I'm not the biggest drama queen in the world, but just bear with me. After learning a friend with whom I spent regular time before the lockdown had tested positive without ever experiencing any symptoms and that my sister-in-law and her brood had easily gotten tested here in the city, I decided to go (at the friend's suggestion and without mentioning it to a napping Damian) to CityMD myself. Their website is completely up to date with information on the two types of tests available (one for the virus, one for the antibodies) and said they do not take appointments -- just walk in.
The site says they're OPEN NOW in all caps and states they're open until 10 p.m. So I hike over there -- keep in mind I have essentially not left the apartment in two months except to get food a handful of times, per the governor's orders -- and there are people inside the clinic but the door is locked. It's 7:45 p.m. Seconds after pulling on the virus-coated handle, I absentmindedly put a mint in my mouth with the same hand -- a perfect conduit for communal transmission.
Even if you blame me for not verifying the hours before going over there, how angry and perhaps more importantly how worried would you be now? I feel like I let Damian down, like Aidan Quinn's lover in "An Early Frost."
P.S. This is hardly a lawsuit issue, but if I end up getting sick it will be difficult for me to not blame them for their part. If any of you are on Twitter I would appreciate a retweet of my inquiry to CityMD.
9 comments:
Sylvia Sydney, Ben Gazarra Gena Rowlands. Very similar to in the Gloaming with Glenn Close ,but this was a modern look not Classic Television. Worry less if you can.
So they touched the door handle with your hand and they put a mint in your mouth, again with your hand and if anything happens to [you], they are greatly to blame??
Absolutely, TOTALLY their fault because they did not have the door unlocked for your early arrival.
Sorry you experienced that, I work at an urgent care clinic in Boston, please be patient with those who work in clinics. Our hours have fluctuated greatly in the last two months and were set by management and we struggled to keep up. Our website asks that people call ahead if they want testing, which helps people be informed but means the phone never stops ringing and we have limited staff (one front desk/rad tech, one nurse, one provider) and it's challenging to keep up. What could have happened is they were keeping the doors locked door safety - ours were locked by default up until about 2 weeks ago, to control access to the building and limit the numbers of persons inside and limit persons who were symptomatic inside. We had to re-lock them the other day to avoid crowding in the waiting room. Would you really have wanted to wait in a medical center waiting room where it is likely hard to maintain distancing? Also those hours look like they are for the NEXT week, not this current week, so maybe they were closing at 7 this week. At any rate, did you try and call them when you arrived?
@Paul: I arrived at 7:45 p.m. and the sign said they're open until 10 p.m. so I'm not really following your humor.
Kenneth:
I notice that you deleted the "lawsuit" & "blame" comment in your original post. I suspect that when you first wrote the post you were angry... anger is always driven by fear. You mention feeling that you have "let Damian down." All of this makes sense and I do feel for you in this regard. I work in an ICU and I think about this every day before I go home to my partner.
Here's the gist of the matter, as painful as this will be to read... you touched the handle and then used that hand to put a mint in your mouth. You were probably frustrated finding the door locked and maybe popped the mint without thinking. You have to own this instead of talking of lawsuits and blame. Each of us has to be fully in self-protect mode all the time. There is a lot that you could have done to protect yourself. You could have carried a baggie of Lysol wipes with you and used one on the door handle; you could have carried some Purell (or other) gell) and disinfected your hands before popping the mint. You could have slowed the process and gotten yourself fully ready before you left your home
.
In your original post, your anger at the clinic showed and I suspect that it is your anger at yourself that is really the issue. You've got an opportunity here; please consider an addition to your post encouraging your readers to slow down and think really hard before they go out, touch things, pop mints, whatever. The only people who can protect each of us is, "each of us."
@Paul: OR they could adhere to their posted hours or change the recording and website to say they're not keeping regular hours.
P.S. What were you saying about my EARLY arrival?
Oh Karen.
@M: Your comment was taken in the spirit in which I am assuming it was taken. :-)
But a mixed-up restaurant order etc. and a deadly pandemic aren’t exactly a fair comparison. And with the number of people UNDERREACTING, we could stand to have a few more “Karens” out there!
I came back to this comment this morning.
I think you did take it in the spirit it was meant!
While really frustrating these mix-ups happen all the time and during this damn pandemic everything is a lot more... dynamic than we know to deal with.
I do understand your frustration and being in NYC, which is germy on a good day, I understand it must feel even worse seeing how badly it's been managed and consequently, hit.
HOWEVER, we psyche ourselves out over virus-laden doorhandles. Obviously THIS virus is new, but the findings show that it does not survive on surfaces very long, and that even if there is virus present it may be dead or the viral load is not high enough to transmit to you.
It is not like you dipped your hand in a tub of Covid and then shoved your whole fist in your mouth to insert that mint (though you might make some $$$ on onlyfans with that.)
Finally, no, you didn't let your partner down, you are not a robot, we are not perfect.
If you had attended one of those crazy idiotic corona parties, however...
Anyway, can't wait till that crap is over.
Best wishes,
M. (not Madonna)
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