Bronchitis vs. COVID-19 vs. URI vs. Colds

I'm sick. I've been sick since Wednesday evening. I think it's my annual bout of bronchitis. Or it could be COVID. But I doubt it. But with all the anxiety over COVID, IDK anymore.

I think all the anxiety they have given us over COVID has left us unable to determine when we have a simple cold or the flu, or something like bronchitis, or something worse--like COVID--or some other sort of infection. 

More likely than not this either is my annual bronchitis or a URI (upper respiratory infection). But I'm sick and miserable. Oh. I'm being redundant. But I'm sick so I'm allowed a bit of redundancy.

I'm certain I'm not the only one who feels this way. That is, that one little sniffle--or in my case, a single cough--sends off alarm bells and trips to CVS buying out every single possible home COVID test there is on the shelves. Because I've already had COVID-19. And not the trimmed-down Delta or Omicron variants but the OG one that first came out, when it first came out, when everybody was running around like chickens with their heads cut off because nobody knew what the hell they were doing.

And it was rough. Like, for reals rough. Like, stranded on an Antarctic island without a mobile or satellite signal kind of rough (and no cute penguins to keep ya company, only the menacing glare of that polar bear...). But I digress...

So I'm sick. And I'm watching the seconds go by as I wait for the appointed hour of my telehealth visit with my new PCP (primary care physician) who will tell me I don't have COVID-19. Because I know I don't. It's just my annual bout with bronchitis, right? But I'm still freaking out because what if it IS COVID-19. I mean, I'm vaxed and boosted and what are the chances I would catch it again? Seriously?

 Because this is what they have done to us. Any time we get a little sniffle. Or sneeze. Or cough. This is now the road we take ourselves down.

And I'm pretty certain that it's a road they built.

Connecticut Hospitals Must Do Better!

 

Bridgeport Hospital¹

I currently have a few family members and close friends who either have been hospitalized or visited the emergency departments (ED) of hospitals across the State of Connecticut due to suspected COVID-19 infections. The following are a few observations and opinions I'd like to share about these experiences:

I understand that Governor Lamont is not doing much of anything to help with the COVID-19 Omicron surge. However, the state of affairs at some of the hospitals in Connecticut is indefensible.

Keeping patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the ED waiting room because there isn't enough room in the ED, near other patients, is inexcusable. Not having basic medications in stock, such as to aid with breathing is impermissible. Sending patients home who are too weak to care for themselves must carry some sort of liability.

Arguing with patients over their preferred method of care is not supposed to happen. Telling family members that they will be called and then never calling them is unforgivable.

This isn't even an issue of insurance but of basic quality of care. And when you call to complain about it, the people who are supposed to be there to receive these calls are never there to answer the phones.

All of the above I would imagine goes against the Hippocratic Oath and combined could be construed as gross negligence. Hospitals cannot be allowed to get away with such a poor quality of care!

St. Francis Hospital, Hartford, CT¹

We deserve better care than this for ourselves and our loved ones! Such an inexcusably poor level of care cannot be blamed on a "surge" of infections during the pandemic. We've been dealing with the pandemic for over two years now. Hospitals, especially, and our government, should have had things under much better control than they currently are. My family members and friends do not deserve the treatment they have been given.

I can only imagine the poor level of care others are receiving who do not have such vocal advocates. To all of them, I send my deepest apologies that I cannot be there for you. This article will have to suffice.

¹ Image used with permission from Wikimedia Commons under a (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.