We have some good news to report: My wife’s visit to the doctor confirmed she did not have COVID-19. I’d like to say we’re both breathing easier, but she’s still got the asthma flare up, so while we’re both relieved, I’m the only one breathing easier.
Admittedly, she did not get a COVID-19 test, so it is still possible that she has it, but if so it is not a very bad case. Of course, it’s possible that I have it too, even though I’m exhibiting no symptoms. The deciding factor for her doctor not testing her was apparently the lack of fever. They are treating this as asthma aggravated by spring allergies, which in all likelihood is exactly what it is. They gave her an inhaler, refilled another prescription, and promised to issue a quick taper of steroids without a visit if she needed it in the future.
Of course, that meant a trip to the pharmacy and pick up her prescriptions, which is a violation of our self-imposed quarantine. But hey, that’s what drive up windows are for.
Schools are closed but there are still more cars on the road than I expected. Lots of people that either cannot or will not stay home. My wife was surprised too, stating that almost everyone she knows is at home.
After this brief scare, quarantine doesn’t seem so bad anymore. Pretzels are no longer a sore point. My wife jokingly refers to me as the warden and tells her friends that she’s confined to the “compound.” At least, I’m pretty sure she’s joking…
Local Coronavirus Shutdowns
While I follow the national news regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, my wife keeps up to date on the local news, even down to the neighborhood level via a local list serve and a neighborhood app. We share news at meal times or when something big happens. We also each get different vendor updates and emails. Here are a few things we’ve learned in the past 24 hours:
- Our veterinarian informed us via email that all appointments were to be met in the parking lot and the pet would be brought inside by one of their employees. I’m not sure how you pay. Do they walk your credit card in and out? Do you send PayPal from your phone?
- Our dentist is shutting down for three weeks. My guess is that it is a combination of cancellations (I was told they’ve had many) and employee childcare concerns related to the school closings.
- My primary care doctor’s office called and told us they are pushing all wellness appointments out 90 days, so they rescheduled my annual physical for this summer. They willingly called in a 90-day script to the pharmacy. Unfortunately, this was after we’d already been to the pharmacy, so it will require another trip.
- The local grocery store reportedly had an off duty deputy working there plus two armed security guards in the middle of the afternoon. They normally have one armed security guard. I guess they staffed up to prevent any fights over toilet paper or other items in short supply.
- Is anyone besides me shocked at the number of well-known actors and professional athletes who have been infected? And how did they get tests when the rest of us can’t?
- A local acquaintance’s daughter was supposed to get married this weekend. The venue cancelled about 10 days prior, even before to the government restricted the number of people at gatherings. They are still going to get married, having the ceremony in their back yard I believe, but it will be a very small wedding with no travel for the honeymoon. I can only imagine the resulting mess over deposits and payments due. One thing is for certain: They’ll have a story to tell years from now. They won’t be the only ones; the peak of marriage season is still ahead of us and chances are it will coincide with a peak in the virus.
- The hospital where one of my daughters works just got their first confirmed COVID-19 patient. They were transferred in from an outlying facility in the same hospital system. Surgeons at the hospital have been told to finish any elective surgery scheduled for this week and then to reschedule everything else for at least the next three weeks. A couple years ago, she worked in the ICU, but I am happy to report that she is now in an area that has absolutely nothing to do with the ICU, the emergency room, or the coronavirus. Her entire team is being encouraged to work at home as much as they can, which will probably be at least three days a week.
It is little signs like cancelling elective surgery and putting extra guards in the grocery store make it very clear to me that people in position of responsibility are planning for things to get worse. Hang on to your hats and Katy bar the door.
