"Remoted - Hybrid” – Day 572 (Saturday)

Today’s schedule had possibilities that included bike riding and a Jack Kerouac event. These did not happen, Well, for others probably, just not for me. Instead of fresh air exercise on a bike, my day was consumed by exercising caution and waiting.

After learning that several people I was in the same space with last weekend tested positive for COVID during the week, and knowing that I have dental surgery scheduled for next Saturday, I called my doctor’s office for advice. The doctor on call put in a referral for a test, and recited a phone number for Central Scheduling. Central Scheduling said there were no appointments being scheduled due to high volume and tests are walk-in only at Urgent Care. The website for Urgent Care said to plan on two hours for the visit.

11:20 – arrived. There was a short wait at the check-in desk for the attendant who was out back getting a test result for a lady standing nearby. I know this because she told me. The waiting room beyond the vestibule looked crowded. After a few minutes, I was checked-in and told to return to my car to await two calls. One would be from Registration, the other from a Nurse telling me to come inside. 

Parking lot tree on
a Saturday.

The car was started to charge the cell phone. The Jeep owner’s manual was consulted for light reading. The tire pressure info was cleared from the instrument cluster. 

A masked couple was in car beside mine. They were parked there when I first pulled in. Neither seemed very lively. He was fully reclined in the driver’s seat with his eyes closed. She was in the passenger seat, part of the time spent curled up with her back to him. I wondered if she was mad at him.

11:45 – the call from Registration came in and info was requested and provided.

11:50 – remembered I had brought a book for the wait. Read for 30 minutes while awaiting the call from the Nurse. 

12:25 – an hour since check-in and I’m wondering if the two hour time frame mentioned on the website starts at check-in or the registration call. 

1:00 – the neighbor car's engine was started and the car was driven off. It seemed like they gave up.

1:28 – in the past hour the dashboard had been dusted with my hand. The fabric on the ceiling and the sun roof had been brushed by hand. A picture was taken of a tree in front of the car. Using the manual, the headrest was adjusted because the angle of it pitches my head forward and my neck hurts. The guideline said the top of headrest should be above the top of ears. The headrest is at least as tall as my head, and in the lowest position, towers well over the “top of my ears.” Notes were typed in the phone.

1:37 – the Nurse called and and told me to enter the building and tell the check-in person I was going to  Room 1.

Inside Exam Room 1.

1:45 – sitting in Exam Room 1. Vitals were taken and declared “good.” The room was chilly. Waiting for the next step. 

1:50 – medical professional returned and swabbed the right nostril. It burned, and then my right eye watered. Right before my swab a kid was screaming in another room. Shreiking. Oy. I felt bad for the kid and also for the medical professionals doing tests who have to hear the shreiks countless times daily.

2:20 – a doctor came in declaring he had great news. No COVID. No flu. My sniffles and stuffy runny nose were declared a summer cold, and I was done.

The whole thing took three hours. It was great to be declared “negative.” But there had been a teeny, tiny glimmer of hope for a delay of the dental surgery scheduled for next Saturday.