From The Connersville News Examiner
I’m not going to lie: I was a little nervous about getting tested for COVID-19. I did what they always tell you not to do: Google it. There, I saw a picture of a giant Q-tip go up through the nose and swab what looked like the brain. Not my idea of a good time.
But I decided to do it anyway. Not because I thought I have COVID-19 but just because I wanted to be sure I didn’t. So I made an appointment for the procedure. They told me to come 10 minutes early to do some paperwork.
I pulled up to Meridian Health Services, 707 W. 3rd Street, called to let them know I was there and stayed in my truck. A woman came out with the paperwork: basic information needed to register before the test.
Then, Nurse Practitioner Courtney McCracken came out wearing an N95 mask, face shield and a suit covering her clothes. She took my temperature, asked questions like, “Have you had a cough? Sinus pressure? Shortness of breath? Trouble breathing? Muscle aches? Stomach pain? Diarrhea? Fever? Loss of taste or smell?”
I didn’t feel terrible but had been experiencing headache, body aches, sinus pressure and a little shortness of breath. All but the body aches are typical of my sinus and allergies.
She then pulled out the swab, which wasn’t anything like I expected. It was small: the size of a Q-tip. She told me I could even swab myself if I wanted to: Just take it and swab around the inside of the nose. Tthat was it. She swabbed both my nostrils, placed the Q-tips in a tube and we were done. No pain, no pressure, nothing. It was simple.
She told me it took between two to five days for results. As of Monday morning, my results hadn’t arrived. So I’m working from home, waiting and wondering.
Take it upon yourself to be tested, just in case. It doesn’t hurt and you could save a life, including your own.
