Much ado about nothing

family, humor, lessons learned 2 Minutes

It was literally over in 10 seconds.

I have surgery scheduled for this coming Tuesday and as part of the process I have to get a Covid test.

After a few administrative hiccups I was finally able to make an appointment a couple of days ago for a drive-through test this morning.

I have to admit I was much more nervous about the Covid test than the surgery. I had built it up as being one of the most painful experiences I would ever have, and it’s all I thought about for the past couple of days. Rationally, I tried to convince myself that tens of millions of people have had this test, and if they could do it then so could I. But emotionally, I was a wreck.

Well Sunday morning arrived and my wife drove me Into Philadelphia. Fortunately there were only a couple of cars ahead of us and before I knew it, it was my turn.

I rolled down my window and the nurse asked me if I ever had the test before. After saying no, I then asked if she had ever given the test before (my attempts at humor are pretty feeble when I’m nervous).

She then asked me to tilt my head back and told me it would take just  10 seconds. She then placed the q-tip in my nose and swirled it around while counting backwards from 10.

Before I knew it, it was all over and we were driving away.

That’s what I spent two sleepless nights worrying about? That’s what got my heart rate up to what felt like 200 bpm? That’s what I spent hours reading about on the Internet ?

I had gotten myself worked up for no reason. I think I may have stuck a straw up my nose that far when I was a little kid, but what kid hasn’t?

It reminded me of the time when my parents made me try skim milk for the first time. I was not allowed to leave the dinner table until I drank it. I sat there for two hours all by myself until I finally caved in. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I’ll never get those two hours back.

So I guess the lesson is if there’s something you don’t want to do, just do it and get it over with.

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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15 thoughts on “Much ado about nothing”

  2. That’s reassuring. I had a bad case of some sort of crud once, when I was in the military. They stuck a swab way up my nose, and believe me it hurt like hell. So that’s what I’ve been anticipating about the Covid test. Nice to know that they don’t stick it up into your brain.

    I hope your surgery goes well.

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  6. Much luck with the surgery and a speedy recovery, Jim. I want to hear how you’re managing to keep the blogging streak alive during your recovery. Maybe ask the doctor to blog about your surgery. 🤣

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  8. Hi Jim,

    The test is quick.

    Where I live in the White Mountains of NH the frustration in the long wait time in your car. The average wait time is 2-3 hours. I arrived an hour before the gate opened at 8:00 am and still had to wait over an hour. The tests are administered while we sit in our cars.

    I feel sorry for the nurses when our temperature drops below zero and the mountain winds are howling. It takes a lot of courage to be a test nurse. Why do they add so much misery for courageous medical staff? There has to be a better system!

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  11. I’ve not had the test, and hope I don’t need to! Hopefully your result will be clear. Very early in my career a boss told me that if there was something I had to do that day but didn’t want to, I should do it first, as everything else would look that much better. He was right!

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  12. The influenza check is done pretty much the same way. While administering the test over the years I have had my hands grabbed, been pushed away, and even had my arm slapped. Usually by adults!! So I started asking people to sit on their hands, not just for my own protection but it would give them
    something to do and think about, such as, “why does this crazy nurse want me to sit on my hands for a nasal test?” Diversion tactics are awesome!! Hope your surgery goes well!!!

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  13. Lol Jim, must be a man thing. Women just ‘gitter done’. But in all fairness, that is the longest Qtip I’ve ever seen. They swabbed my hub last month while in hospital. I couldn’t even watch. I was sure it went up to the eye socket, lol. I hope your surgery went well – that all will be well. 🙂

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