My PCR test came back negative. We had hoped it would, and mostly expected it to, but it’s a relief to have a definitive answer. As a family, we share our germs whether we want to or not, so a negative test result for me is like a negative result for the whole family. Now we can all go about our business without having to worry that we are (or recently were) contagious.
I still don’t know how a non-Covid virus was able to rob me so completely of my sense of smell. It wasn’t just the diminishment of senses that comes with being stuffy. It was a sudden, total loss. I went from being able to taste and smell normally one minute to being completely unable to the next. I guess I’ll have to go with my husband’s theory that I have permanent or semi-permanent damage from my previous Covid infection. So, if this ever happens again, I probably shouldn’t worry too much that I have Covid. Of course, then it will be Covid, because Murphy’s Law. 😉
Fortunately, my sense of smell has started to return, and one minor good thing to come out of this is that I now know where to get a PCR test. Ever since the state testing sites shut down, we haven’t had a reliable source for testing. I don’t want to go to the doctor’s office, because I don’t trust their billing policies. Though the test itself would be covered by my insurance, I’d probably get a bill with a $60 charge for “handling the swab,” or something ridiculous like that. I also don’t want to use CVS, because their scheduling system is evil, asking intrusive questions and expecting that I’ll upload an image of my health insurance card (fat chance!). Ultimately I used Walgreens, and though the testing process itself was slow, as were the results, at least the experience was simple and not infuriating.