There can be no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is putting unprecedented strain on the healthcare systems. In an effort to reduce the burden and prevent shortages of medical supplies and resources-not to mention the risk of transmission in hospitals, emergency rooms, and other healthcare facilities- many non-essential surgeries, medical procedures, and dental procedures have been postponed indefinitely. But what happens if an urgent or emergency situation unrelated to COVID-19 arises or you are desperate to be treated for a condition that is not life-threatening but you feel you simply cannot wait.
Just when I got off the emotional roller coaster ride of waiting for my daughter-in-law who is a front-line, essential job, nurse to go through the testing process of finding out if the illness she was experiencing was the result of COVID-19, the next emergency arose. Thankfully she tested negative and got over the flu she was experiencing. Just three days later, I get an early morning phone call that now my son who is also a front-line police officer has been up all night with extreme abdominal pain and vomiting. Pain so extreme that he, who is one to try his hardest not to step into any medical facility due to anxiety issues associated with it, wants to be taken to urgent care because he cannot tolerate the pain any longer.
My son and daughter in law get into the car and drive a short distance to the urgent care near their home. They walk into the facility and are immediately stopped and questioned about why they are there. My daughter-in-law is told she cannot come in with him and directed to go out and wait in her car. This now causes my son to have even more anxiety because his support system has just been told she cannot be there with him. Luckily, the urgent care center had a system in place where people waiting for care are not intermingled with each other, but rather rushed into a private exam area. Now the waiting starts for my daughter-in-law who is sitting in the car and agonizing about what is happening inside. My son convinces her to go home and wait until they know something for sure.
After an hour of testing, it is determined that he now has to be transferred to a hospital because he needs an emergency appendectomy. He calls her and says “now you have to come to pick me up and take me to the hospital.” Yes, they did not offer to do the transfer. Thankfully the hospital is only about 5 miles away. They get into the car, drive to the hospital, where once again they are immediately stopped at the entrance. After explaining the situation, my son is escorted inside and my daughter-in-law is told you have to go home.
All of this is being conveyed to me via text because I am literally over a thousand miles away. This is his first surgery, it’s an emergency and he has no support system. And the fact that he is now in a hospital with patients who have been confirmed with COVID-19 doesn’t make the situation better. I am struggling to find the words to describe my experience, things changed quickly in a fortuitous and unexpected manner. I guess for now this is the new normal that we are forced to accept.
Nevertheless, the anxiety and the unknown are hard. Hopefully, if you face this crisis, things will go as well for you and yours. In the meantime, know you are not alone and others are sharing this same experience. These unprecedented experiences are draining. It really is a crisis during a crisis.
Written by Amy Bravo
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