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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

 

We had a little bit of a scare at my house this weekend that for the space of about 24 hours we thought my husband could be positive for COVID-19.

Toward the end of the week he had developed a dry cough and was feeling a little more tired than normal. He had body aches and had a low-grade temperature of about 99.4 degrees.

Around the same time, he also started developing a rash on his face that we initially thought was a heat rash from having to wear a mask all the time while at work. The rash was in areas that would be underneath the mask, but then on Saturday it moved up around his eyes. By Sunday, the rash was worse and his eyes were quite swollen.

Hoping to receive some relief for his eyes, he called up to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea, and they wanted to test him for COVID-19 to rule that out as a cause for his symptoms. They told him that some people who had tested positive had a rash, too, so it was a precautionary measure.

He was to call back the next day to speak with someone about the situation with his eyes.

Only a matter of a few minutes later, he drove down to HealthReach in Albert Lea and got tested for the virus, receiving the instructions to self isolate himself until the results came back 24 to 48 hours later.

Even if he were to be in our front or back yard, he needed to wear a mask, and ideally he should even be isolated from other family members.

I quickly grabbed my computer from the office, knowing I should probably avoid contact with other people, too, until we got the results back, and we prepared to hunker down for the foreseeable future.

Monday morning, his eyes were worse yet, and he called up to the clinic again, and they scheduled a video appointment with a provider.

After the video appointment, that provider advised that he should be seen in person, and he was scheduled for an appointment about two hours later.

He was instructed to call when he arrived at the parking lot, and he would be directed where to go.

While at the appointment in the early afternoon, slightly over 24 hours after his initial COVID-19 test was taken, he found out the test came back negative, and the staff then began discussing what the cause for his symptoms could have been and how to move forward.

Though we still don’t have all the answers about what has caused the issues he is dealing with, he walked away with a prescription for a medication that would provide some relief and, of course, the good news of knowing he didn’t have the virus.

Meanwhile, while all of this was happening, I worked my first full day at home since this whole pandemic began. After getting the news back that he was clear, I decided to return back to work in the office on Tuesday.

To all those parents who have had to work from home while having your young children there with you, I applaud you for your efforts.

That was no easy task.

To the health care workers dedicated to working at this time, thank you for your efforts and for how smoothly the process went for us.

I still don’t know anyone who personally has COVID-19, and I hope it can stay that way for a long time. However, for those people whose loved ones have been affected by this pandemic, my heart goes out to you.

Knowing the stress in the back of our  minds as we waited during that simple 24-hour testing period, made me think more about what it would be like in some cities across the country where cases are more prevalent.

I’m glad to live in an area where testing is more readily available, and we were able to find out the results so quickly.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.