On Friday the 13th, I was diagnosed with a pleurisy and eventually asked to get a COVID-19 test. Parenting three kids during a pandemic is a challenge to be sure. Overall I’m super proud of my kids response! We’ve done our best to explain something that is really hard to understand for a 2, 3 and 7 year old. I think if nothing else they understand how serious this all is.
How the pandemic began for us
Two weeks ago I had a cough. It was a non-remarkable cough. I’d go so far as to say my cough was minor. I never had a fever. I never felt congested. By Friday the 13th (ominous!) I wasn’t really coughing at all. We had heard the news, and we were starting to worry about a lot already (toilet paper!). However the cough was at the time, NOT a worry.
Around 7pm the cough suddenly became relevant. My wife’s parents happened to be over (a godsend). All of a sudden I felt a terrible pain in my chest. I wasn’t sure if I was having a heart attack (I’m 35, what the heck). After an hour of trying every body movement I could think of to make the pain subside, my wife and in-laws finally convinced me to go to the ER.
At the Emergency Room during a pandemic
Given the news, we were super nervous to go to the ER. Once we got there and I got put back in a room right away (they take chest stuff serious) I was less worried about my wife or I getting COVID-19. Nobody honestly seemed all that concerned about the pandemic. The doctor never once mentioned the coronavirus. Nobody wore masks. We may never know if it was because at the time they were not yet concerned, or if it was to protect people who otherwise would freak out for being at the ER. Either way it gave us a sense of calmness I am still unsure if I’m thankful for.
They started me off with an EKG (my chests looks like the 40 year old virgin now! Thanks 3M stickers!). I was then carted away to a room near the back. A series of blood tests and X-rays unfolded and my parents (did I say I thought it was a heart attack) came to our room to make sure I was okay (still hoping this wasn’t a giant mistake days later). After around 3 hours I was feeling generally fine. That’s when things got a little scary. A CAT-SCAN tech came in and said are you ready for your scan?
At this point we didn’t realize it, but they had seen something in or around my lung, and were concerned it was pneumonia. The test was done, and the doc came back. He said the test didn’t show pneumonia, but that I had a pleurisy. They gave me a GI cocktail for heartburn and started a steroid. He prescribed prednisone, and I slowly walked out with my wife (still hurt a lot, and it was a tad hard to breathe).
Days later things got real
The ER doc made a point of telling us to follow up with our primary care physician. First thing Monday I tried to call. I was told that due to everything going on, it was best not to come in. The helpful tech suggested sending a direct message to my physician over a service called MyChart. I did that. It did not work.
I’m a web developer by trade. Hence the whole Dev part of Devprodad. I saw immediately that the service was stuck in customer service mode. The only other option was billing, and the parameter to change the form to contact my doc was a mystery. I bit the bullet and sent a note to customer service, first letting them know I saw it was going to the wrong place, but hoped they could route it correctly. They did not.
Frustratingly customer service gets busy. In this case the tech did what most probably would, and said sorry call your docs office (that’s what started this remember). After a bit of back and forth (Monday and Tuesday had now mostly passed), we determined that because I hadn’t used MyChart to contact anyone in over two years I had been dropped from messaging the doc. The option was to try to call them and ask to be added, or do what normally is required: schedule an appointment.
I’d given up, and thought the doctors were not concerned
By now, I was working from home and self quarantined with my kids out of an abundance of caution for me and my coworkers (3 small disease vectors live with me). None of us really thought we could have coronavirus, but certainly were worried about someone getting it. The doctor didn’t seem worried about me, so we weren’t either. My wife was still going to work, and I was home with 2-3 kids going out of my mind trying to keep them busy while being responsive to work stuff. Luckily working weird hours was already normal for me, so aside from sanity and sleep we were doing well. Then came Wednesday…
I got the call from my physicians office around 3pm. Within an hour they had me on the phone with the testing folks, and I was told I really should go get tested. A few key moments include: “By tomorrow we may not be testing anyone anymore. We may just assume everyone has it.” and “How quickly can you get here? Can you get someone to watch your 3 kids now?”
What the actual F.
I could not in fact get someone to watch my kids within an hour, so I went Thursday morning as soon as they opened. It was freaky. It turns out the test hurts too. They stick a 6 inch swab up both sides of your nostrils. The nurse who did the test told me I should behave as if I’m under quarantine from that moment onward, and to expect results within 5 days. They also tested for the flu, and said if that was positive I’d be cleared for COVID, and testing would stop. My result for the flu came back negative a day later.
The cascading effects of being tested
After I was told to get tested, I told my wife. Her work quarantined her right away too. We told my wife’s brother because they’d recently been over. His wife (who works in a Nursing home facility) was quarantined from her work. I told my co-workers over Microsoft Teams. Everyone wished me well, but the silence from everyone in the room was eerie as I explained my story. I told my daughters mother. She made the hard decision to keep Sophia our daughter away from their house until my test results came back (they have other kids with pre-existing conditions). This was all just from a test.
We are into day 4 of waiting on results for this test. We have plenty of supplies (waffles!), and nobody seems to have any symptoms aside from my occasional shortness of breath. I feel fine, but I worry every day about that changing. It in some ways feels like our micro problem (just being asked to be tested) has done it’s damage either way.
No matter if I have/had COVID-19 or not, my parents were around me. My kids are stuck in and around the house. At least 2 people I care about were asked to stay home too. Then I think about the State and National responses.
Ohio is leading the charge!
I’m super proud of Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine. I did not vote for him, but boy he is doing an outstanding job. I someday hope to shake his and Lt. Governor Jon Husted hands for it. Amy Acton our top health official is a Friggin Rock Star! I promised myself to never be political in a developer/parenting blog, but these people are saving lives in a time when the President of the United States continues to be divisive, vindictive and at times down right dangerous. I am so happy we have Mike, Jon and Amy on Ohio’s team.
For the few souls who land here who live in Ohio, definitely keep an eye on the Ohio Channels page for Governor DeWine’s daily briefings. It’s a source of truth that matters right now.