I hadn't posted about this on Facebook yet, mainly because I wanted to sit down and take the time to really write out the story.
Since mid-March, Jason and I have been keeping pretty isolated. We wear masks when we go out. We limit our grocery runs to once a week. We only get takeout rather than eating at restaurants. We have limited how often we've seen our parents and our friends. On the rare occasion we do have someone over we keep the group small and often try to do additional safety in mind - washing hands often and keeping hand sanitizer available, sitting outside, etc.
Another couple that we know has similarly been distancing themselves, due to some health issues that they have. But keeping your distance from friends and family for months, not going anywhere, not getting Menchie's because you were already paranoid-enough about grubby kids' hands in your Reese's cups to almost not eat there even before there was a pandemic... it takes its toll on you.
Our friends, this other couple, they've been very careful. Since we have too, we figured cautious meet-ups would be great. On July 5th, they came over and we sat outside, 6 feet between couples. On the 13th, the lady* was having a rough day and asked if she could come over for another socially distanced chat. I was game.
*We'll call her Lindsey from her on out.
Lindsey came over and we sat outside and chatted until Elianna woke up from her nap. It was hot, and it was time for Elianna to eat, so I invited Lindsey inside, suggesting we sit at opposite ends of the dining table. I was being cautious for her - I knew she wasn't a risk because she has been very, very careful because she has various health issues that affect her immunity.
One of the many things we chatted about was a treatment she was receiving for her disorder. She had been receiving biological donations - and they had really been helping. Lindsey and her doctor had hope that this might even be able to reverse her condition. But she hadn't heard from her donor in a couple days, and it was starting to worry her. After a while, Lindsey headed out, and Elianna and I went about the rest of our day, glad to have seen our friend.
Three days later, Lindsey texted me. She had just found out that her donor, who she had last been in contact with on the 11th, probably had COVID-19. I immediately called her - you can't handle something like that via text.
She was distraught. Not just because she had been exposed. Not just because this put her treatment in jeopardy. She was upset because she had inadvertently exposed me, as well as Elianna and Jason. She gave me more details about the timeline.
Her donor's parents had tested positive on the 6th, and he had been spending time with them since then - but not telling Lindsey, who he was in direct contact with on an almost daily basis. He developed symptoms the afternoon of the 11th, after having seen her that morning. He delayed telling her until the morning of the 16th. (Lindsey contacted me IMMEDIATELY after he told her.)
Of course, because Lindsey and I had kept our distance from each other (and Jason had waved at her from the hallway when he had come up for water), I was not overly concerned for myself. Jason and I got tested anyway, because there was still that chance. That was... a trial.
We spent the morning of Thursday the 16th calling around and checking websites. The Cherokee County Department of Health didn't have an available appointment for a week - and seemed quite perturbed by the idea I might make an appointment and call back later to cancel if I found someone who could take us earlier. One of the urgent care offices near us had run out of tests. The CVS Minute Clinic said that we didn't qualify for a test because 1. we didn't have symptoms, 2. didn't work in a high-risk environment, and 3. hadn't been in contact with someone who had tested positive. The last qualification was further complicated by the fact that Lindsey's donor didn't want to get tested despite having been sick for 5 days at that point; it was like a bad game of 6 degrees of separation. There were at least one or two other locations we did online questionnaires for only to be told we didn't qualify for a test.
At this same time, Lindsey and her husband were also frantically trying to find somewhere that they could be tested imminently, despite the fact that they had technically not been in contact with someone who was positive (as he had not been tested). Jason and I finally found that the Health Department of Northwest Georgia had a free first-come-first-served testing facility in Cartersville; you didn't have to be a resident of Bartow county - you just had to be willing to show up and wait in line.
Since I had been the one in "closer" contact with Lindsey, Jason and I agreed I would go get tested, and he would take care of Elianna and then go get tested in the morning. I drove up to Cartersville - not a long or hard drive in the grand scheme of things. It took me about 45 minutes, driveway to driveway. I sat in line for 2 hours. Jason went the next morning and sat even longer - almost three hours. All things considered, having a tiny pipe cleaner stuck up your nose for a grand total of 20 seconds actually seems to not be as bad as sitting bored in the car for 2 hours having to run the AC at full blast.
And Lindsey... she and her husband found a rapid testing facility. In Peachtree City. That could take them the next day. An immune-compromised woman who knew she had been exposed to COVID-19 had to drive an hour the next day to be able to get tested for the disease causing a global pandemic.
So nearly a week after she was exposed, Lindsey and her husband got an antibody test and a viral test. The antibody tests came back the same day - they were negative, which was great news for all of us. But because Lindsey was told that there was a slight possibility that she might still come back with a positive viral test, even with the negative antibody test, we played it safe and hunkered down to wait for everyone's test results.
We didn't go to the grocery store like we normally do every Saturday. We postponed Elianna's birthday party (it was only going to be immediate family). I told my mom that depending on how long it took for the results to come back, Elianna and I might not be able to meet up with her on their birthday (yes, Elianna and my mom have the same birthday).
Of course, these were all just inconveniences. I know that the inconvenience of cancelling plans and ordering formula online are nothing compared to what we might have faced had we gotten sick, had one of us had to go to the hospital.
When we got our tests, we were told that our results would take about 48 hours. I was pleasantly surprised... then. I wasn't sure if "48 hours" meant clock hours or business hours. We kept checking over the weekend; our lab had received my test as of Saturday and Jason's as of Sunday, but no results or updates after that. Lindsey's viral test came back the morning of Monday the 20th. She and her husband were negative. Of course, we were thrilled. We also continued to check our lab's website - Monday, then Tuesday. Finally, July 22, Wednesday afternoon, almost a week after I had been tested, my results came back negative. Jason's negative result came in late that night. We know that we - us and our friends - were lucky.
Two thoughts have stayed with me throughout this experience:
1. You can be careful. You can be so careful. But if other people can't follow basic decency and inform you if they've been exposed, your care boils down to nothing.
2. Why is is still taking so long to get tested? For results to come in? It shouldn't have to take almost a week to find out if you're sick, to have to wait hours or days or drive to other cities to get tested, to have to qualify beyond "there is a chance I might have been exposed" when we're in the middle of a pandemic that has killed almost 150,000 people in this country alone.
I'm not disappointed in Lindsey - In, fact I am very pleased with her quick reaction. She handled a bad situation the best she could. I am disappointed with her donor. I am disappointed with a lot of people in how this has been handled.