While at work at about 3:45 PM Monday, December 27, I felt my cell phone go off in my pocket recognizable as a text message. I was scanning several items, so I figured I would check the message when I got back to my desk. As I sat down at my desk, my cell phone rang, or at least produced its incoming ringtone. I checked my phone, which read that the call was coming from my wife Val, who is working from home due to the COVID pandemic.
As I answered the phone, “Hi, hon,” I went to my text list. “Get home now, dear,” my wife said in a rather urgent voice, “X (our nephew) just tested positive for COVID.” As I heard this, my heart dropped, and when I looked at the text message, it was also from Val, stating, “Sit down, sweetie. X tested positive.”
And so, with the call no one wants to receive, the adventure begins. Actually, the adventure began Christmas Day (Saturday). Val and I went to my sister-in-law Y’s house for a brunch get-together with X, Y, Y’s friend and my mother-in-law. My nephew actually arrived from his father’s house a few minutes after Val and I got there at about 12:30-1 PM, and the boyfriend arrived a bit after that. It was a very nice, relaxed, enjoyable gathering, as nice as holiday gatherings can be during a pandemic, which caused this brunch to be a mask-wearing affair for, with occasional laxness by some. Eventually, my nephew returned to his father’s house and the brunch ended.
Sunday went by normally, as did returning to work at my Erie County Department of Social Services job; Mondays are typically busy, and we were with mail/payments, clients and usual tasks. Or at least until I received the telephone call and texts from my wife. I immediately finished the task I was on, notified my supervisors, checked on the protocols, swiped out at 4 PM and went home. Val and I started checking where, when and how we could get the testing done as soon as possible, as well as receiving results. Val came across CTS, found their testing site at the Buffalo Grand Hotel (formerly Adam’s Mark Hotel) on Church Street, and while appointments weren’t 100 percent necessary, they were recommended, and we got one for 4:25 PM Tuesday, December 28. The rest of the day was spent notifying work representatives (in my department and personnel) what was happening, how my job responsibilities were looking for the next couple of days, and worrying. Worrying about what what I/we would do waiting for the results, what would happen if either one of us or both of us tested positive and we had to quarantine, and so on. The way our house is set up, we have an unfinished attic and basement, and the bedroom is upstairs, next to the computer/media room, and the next room is Val’s studio/computer room; the shower is also located upstairs, so how Val and I would quarantine from each other if one of us tested positive is unknown.
Having at least a couple of unexpected days off from work doesn’t thrill me. I take pride in my job, a job/situation where we had a 25 percent personnel cut a few years ago, allegedly temporary but it’s been two years or so. When one person left to go to another position (she did a great job with us), it took almost 2 months to replace her, and the new person started two weeks ago. Also, the other person in my office is, shall we say, technology and hard work challenged and could retire today with a full pension; when I am out, they often panic. But I left the messages that I wouldn’t be in along with work instructions, and they basically got by; yes, my return was met with work that should have been done, but it was expected.
Tuesday went by in fits; Val continued to do her job from home, I slept in a bit but got up to feed and then walk our dog, Harold, and wanted to start writing something like this piece, but found I couldn’t concentrate and didn’t feel like commenting on it on social media just yet. So I ended up showering, doing a lot of reading and hoping the clock would quickly get to the time we could go to get our tests.
We got to CTS at exactly 4:25 PM; except for one couple of guests, the only people we saw were two staffers behind the desk and the CTS setup just off the main lobby, with three workers and a few clients/patients. We had to scan something to get to the registration page, and after a few minutes we handed the additional forms back to the first worker, and we waited with a few other people for the rapid response and PCR COVID tests. The testing seemed rather easy and harmless; for each test, a swab was placed in my nostrils, went back a bit/a lot, swirled a few times and that was it. We were told to go back to the waiting/lounge area and wait for our rapid response test results, and about 15 minutes later, we received our cards with the results on them, handed to us individually and face down. While I had shown no symptoms and felt fine, I hadn’t relaxed since learning of my nephew’s positive status, and it felt like the proverbial weight was taken off my back when I flipped the card and saw the negative status. I smiled as I showed Val the card, and she smiled as she waited for hers, which also came back negative a minute or so later.
Because our COVID protocols did not read like they clearly allowed return to work without a negative PCR test, I contacted the personnel department COVID email address to ask about it; they got back to me checking on my vaccination, booster and symptom status. Because I was fully vaccinated (Pfizer) and boosted (Moderna), had no symptoms and had not tested positive, I could return to work the next day, Thursday, masked as all Erie County employees at the Rath Building are, and I did. Val and I await our PCR test results, but as of 5:30 PM New Year’s Day, we remain symptom free.
Postscript: my nephew is feeling OK, and my sister-in-law and my nephew’s father both tested positive for COVID, had some symptoms and are feeling better. All are vaccinated and boosted.
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