After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013, Nashville singer/songwriter Andrew Leahey was prescribed dexamethasone, the steroid that Trump received as part of his treatment for COVID-19. According to Leahey, it made him "feel invincible." The musician wrote about his experience on the steroid for Rolling Stone:
[Dexamethasone] made me high as a kite, like I'd just mainlined a potent mixture of espresso beans and psychotropics. I could feel my heartbeat in my eyeballs. I was euphoric. I made elaborate plans for the months following my surgery — including another tour with my band, Andrew Leahey & the Homestead — despite my doctor's warning that I wouldn't be well enough to hit the road until the following summer. Not even the anxiety of my upcoming operation could dampen my buzz. To borrow a phrase I heard somewhere recently, I felt better than I did 20 years ago.
I took dexamethasone every day, as prescribed, steadily ramping up to a full dose. During that time, I also booked an acoustic tour with two fellow songwriters who happened to be dating. They broke up while we were driving through California, and I'm not sure I even realized. I'm not sure I even cared. I just sat in the backseat as we traveled from town to town, my head in the clouds, and spent my nights onstage, playing guitar solos that were almost certainly too long. In my mind, I thought I was performing better than ever: unencumbered, unafraid, limitless. To audiences that may have seen me on that tour: man, I'm sorry.
"I Was Prescribed Trump's Steroid. It Made Me Feel Invincible" (Rolling Stone)
image: crop of photo by melvil (CC BY-SA 4.0)
