I decided to post this because I wanted to tell everyone who's interested about an experience many people may share in the weeks ahead.
Three days ago, I woke up with shortness of breath, what seemed to be a slight fever, and a general feeling of fatigue. I called the nursing advice line at Kaiser--they answered right away. They asked me several questions and told me to get down to the ER stat.
I was surprised to find that I was the only person waiting. I was seen almost immediately. They first checked my blood oxygenation level (that little clamp thingy they put on your finger)--that was fine. BP was high (perhaps understandably). EKG and chest X-ray showed nothing wrong. They drew some blood.
About an hour passed. I was now in the respiratory unit, and I watched people being wheeled back and forth. Nurses and doctors were in full PPE regalia. The place seemed busy but not overly so.
A little while after that, one if the docs came in and had me do some exercises and deep breathing while he monitored my heart and lung function. The labs came back while he was doing that. Bottom line, they saw no apparent reason why I should be sick. The doc said, "You may have the coronavirus." I said, didn't the blood work include a CV test?.He said no, we only have a very few test kits and your symptoms aren't severe enough.
So I was told to go home and be prepared to come back, even the same day, if my symptoms worsened. They haven't. I phoned around to see if I could find a thermometer and of course, no one had them in stock. So I just went home and crashed. The next 48 hours, I slept maybe 35 of them. My shortness of breath went away. I have a slight cough, but I think it's from post-nasal drip. I THINK I still have a slight fever (I was 99.4 in the ER). I feel somewhat better overall.
So what in fact happened? I really don't know. If I do in fact have the CV, that might actually be a good thing, since my symptoms are mild--or, I might get much worse. I'm self-quarantining for 14 days--not much different from what I had already been doing--and the next two weeks will consist of Netflix and pizza delivery.
I think it's the uncertainty more than anything else that gets me. I've always assumed I would be exposed, but I would at least like to know if that's what actually happened. Fingers crossed, I guess.
And this narrative wouldn't be complete without a shout-out to all the nurses and doctors who took care of me. They were very nice, professional, and thorough. And an even bigger shout-out to all the medical professionals everywhere who are working 14-hour shifts and risking their lives. Get them what they need, goddammit.
