On Sunday, October 25, my mom got a call from a close relative telling us she has the coronavirus. It was honestly really scary for us as my relative had just had emergency surgery. It was decided, after a few minutes of contemplation, that my family would go get tested at MedExpress in the morning.

After a night filled with jitters and fear that I’d have a cotton swab scraping at my brain, it was finally time to make the drive to MedExpress.

As we arrived in the parking lot, we made a phone to check us in. Then we waited. And waited. And waited in the parking lot for an hour. We arrived at 9 o’clock and someone came out to check our vitals at 9:55 am. 

The wait was probably the worst part. My dad has a tendency to make jokes and keep on making jokes in serious situations, and my mother gets stressed and starts cleaning. Yes, she just about cleaned the entire interior of the car. 

The waiting definitely made my dread of the test increase. 

When it was finally time for the doctor to test us, I was filled with temporary relief. When he came out of the door, he was in a biohazard suit with a mask, face shield, and whatever else you can wear to prevent yourself from getting sick.

I know it’s just a precaution, but it made me feel like I was in one of those dystopian movies where the bad guys have to wear a bunch of protective gear to breathe the same air you do. 

When it finally came time for the cotton swab to go in my nose, my fight or flight instincts told me to run far, far away. However, I was in a car about 8 miles from my house, and I did not feel like walking home.

The test itself doesn’t hurt that much. The swab doesn’t go all the way into your nasal passage, but it does feel extremely uncomfortable. I was unconsciously trying to take it out because it rubs the inside of your nose a little raw, and it hurts if you touch it too much. 

My eyes didn’t even water, but I did still feel that swab in my nose for a few hours.

The next few days were a waiting game. While we were in quarantine, I continued my online school as usual and had school work to do every day. My dad actually did projects around the house that he was supposed to do months ago. Finding something to do is important when you’re waiting for big news like this, or you’ll worry yourself to death (as my mom did in the car.)

Dreading the test is the worst part. But getting tested is a thing you just have to do. Even if you are asymptomatic, a few days of quarantine can save someone’s life. I wasn’t about to put anyone at risk to go grocery shopping or to the convenience store.

We got our negative results on October 28 and it was a great relief. The small dread in the pit in my stomach disappeared, and my mom just about started dancing around the house in excitement. I think she really just wanted to go back to work though.

And so our COVID-19 scare was over. My relative made a full recovery, and it honestly made her realize that this virus is real and isn’t just blown out of proportion for the media’s benefit. As this is the only time something like this had happened to me since the beginning of the pandemic, it really put it into perspective for me and left me with a valuable life lesson. Prioritizing your wants (like not wearing a mask) over other people’s health is an unsafe thing to do.