Trying to Do the Right Thing

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness

The end of our self-imposed quarantine is in sight.  Friday, the 13th, marks the end of our 14-days of isolation.  Thankfully, we're not the superstitious type. But.

During our 14-day isolation, we have had colds. Chris has been worse off than me. We don't feel bad.  No fevers for either of us. Just minor respiratory stuff. Now a lingering cough. That's how colds tend to go in each of us. Except.

We were in Italy. On trains and at festivals with significant crowds.  When we left for Italy, there were no cases of COVID-19.  When we aborted our trip, there were 650 cases.  Less than 2 weeks later, there are over 10,000 cases, and the government has shut down the entire country (or tried to).

We've done the prudent thing. We've kept our distance from others.  We've occupied ourselves with trips to places where the space is vast, and the people are few (see accompanying pictures).

With plenty of time on our well-washed hands, we've also been monitoring the news and tracking symptoms.  They keep changing.  There is too much conflicting information out there, and it niggles at us kinda like our coughs.

Great Sand Dunes NP

Late last week, after reading that fevers aren't an absolute indicator of COVID-19, Chris sent an inquiry to COHELP at the CO Department of Public Health & Environment, providing background and essentially availing himself to being tested if they thought he should be.  The response was ambiguous, at best.

After listening to CPR's reporting on COVID-19 and reading an article in the local paper regarding the state's efforts to identify where cases are, Chris reached out to our local health department.  A message directed him to call the state hotline.  He did. A recording at that number instructed him to call his doctor.  He called his doctor's office. They informed him that testing could only be done at the local hospital.  He called the hospital, only to be told that the local health department had to approve him before the hospital would test him.  He called the local health department again. Someone returned his call only to tell him he would need to talk to another staff member.  That staff member called in relatively short order, asked him a series of questions and upon hearing that 1) he'd been to Italy and 2) had a cough, recommended he be tested.  At the hospital.

Sandhill Cranes in Monte Vista NWR.  We kept our distance.

He called the hospital again and learned that testing is only available through a drive-by at the local hospital's ER.  He called the ER who confirmed they could do the test but at the cost of an ER visit.  He asked the obvious, "How much is that?"  They DID NOT KNOW, and referred him to hospital registrar.  He left a message. The registrar called back.  The COVID-19 test is free, but there's a cost for the ER visit.  Again, "how much?"  They DO NOT KNOW.  After several hours, we're still waiting for a call back with the cost.

This matters because there have been reports of people paying more than $4,000 in fees to get their "free" test.  For those who don't have insurance (or crappy insurance), this is prohibitive.  When we were still in Italy, we had a couple of discussions on the pros of potentially getting sick there -- the obvious being that the cost of treatment would be less.  Cost, in my opinion, should NOT be part of a discussion when we are dealing with a global health issue.

This whole experience neither inspires confidence in our medical establishment nor the ability of our country to handle what has now been declared a pandemic by the WHO.

I want to be clear: We don't think we're positive for COVID-19, but we figured if we could get a test to be absolutely sure, that would be a good thing - the right thing -- for everyone in our community.  It should not be this hard.  We may be free of our quarantine by Friday, but if we are not, it's only because we love our friends and our community.

Beauty still abounds in this complex world.