The Before Shot
I woke up Friday morning of last week with the worst, and strangest, congestion I think I have ever had. Why the strangest? Because my energy levels were bursting at the seems. I was ready to go for a run, workout and start my day, but my nose and throat were saying otherwise. It seemed random at the time, I went to bed Thursday feeling fine, and then suddenly at 3:00 am I have to sit up to breath and my throat was so scratchy I was scared to talk and sound like Professor Quirrell in the first Harry Potter movie; the scene where he starts to turn into ash. That was my throat.
Do you think I could sleep after that? Not with all the COVID scares going around; and the possibility that the curve is starting to go back up. So… what did I do next? The thing that I tell everyone in my life never to do… I googled it. I found the self-assessment online, I took it, and even though the assessment said that I should be fine… I lied in bed panicking that I was the exception to the rule and was contaminated with the virus.
I know what you are thinking. I sound ridiculous, and when I actually woke up the next morning, I realized how ridiculous I sounded; but at 3:00 am, when the world is dark and everything is silent around me, sometimes my creative brain takes over and I start coming up with… what would be amazing stories, but I envision them as my life and that is scary. The cost you pay for being a writer I guess.
I spent the day coming to the conclusion that I was suffering from allergies. It is that time of year where the environment we are in starts to change, the leaves, new plants, and allergies start to act up. In a completely different circumstance, I wouldn’t have even thought twice about what was happening to my nasal passages and my throat. And I kept repeating to myself, over and over again “nasal congestion… not really a symptom, you are fine” and I left it at that.
Then…
On Sunday I developed a dry cough, a cough that worsened the sore throat and sounded pretty intense. I wouldn’t even leave the house, because if I tried to drive the car, I would end up in the ditch somewhere; a coughing spell would have started and then BAM, I can no longer drive in a straight line. So…. I stayed home and contemplated what to do next.
The Decision
By Monday, the cough had only worsened and I was starting to worry about, not only my health, but the health of those around me. I made the call. I decided to get tested, and “lucky” enough, twenty minutes away from my house there was a no appointment testing centre.
I had no idea what I was doing and I honestly thought my anxiety was going to go through the roof at the idea of going to a strange place surrounded by people who are sick; but I was the most calm I have ever been. And I don’t like new places, with new doors, and language barriers [living in a province where the first language is French, being an Anglophone can sometimes be a struggle]; but I remained calm the whole time.
The only COVID tests I had seen were the ones in the car, where you drive through, you do the test and then you drive away. I thought this was perfect. Ideal for me. So what did I wear? No one was going to see me right? I put on sweats, socks, Nike sandals and 100% no bra.
To ruin the surprise for you right away. It was not a drive through testing centre. I had to get out my car and wait in line for an hour, with people, looking at my outfit like I had just rolled out of some corny romantic comedy movie. I was a little mortified, but I had to accept my decision in my outfit choice and face my role as a responsible citizen in society.
The testing centre opened at 11:00 am… I got there at 11:00 am and there was already a line into the parking lot.
Who Was There
I spent most of the time in line observing people’s actions, behaviours, conversations… yes, I am that person that eavesdrops with everything… how do you think I get my character ideas for my fictions?
Our province had just started school earlier that week; the Monday before to exact. Interestingly enough, the majority of people in the line waiting to get tested were children. Children who had the same symptoms that I did. A sore throat, a cough and the runny nose — clearly allergies, but they weren’t allowed to go back to school until their tests came back negative. So… there they were.
The Scared Children
Like I said in the previous blurb, I am a big eavesdropper, I don’t do it because I want to gossip… I actually despise gossip; I think I do it as a way to keep calm and distracted in a situation that is filled with stress and anxiety.
As I waited there were two children that caught my attention; both were suffering from their own forms of anxiety, but being so little, they didn’t know how to process the emotions and find ways to recenter themselves and find their calm.
One of the children would look at his father every couple minutes with these big eyes, and his breathing would start to quicken. He would repeat that he was nervous and he was worried that he had the virus and might have given it to his friends before he started to show symptoms.
The other was a young school aged child, maybe six or seven. He was exhausted, he couldn’t even stand on his own. His father was carrying him and had him rest on his leg every time the line stopped. All this young child wanted was to not be sick anymore, he wanted it to stop; and when you looked at his eyes, his eyes gave you all the emotions that he was feeling; the most powerful one… fear.
The Process
The process to get tested was quick, somewhat painless and the workers were kind.
After waiting outside for what seemed to be forever, but really was maybe an hour. They ask me to put my bag in the car and then come into the testing building. I waited in line for a little bit longer until the testing area is free and then I went in with my medicare card.
I gave them all the information they need, including my symptoms. Then they swabbed my mouth and my nose.
The nose…
The nose was painful because they twist it for ten seconds before they finally remove it. Ten seconds is not a long time, but at that moment it felt like an eternity!
The Results
I received the phone call 24 hours later.
The phone call that told me that I tested negative and I could resume my regular activities.
Funny enough, I knew that I was negative. I knew that it was just my allergies acting up, but because I was showing two of the symptoms, due to the mouth breathing, I did it.
Regardless of the fact that I knew it was just allergies, I still had that moment of relief on the phone when I was told that everything was clear. Our minds work in mysterious ways and when we pay attention we can make some unique observations of how we process our emotions and reactions.
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