now, she’s been 100% bedbound with long Covid for 1.5 years. She lays in a dark room, earplugs in, with only her mind and simple thoughts to keep her company. No, she can’t talk, watch TV, read books, listen to podcasts or even music. She can’t tolerate visitors (even the faint smell of laundry detergent makes her sicker). It’s a kind of locked-in hell and there’s currently no cure for this disease. We desperately need more funding for research to find the cure for #longcovid and #MECFS . @SenDuckworth @SenMarkey @timkaine @BernieSanders

Physics Girl Livestream, Saturday, July 6th 2024. This Saturday we will be live-streaming a day in Dianna’s life, showing what it’s like for her suffering from #MECFS and #LongCovid The Livestream will be viewable on the PhysicsGirl channel on Youtube from 6:45A.M. (PT. Pacific Time) to 6:00P.M. (PT). It will be co-hosted by Ian Hecox and Simone Giertz, and will include pre-recorded expert interviews and in depth discussions of what Dianna is going through. Dianna will not be talking during the Livestream, she will be in bed, mostly awake, but resting all day - as she does everyday. Viewers can learn from the interviews and discussions, hear Kyle, Simone and Ian answer your questions, and of course see Dianna. All funds will be going to the Open Medicine Foundation (OMF), a non-profit research organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for ME/CFS. (omf.ngo/) Pre-recorded interviews from experts — - Linda Tannenbaum, founder and CEO of the Open Medicine Foundation. Interviewed by Derek Muller from Veritasium. - Dr. David Kaufman, an ME/CFS specialist. Interviewed by Vanessa Hill from BrainCraft. - Dr. Raven Baxter, a science communicator. Interviewed by Kyle Kitzmiller. - Dr. David Putrino, director of Rehabilitation Innovation for Mt. Sinai Health Systems. Interviewed by Kyle Kitzmiller. #MECFS #longcovid