Maddie Experiences Her First COVID-19 Test

I was a fool to think the time would never come, but the day arrived on Tuesday when I had to get a COVID-19 test, and Michael wasn’t kidding when he called it a “brain tickler.”

I got a call on Tuesday afternoon that someone I was in the vicinity of recently had tested positive for the coronavirus. Out of an abundance of caution, my fiancé and I hopped in the car and headed to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence to get a giant cotton swab shoved up my nostril.

It was an eerie scene. The entrance to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center was barricaded off with a military-grade Humvee parked out front and members of the National Guard patrolling the area. There was a line of vehicles all waiting their turn with officials walking down the corridor of cars, dressed in all white jumpers with their faces covered in plastic and splash guards.

I was anxiously waiting in line, feeling like I was in a Steven Spielberg movie, when I was called to the chair for my test.

The gentlemen in white was pleasant as he told me to “get ready.”

The swab went in, and just when I thought it couldn’t go any farther, the swab went further and further into my head.

It was the strangest sensation I have ever felt. There was a burning sensation that spread from somewhere in the back of my nasal cavity down to my neck. It was sweet relief when he took the swab out.

I am happy to report that my test came back negative, so the abuse to my nostrils was a small price to pay. Fingers crossed that was my first and last experience.