So remember how a little while ago I praised my wife and other animal care workers for heroically soldiering on during this crisis? Well, today she tested positive for coronavirus. Gather around for a tale of how messed up this whole situation is...
Our story begins a few weeks ago when she developed a cough. She added a fever to that last weekend, and then finally shortness of breath last Monday. Her doctor told her she had all the signs of Covid-19, so she should get tested...
Off we went to St. Joseph's Health Centre here in Toronto, only to be turned away. They told her to come back when it was serious. There was no one in line, BTW. Two days later, we came back to the emergency ward because it was serious. Finally, they tested her...
Her other scans were okay so they sent her home to rest. She's basically been immobile since with slight improvement each day. I cancelled all my gigs to care for her and we shipped our dog off to her sister. Our friends have been great with groceries etc...
She had a colleague who got tested at Sunnybrook who got her results online within three days. Five days on for us today and nothing, so we called St. Joe's. They had her results but couldn't give them to her directly, so they sent them to her doctor...
She gets in touch with her doctor who confirms she has tested positive for *a* coronavirus, but *not* Covid-19. By this point, we're wondering WTF?!? on several fronts. But I'll save those for the end...
Through all of this, I've had some minor chest pain and sinus congestion. My doctor told me the other day that I probably have it too, but she doubted they'd test me. Yesterday, I started coughing and having some shortness of breath...
I've been petrified of getting Covid-19 because I also have cat-induced asthma. I take a steroid puffer every day. So combined with my wife's diagnosis and my worsening condition, I figured it was time to get tested...
Off I went to Sunnybrook, only to also be rejected. They're only testing vulnerable people in high-risk situations, so I came home. I'm pretty worried now. Let's summarize the WTFs, shall we?
First, who exactly is being tested in Ontario? Numbers are skyrocketing, yet it seems very difficult to actually get tested. I was certain I was vulnerable and high-risk. How many people actually have it and *can't* get tested? The real numbers must be way higher.
By the way, the first question they asked me at Sunnybrook is what I do for a living. That seemed to seal the deal... a handout they gave me says only people in health care, nursing homes, prisons will be tested. WTF?
Second, we had to educate ourselves on coronaviruses. There are seven known ones, four of which are similar to the common cold, so those are out for my wife. So (apparently) is Covid, which leaves SARS or MERS. Are those going around too?
Side note: I saw a doctor on TV while I was at Sunnybrook say, "It's very easy to make a mistake with these tests." So how accurate are they? Ergo, how accurate are the numbers being reported?
Third, why is the testee having to chase down her own results? Why wasn't she notified immediately? How long was the hospital sitting on her results?
Fourth, I've seen many news stories saying people are working on a vaccine and maybe there'll be one in a year or so. Yet, SARS hit in 2003 and MERS in 2012 and *neither* has a treatment yet. I'm baffled by how that's possible and why anyone thinks Covid will be different...
In conclusion, fingers crossed that my wife is getting better and that I don't get much worse. Everyone we've dealt with has been pleasant enough, but every step of the way we've encountered only more confusion and uncertainty.
I have no lessons or wisdom to impart, just the above straightforward account of how this all seems to being made up as we go along and how utterly unprepared we have all been for this.
Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. We're both feeling a little better today so that's good. As has been suggested, I'm tagging @JohnTory @fordnation and @JustinTrudeau in case any of them think Ontario is handling this well. That is far from the case from our perspective.
For any of my journalist friends reading all this, we're hoping it might spur you or your colleagues to ask some questions about the above. My wife continues to be unnerved and confused about her diagnosis, which we have to believe is wrong.
