Today…November 2nd

When you are on the road for months, you’re bound to need some kind of medical care for something. It’s hard to get through 6 months without “something.” Well, I got “something” within a month. 🙄

So, here I am, in Moab, Utah, sitting outside under an Urgent Care tent, waiting my turn. I came in a few minutes before it opened at 1:00 and started the registration process. There were others already waiting!

Why am I here? I am still very congested, both in my sinuses and bronchi. What is different, though, is I feel weak with very minor exertion. I’m Living on chicken noodle soup ( which is so soothing !!) and not tasting much. I have a productive cough, and when I cough it tires me out. Time to get it checked.

The Urgent Care check-in got a bit flustered with me. Let me explain. After I filled out the clipboard and attached my insurance cards, I was to wait in the area for respiratory symptoms. But it was only for 3 people. So I went over to the other side where it was quite a wide open area. I was concerned with getting my insurance cards back and my ID. 🤔 I didn’t know how long it would take to scan them. Two people went in during that short time and when I checked with her whether it would be okay for me to stand there while I wait for my cards, that’s when she became flustered. She asked another nurse who said they would prefer not. That I could bring my car up outside under the tent and wait there. (Well not having a car, but a truck that wasn’t going to fit, that wasn’t an option, but I began to understand how this works). She showed me about five clipboards that had to be processed before mine and then I explained to her that I’m just trying to understand what the process is here. (You can’t think straight when your head is congested! 🤦) So here, they actually will come out to you in your car after you register inside. You can also sit outside on a bench or chair. I think they are primarily set up for Covid testing, but I hope I can get a check up.

So, I am sitting outside in the sun, in my own chair enjoying the day. And catching up on my blogs. Pretty much what I would have been doing back at the campground. 👍

I just got my insurance cards back. The same check-in person and I talked and chuckled over my confusion. I said she really got slammed with patients and she chuckled, “everyday!! “

The Polish Dr.

I got called back by a nurse’s assistant. We went through the preliminary info and basic checkup. I was surprised my oxygen level was at 94 and my blood pressure was 132 over 70. I’m the type that runs 110 over 58. And I was a little concerned about the oxygen level. But I am congested and breathing through a mask.🤔 We also did the nasal swab for the covid test.

After a few minutes of waiting, my doctor Kathleen Bartczak came in. I could not read her tag to see that she was Polish, so I didn’t put two and two together when she asked me if I could speak Polish. I shared with her the few phrases I could and she knew what I was saying. 😄 As we talked, her parents came from Poland and she can speak Polish. I told her the two reasons why I was never taught polish. One was because at that time the schools thought learning two languages at a time would be confusing so they discouraged it. 🙄 Second because then my mom could talk with all of her family in front of us and we couldn’t understand any of it. 😂

She did check me over real well and I was surprised I was not showing an inflammation in my ears or my throat or anywhere. My lungs sounded clear, my heart was good but she could hear the wheezing in the bronchial tubes. We were discussing whether an antibiotic would be helpful or not because this was most likely viral. I was feeling pretty punk and running a low temperature because I had not taken any DayQuil or NyQuil and said I really hope I could get something. As we were having this discussion, there was a knock at the door. An aid handed her a sheet of paper, she looked at it and even before she handed it to me, I knew immediately…

I was positive for Covid. 😨😱