“Everything I Own” is a song written by American singer-songwriter David Gates. It was originally recorded by Gates’s soft rock band Bread for their 1972 album “Baby I’m-a Want You.”
It included this lyric:
“And I would give anything I own
I’d give up my life, my heart, my home
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again”
It was a song about a love affair gone wrong.
It came to mind today because I would give everything I own just to have ME back again.
Long Covid stole me from me.
It stole me from my spouse.
It took me out of society.
Yes, I am technically still here.
But I am a prisoner in my home.
Sick every day.
Brain damaged, which is especially upsetting and frustrating given who I was before this virus invaded my body and persists in who knows how many reservoirs.
Emotionally dysregulated.
Unable to walk more than a few steps at a time.
Living in a gastro-intestinal hellscape.
POTS symptoms that cause fear and misery.
Painfully thin. Unable to tolerate most foods. Wasting away.
I could go on, but I am too tired.
Nearly five years into this horrific virus-induced chronic illness, yet there are still no approved treatments. None.
The world has moved on, leaving me by the wayside.
I hate it. I resent it. I’m angry.
And so, yes, I WOULD give everything I own just to have ME back again.