Mid July 2020 waiting for COVID-19 test results

Well, I was going to put this on FACEBOOK, but I don't usually write such wordy things on there, so I thought I would write it here and link it from there.

I have a job in the tech industry, maintaining order processing systems for a large family owned business, and have been able  to work from home, since early in March of this year 2020, when the COVID-19 Pandemic "officially" started.

I have been careful to social distance, and to wear the best face covering I could come up with since the beginning.  A friend early one brought me an N95 respirator, and I was able to score 8 more of them as a perk for buying some stereo equipment.

I had played it safe for four months, even using the washer and dryer in my apartment building's basement instead of my usual weekly trek to the laundromat.  One day I did three loads, which took about four hours, up and down.  This was driven by pure necessity, because I had run out of the unmentionable necessities, although I never got fully dressed most days.

Anyway, the laundry piled up mostly undone, and, just as restrictions began to be relaxed, I ventured out to a laundromat.

I picked a bigger one than I usually went to, reasoning that the bigger aisles would be safer.

I went there wearing an unused N95 respirator from my small stash.

Long story short, I did nine loads in just under two hours, washing and drying, and didn't get very close to anyone, masked or not, for very long during that time, so I thought I had taken reasonable precautions to save many hours of effort doing the same thing at home and had incurred a minimal risk.

That was last Sunday afternoon.

Then, late on Wednesday, I started to feel a little bit off.

Thursday morning, I knew I had come down with something like a cold, with no fever, but a headache and a feeling of tiredness, so I called in sick at work, requesting PTO for the day.

I looked online for places to get tested, and, surprisingly, found several.  I picked three.

First was at a CVS pharmacy in Lindenhurst, IL.  I drove there and, following detailed directions, stuck the tiny swab up my nose.  They said they were backed up running the tests so it was expected to take two weeks to get results.

That afternoon, I went to University of Wisconsin, Parkside, and get the same treatment from the National Guard.  They didn't say, but, having tested with them before, I had gotten results in two days.

The third one was through my healthcare provider, Aurora Medical Center.  Soonest I could schedule was Saturday, and I went there late morning.  This was a slightly different swab, fatter, and didn't go as deep. They say expect results in three to seven days.

So, here I am, having felt 'punk' for three solid days, but not seriously ill, waiting for tests, and committing to quarantining myself - where I used to go for carry out, I will now substitute contact free delivery.  I signed up to have groceries delivered instead of making my usual "Chernobyl style" run through Woodmans Market. (see https://www.elenafilatova.net/ - yes, I know it was dramatized for sensationality - still a cultural point of reference wikipedia says: "In 2004, photographer Elena Filatova published a photo-essay on her website of her solo motorcycle rides through Pripyat and the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.^[11] The solo motorcycle ride story was later revealed to be a hoax; most of the photos had been taken during a guided tour.^[12]")

I remember being afraid to even do that, but, apparently, time and experienced dulled the fear.

I came to believe that eventually I would get COVID, just because it is becoming so diffused throughout the country and especially my state, but continued to hope that it would wait until they had a cure or at least better treatments.

Now may be the time!

I am so glad my symptoms are not worse!

I am seventy two years of age, and in reasonable health, aside from "benign hypertension" which is under control of a beta blocker and an ACE inhibitor.  I have been taking a vitamin D supplement for many years, and have been used to having my annual cold, requiring me to take a couple of days off work.

I will be very happy to go back to 'safer at home' with the occasional carry-out run to better support the local restaurants who get hit with lowered margins from using GRUBHUB and DOORDASH, as soon as I get back to feeling 'normal'.

Naturally, I will post the results when I get them!