I tested negative for Covid.
Here is what happened to me. Your experience may be different.
First I felt unwell. I got the chills, began shivering. I had a temperature of 102.4. I had muscle soreness. All of those are associated with Covid.
I did not have shortness of breath or a cough, nor did I experience a loss of taste or smell. That would suggest I did not have Covid.
My wife called the Urgent Care office of the local regional hospital--Asante. A few minutes later I got a call back from a Covid intake clerk. I reported my symptoms. The intake clerk sent me a link that would help me set up an app for my iPad, which enabled a video conference. I got that call from the physician ten minutes later. The total time between the call to the hotline and me speaking with a physician: about an hour.
The doctor said that I should go to an emergency room. I had reported confusion, stumbling, and blurry vision, along with the chills and temperature. We want to see you, the doctor said.
The emergency room brought me right in, the doctor asked about my confusion. She asked what day of the week it was and I said Saturday. She asked who the president was. I said "A narcissistic bully named Donald Trump." She snorted. Apparently she was no longer worried about my confusion. She looked at my foot and said "cellulitis" and we began treatment for that, antibiotics in an IV, and then 7 days of pills at home.
The Covid test consists of sticking a long Q-tip like swab up ones nose. It goes in about 4 full inches and is then twirled slightly. It is uncomfortable, but not painful. It takes 8 to 10 seconds.
The emergency room Covid nurse told me the results would be ready in 7 days. "You're kidding," I said. "That is crazy. That makes the test worthless. What are we going to do for a week of uncertainty?"
The nurse explained that there was a chronic shortage of swabs, reagents, and general test supplies, so they were handled differently depending on patient priority triage. He said we only have so supplies to do quick tests for some people. The rest are slow. He looked at my chart again and said, "oh, you have priority." Your results will be available in an hour. They were. It was negative.
Apparently Oregon has a problem of relative success. We have fewer Covid cases and nationwide the testing supplies are sent to the areas that most need them, i.e places with lots of cases. There still aren't enough supplies for rapid testing and results nationwide. We can put a man on the moon fifty years ago, and we can have self driving cars that recognize sidewalks and bicycles, but we cannot make nasal swabs.
Possibly the fact that I am both seventy and have cellulitis puts me into the category of having a "co-morbidity," thus making me a priority patient. People who are scheduled for surgery are given "priority." People on dialysis are given tests frequently and are given "priority." The hospital can give fast results, but their capacity to do so is limited. My wife has been on the hospital's Foundation board, and we have donated a substantial amount to the hospital, but I have no reason to think the emergency room people had any awareness of that. I am nobody special.
Everything about the emergency room experience was great. Very professional.
Thad Guyer, a frequent Guest Post commenter on this blog, is sheltering in south Florida. He says tests are given in his neighborhood without charge at a nearby facility and the turnaround time is 24-72 hours. South Florida is a hotspot of the virus. He was tested and had his negative results back in 24 hours. Negative.
I have a report from a college classmate that in Salem, Massachusetts, there is free public testing with a nasal swab, but not the fully deep back to the brain test that I got. They promised 36 hours results.
The symptoms of Covid are similar to those of other maladies, cellulitis among them. We will be entering the flu season. Most Americans don't bother with getting a flu shot. This would be a good year to get one.
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| Nasal swab. Four inches of it go in. |
I did not have shortness of breath or a cough, nor did I experience a loss of taste or smell. That would suggest I did not have Covid.
My wife called the Urgent Care office of the local regional hospital--Asante. A few minutes later I got a call back from a Covid intake clerk. I reported my symptoms. The intake clerk sent me a link that would help me set up an app for my iPad, which enabled a video conference. I got that call from the physician ten minutes later. The total time between the call to the hotline and me speaking with a physician: about an hour.
The doctor said that I should go to an emergency room. I had reported confusion, stumbling, and blurry vision, along with the chills and temperature. We want to see you, the doctor said.
The emergency room brought me right in, the doctor asked about my confusion. She asked what day of the week it was and I said Saturday. She asked who the president was. I said "A narcissistic bully named Donald Trump." She snorted. Apparently she was no longer worried about my confusion. She looked at my foot and said "cellulitis" and we began treatment for that, antibiotics in an IV, and then 7 days of pills at home.
The Covid test consists of sticking a long Q-tip like swab up ones nose. It goes in about 4 full inches and is then twirled slightly. It is uncomfortable, but not painful. It takes 8 to 10 seconds.
The emergency room Covid nurse told me the results would be ready in 7 days. "You're kidding," I said. "That is crazy. That makes the test worthless. What are we going to do for a week of uncertainty?"
 |
| Nurse all gowned up |
Apparently Oregon has a problem of relative success. We have fewer Covid cases and nationwide the testing supplies are sent to the areas that most need them, i.e places with lots of cases. There still aren't enough supplies for rapid testing and results nationwide. We can put a man on the moon fifty years ago, and we can have self driving cars that recognize sidewalks and bicycles, but we cannot make nasal swabs.
Possibly the fact that I am both seventy and have cellulitis puts me into the category of having a "co-morbidity," thus making me a priority patient. People who are scheduled for surgery are given "priority." People on dialysis are given tests frequently and are given "priority." The hospital can give fast results, but their capacity to do so is limited. My wife has been on the hospital's Foundation board, and we have donated a substantial amount to the hospital, but I have no reason to think the emergency room people had any awareness of that. I am nobody special.
Everything about the emergency room experience was great. Very professional.
Thad Guyer, a frequent Guest Post commenter on this blog, is sheltering in south Florida. He says tests are given in his neighborhood without charge at a nearby facility and the turnaround time is 24-72 hours. South Florida is a hotspot of the virus. He was tested and had his negative results back in 24 hours. Negative.
I have a report from a college classmate that in Salem, Massachusetts, there is free public testing with a nasal swab, but not the fully deep back to the brain test that I got. They promised 36 hours results.
The symptoms of Covid are similar to those of other maladies, cellulitis among them. We will be entering the flu season. Most Americans don't bother with getting a flu shot. This would be a good year to get one.
5 comments:
Useful post, thanks.
Take care.
Good informative post...more needed about the “common man” ,your surprise was right on. More personal stories needed. Also the lines at Rogue Federal Credit Union and Umpqua Bank lines waiting for unemployment support. Is this welfare ? Or “socialism” Or people standing in line for the Lottery Bread line ...get in line fast for the shrinking money. Off topic...but results of Covid.
Thanks for the update, Peter. Information like this, in a time like this, is power. Glad to hear you are recuperating.
Andy Sels
It's not just time to get tested, it's also time to get results if people don't take exposure seriously. My son was recently exposed to someone between when that person was exposed and was tested and got a positive result, we then had a week to wait for my son to be tested and get a result. Unlike the person who exposed him he had the decency to self-isolate until he got a negative result, as with many things a little bit of the golden rule goes a long way here folks.
Glad to hear you are better.
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