Pandemic Panic

Take a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out. I don’t think my husband and I have COVOD-19, but we signed up to get tested just in case. That is not as easy as it sounds. We are living in a new city in a new state and have to find doctors and hospitals. I have asked neighbors, realtors, and friends for recommendations. I have multiple lists of doctors and not everyone agrees on the best medical facilities in Las Vegas. After many phone calls, we finally found a doctor who could see us, but not in person. She does consultations on the internet during the pandemic. This was an adventure in itself. After multiple trials to connect with us, phone calls with her staff, and then IT, we finally reached her on Skype. She asked my husband a series of questions and then prescribed him an antibiotic for a sinus infection. She also suggested that we both get a coronavirus test just in case.

Just in case! The alarm bells went off. We quickly found out how difficult it is to get a COVID-19 test in this sprawling city. All the drug store drive-up test centers are full, and no openings are available online. I called around town to other testing centers with no luck. Finally, we got separate appointments at hospital drive up centers on different days. Then it will take 5-8 days to get test results. Talk about stress. Now we are ‘social distancing’ in our new home. We only moved in eight days ago and are in the process of unpacking and setting up the household. Now we are ordering groceries online and stopping our daily neighborhood walks. We had to cancel a hike with a friend we know in the city.

Now, we spend our time watching movies seated across the room from each other. Our dishes are in separate piles on the kitchen counter and it is all a bit surreal. I am worried about our health, the tests, and the stress of waiting for the results. Medical authorities say it takes four days to two weeks from exposure for the virus to show up. That means we could have caught it anywhere on our drive here through six states, countless gas stations, restaurants, and three motels. We will never know the culprit.

So now I am spending my time writing, reading, talking on the phone, and watching TV. I wonder what life will be like when this unique time in history is over. I woke up today with heel pain. Now I am stuck in my chair writing this Blog. What will we do daily? When can we go out to eat again and explore this new city? Will we see our new LA granddaughter? When can we visit our children and grandchildren again? When will life return to the new normal? Take a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out. We will all stay calm and make it through this time in history. Wear a mask and stay healthy everyone!