World Gone Mad
So, I thought I had The COVID.
My symptoms showed up 6 days after I participated in my school's face to face graduation. I stood in a parking lot of 300+, 18 year old young adults, most of whom did not wear masks, while we waited for the ceremony to start. I helped line them up into the order they would proceed into the stadium. I wore my mask inconsistently. It's hard to convey directions to a large group of people, about where to line up/stand/who goes where- with a mask. It was hot, it was sliding down my face, the graduates couldn't hear me, etc . . . Why do I say all that about my mask? It's about to be a real situation for teachers. It's going to be difficult to be heard, with a mask. That's just a truth.
It started with congestion. I had body aches, a cough, shortness of breath, headache, no energy, no fever. After 4 days, I called my physician's office, and asked them what they wanted me to do. They're so overwhelmed, they said, "Let's do a video chat tomorrow- that's the earliest we can squeeze you in." Sure. I don't feel great- but it doesn't feel life threatening. I can wait. I continued to lay around. Again- while I didn't feel great, I wasn't super uncomfortable. Mostly I had no energy. None. My body is permanently indented into the couch. I did the video call and they said, "Come to the office, stay in your car, we'll send a tech out, and do a test. It'll take 3-7 days to hear anything (it took 5 days). The kids and I quarantined while we waited. I laid around. A lot.
On the 8th day of symptoms my chest started to feel really tight and my cough was becoming more persistent. It was Friday. I knew I wouldn't get into to see my physician on a Friday, but I figured I could make it through the weekend, so on Friday afternoon I went online and set up an appointment for Monday morning, to go into the office and see my physician for them to make sure I didn't have bronchitis. They immediately called and said, 'You have to go to the ER." Uhhh- what? No. I'm okay- I just want to check. "No. We can't see you hear with COVID symptoms. You have to go to the ER." WHAT? The ER is for people with life threatening symptoms. I have a persistent cough. This is NOT life threatening. I said, "No. That is not an appropriate medical treatment for my symptoms. I refuse that option. I will not hold you liable for my medical decisions." The nurse responded, "Well, you could try Urgent Care. But we're not allowed to see you at our facility - and you can't go to Minute Clinics either- because you have COVID symptoms. " So- my options were . . . the Urgent Care or the ER. I would NEVER consider either of those options in real life (this is not real life- this is some weird alternate universe). Ever. When my kids were young I had negative experiences with Urgent Care (again- nothing serious, but I attempted to take each of them- at separate times- for what I knew to be ear infections. Urgent Care prescribed pricey ear drops. Those were historically totally ineffective on my children. I know my children- they had 7 sets of tubes between the two of them. I know how they respond to ear infections and what medications they react best to. But I was disregarded. Thanks to Urgent Care- I spent money on that appointment, money on stupid ear drops, and then money to go to their real physician and get actual treatment. Urgent Care is great for wounds. And that's about it. That's a personal opinion- clearly not facts. Just my opinion).
Saturday morning (9 days of symptoms with them increasing- but again NOT LIFE THREATENING; 4 days since my COVID test)- Doug and I felt like it would be a good idea for me to go to Urgent Care. It would be best to just know- plus I couldn't go to my primary care physician anyway. Friday night I was uncomfortable because I felt like my 22 lb dog was sitting on my chest (NOT my 78lb dog- so not a lot of pressure- but pressure) and the coughing is getting just annoying. Plus I did NOT want it to progress to something actually serious. I still didn't have my COVID results back- so I had to tell the Urgent Care (that was part of the same network as my primary physician) that I didn't know what my results were, but my cough was persistent, not productive, and the pressure in my chest was increasing (NOT LIFE THREATENING) and I just wanted to be sure it hadn't developed into bronchitis. The Urgent Care said, "We can't see you. You have to go to the ER." WHAT?!!!! I just need a doctor to bring a stethoscope out to my car, put it to my back, listen to my lungs and say- "oooh- yeah, you've got bronchitis. Or- girl you fine. Suck it up. Don't let the media feed your fears!" My only option was the ER.
Let me just say- I'm 44 years old. I went to the ER when I was 3/4 years old due to an allergic reaction to a wasp, and again when I was 13/14 years old because I kicked a tree and injured my foot. I don't even know how to check into an ER. My kids have never had to go (knock on wood). I haven't gone in my adult life. At this point my only option is the ER. Urgent Care won't see me. My physician's office won't see me. If I want to make sure I don't have bronchitis- I have to to go the ER. I was (and still am) beyond infuriated that that was my only option. They're concerned that COVID is a burden on the medical system? Yeah- the medical field is making it a burden on their system. What could've been taken care of in less than 10 minutes, with basic medical equipment- became a huge, hairy ass, over-dramatic deal. I went. I refused their IV, their Tylenol, their cough medicine, and other tests. I did get an EKG because they were pretty insistent (guess what- my heart is fine, in fact as I was walking out the nurse asked if she should shred my EKG print out. Sure girl- I have no need of it). My oxygen levels were fine. My lungs sounded fine. The x-ray showed my lungs were fine. I took up a room for 3 hours, took the services of 4 over-run professionals- because I had no other options- simply for peace of mind. I had an expensive EKG and x-ray- and I'm fine. If they would have done a preliminary tests FIRST- and discovered my lungs were clear and my oxygen levels were fine- I could've avoided the other costly tests. And- today I received my tests results and I don't even have COVID.
This is my situation. This is going to be the situation for tons of us in the fall when we go back to school. Every cold/sniffle is going to result in . . . this. Weeks of students/teachers being out of school. Because we'll be around more people- we're going to get more colds. We're going to return to buildings that have been mostly shut up, so there will be more dust, more mold- more allergic reactions. We'll have to wait days upon days for test results. Kids/teachers will be super stressed thinking they got COVID (Alexa has been a HOT MESS worrying about me. That girl has slept in the bathtub, or with the trashcan with her- or on the couch for 5 days- because she's so worried, and I wasn't even that sick. Lethargic and coughing- but not sick). I'm not saying whether we should or shouldn't go back. I'm not getting that political. What I am doing- is predicting scenarios of what it will be like if/when we do. It's going to just add to the fear we already have. Because y'all- it's a world gone mad.
My symptoms showed up 6 days after I participated in my school's face to face graduation. I stood in a parking lot of 300+, 18 year old young adults, most of whom did not wear masks, while we waited for the ceremony to start. I helped line them up into the order they would proceed into the stadium. I wore my mask inconsistently. It's hard to convey directions to a large group of people, about where to line up/stand/who goes where- with a mask. It was hot, it was sliding down my face, the graduates couldn't hear me, etc . . . Why do I say all that about my mask? It's about to be a real situation for teachers. It's going to be difficult to be heard, with a mask. That's just a truth.
It started with congestion. I had body aches, a cough, shortness of breath, headache, no energy, no fever. After 4 days, I called my physician's office, and asked them what they wanted me to do. They're so overwhelmed, they said, "Let's do a video chat tomorrow- that's the earliest we can squeeze you in." Sure. I don't feel great- but it doesn't feel life threatening. I can wait. I continued to lay around. Again- while I didn't feel great, I wasn't super uncomfortable. Mostly I had no energy. None. My body is permanently indented into the couch. I did the video call and they said, "Come to the office, stay in your car, we'll send a tech out, and do a test. It'll take 3-7 days to hear anything (it took 5 days). The kids and I quarantined while we waited. I laid around. A lot.
On the 8th day of symptoms my chest started to feel really tight and my cough was becoming more persistent. It was Friday. I knew I wouldn't get into to see my physician on a Friday, but I figured I could make it through the weekend, so on Friday afternoon I went online and set up an appointment for Monday morning, to go into the office and see my physician for them to make sure I didn't have bronchitis. They immediately called and said, 'You have to go to the ER." Uhhh- what? No. I'm okay- I just want to check. "No. We can't see you hear with COVID symptoms. You have to go to the ER." WHAT? The ER is for people with life threatening symptoms. I have a persistent cough. This is NOT life threatening. I said, "No. That is not an appropriate medical treatment for my symptoms. I refuse that option. I will not hold you liable for my medical decisions." The nurse responded, "Well, you could try Urgent Care. But we're not allowed to see you at our facility - and you can't go to Minute Clinics either- because you have COVID symptoms. " So- my options were . . . the Urgent Care or the ER. I would NEVER consider either of those options in real life (this is not real life- this is some weird alternate universe). Ever. When my kids were young I had negative experiences with Urgent Care (again- nothing serious, but I attempted to take each of them- at separate times- for what I knew to be ear infections. Urgent Care prescribed pricey ear drops. Those were historically totally ineffective on my children. I know my children- they had 7 sets of tubes between the two of them. I know how they respond to ear infections and what medications they react best to. But I was disregarded. Thanks to Urgent Care- I spent money on that appointment, money on stupid ear drops, and then money to go to their real physician and get actual treatment. Urgent Care is great for wounds. And that's about it. That's a personal opinion- clearly not facts. Just my opinion).
Saturday morning (9 days of symptoms with them increasing- but again NOT LIFE THREATENING; 4 days since my COVID test)- Doug and I felt like it would be a good idea for me to go to Urgent Care. It would be best to just know- plus I couldn't go to my primary care physician anyway. Friday night I was uncomfortable because I felt like my 22 lb dog was sitting on my chest (NOT my 78lb dog- so not a lot of pressure- but pressure) and the coughing is getting just annoying. Plus I did NOT want it to progress to something actually serious. I still didn't have my COVID results back- so I had to tell the Urgent Care (that was part of the same network as my primary physician) that I didn't know what my results were, but my cough was persistent, not productive, and the pressure in my chest was increasing (NOT LIFE THREATENING) and I just wanted to be sure it hadn't developed into bronchitis. The Urgent Care said, "We can't see you. You have to go to the ER." WHAT?!!!! I just need a doctor to bring a stethoscope out to my car, put it to my back, listen to my lungs and say- "oooh- yeah, you've got bronchitis. Or- girl you fine. Suck it up. Don't let the media feed your fears!" My only option was the ER.
Let me just say- I'm 44 years old. I went to the ER when I was 3/4 years old due to an allergic reaction to a wasp, and again when I was 13/14 years old because I kicked a tree and injured my foot. I don't even know how to check into an ER. My kids have never had to go (knock on wood). I haven't gone in my adult life. At this point my only option is the ER. Urgent Care won't see me. My physician's office won't see me. If I want to make sure I don't have bronchitis- I have to to go the ER. I was (and still am) beyond infuriated that that was my only option. They're concerned that COVID is a burden on the medical system? Yeah- the medical field is making it a burden on their system. What could've been taken care of in less than 10 minutes, with basic medical equipment- became a huge, hairy ass, over-dramatic deal. I went. I refused their IV, their Tylenol, their cough medicine, and other tests. I did get an EKG because they were pretty insistent (guess what- my heart is fine, in fact as I was walking out the nurse asked if she should shred my EKG print out. Sure girl- I have no need of it). My oxygen levels were fine. My lungs sounded fine. The x-ray showed my lungs were fine. I took up a room for 3 hours, took the services of 4 over-run professionals- because I had no other options- simply for peace of mind. I had an expensive EKG and x-ray- and I'm fine. If they would have done a preliminary tests FIRST- and discovered my lungs were clear and my oxygen levels were fine- I could've avoided the other costly tests. And- today I received my tests results and I don't even have COVID.
This is my situation. This is going to be the situation for tons of us in the fall when we go back to school. Every cold/sniffle is going to result in . . . this. Weeks of students/teachers being out of school. Because we'll be around more people- we're going to get more colds. We're going to return to buildings that have been mostly shut up, so there will be more dust, more mold- more allergic reactions. We'll have to wait days upon days for test results. Kids/teachers will be super stressed thinking they got COVID (Alexa has been a HOT MESS worrying about me. That girl has slept in the bathtub, or with the trashcan with her- or on the couch for 5 days- because she's so worried, and I wasn't even that sick. Lethargic and coughing- but not sick). I'm not saying whether we should or shouldn't go back. I'm not getting that political. What I am doing- is predicting scenarios of what it will be like if/when we do. It's going to just add to the fear we already have. Because y'all- it's a world gone mad.
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