BOY TRAPPED

Where the inside of my mind leaks onto the screen.

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Negative is Good, Right?

Dave let me know that our COVID tests both came back negative. I burst into tears, because this was actually the worst-case scenario for us.

Two hours after ending our quarantine due to confirmed exposure, I started showing symptoms including fever, headache, nausea, and fatigue. Those have come in consistent waves for 72 hours now, confining me once again to the four walls of a hotel room, this time with no clear end in sight. With a positive COVID test result, I would need to wait 24 hours after my last fever before ending my self-isolation.

With a negative test result, though, I simply don't know what to do. If it's COVID, then Dave is back in quarantine for exposure. If it isn't, I would really like to pop a few ibuprofen and go see my kids.

So I test again, right? Wait another 3 to 5 days for results? I can make it another 3 days. But I live in Georgia now, and from what I have read, testing here isn't pretty. And so I cried.

And then I breathed and decided the news reports about testing in Georgia were probably inflammatory. I started doing the research. 

6-10 days for results if I do a drive thru test at CVS. "In some instances, our lab partners may take even longer to return results," their website warns.

On hold with the local health department and stuck in a loop where I press 1 every so often and it always takes me back to the original menu.

Tried the recommended app. Directly immediately to a screen that reads "There are no appointments currently available. Please check back as appointment blocks may be added."

Used the official website to try to find other testing options. "Click HERE to find a testing location near you" seemed promising. Page not found.

Called the health department again, hopeful that Governor Kemp's speech from July 21st in which he indicated he had arranged a partnership for 10,000 more tests with a 48 hour turn around would mean I could get results this week. I got through and have an appointment scheduled for today. They said I will get my results in 7 to 10 days.

Negative. Yep. That pretty well sums up my attitude right now.

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