I went to the ER. I was quite sick and couldn't go to my doctor on the weekend. I felt weird and had chills and shaking and no appetite. I went to the ER, on Saturday night, early. It wasn't busy yet.
I was diagnosed with a fever, of unknown origin. My temperature was 102.1. Normally it's 97.1. They said I might have an infection but didn't find out where the infection was. I was given no antibiotics, no medicine other than Tylenol. A fever? I haven't had a fever since I was maybe 9 years old! They also did a Covid test. It was negative.
Two days later I was still sick, maybe sicker, with added coughing and mild shortness of breath. I was quite concerned. I went back to the ER on Monday evening. It was busy. I was accompanied by my live-in significant other. She was not ill. Eventually, after hanging out in the waiting room with lots of sick people (wearing mandatory masks) I was seen. My temperature was 102.4. They took an x-ray. They said the blood test lab was closed. After the x-ray, instead of waiting around in a crowded ER waiting room for hours for the results of the x-ray, I told the ER I was going home and would check the results later when they were posted online. I expected the x-ray to again show no problems as it did 2 days earlier.
A few hours later I got the results. The x-ray showed possible pneumonia. Pneumonia? How could I have pneumonia? 2 days earlier I had a x-ray and it showed my lungs were clear. No pneumonia. Now I have pneumonia? The only indoor place I was in during those 2 previous days for any length of time, besides home, was the ER. Did I get pneumonia at the ER when I was there 2 days earlier?
It gets worse. After the Monday ER visit 5 days later my live-in significant other was diagnosed with Covid. Covid? She hadn't gone anywhere. In that time frame she had barely left the house, for anything. We had gotten no visitors, attended no indoor gatherings, attended no parties. The most likely place she got Covid was the ER, when she accompanied me 5 days earlier and was there for at least an hour. As for me, I had no Covid symptoms. Yet.
UPDATE:
Today, Monday August 1, 2022 I went to the ER to get tested for Covid.
I tested positive. I have Covid. And a huge dry cough.
Pneumonia? Covid? The ER? A hospital Emergency Room full of really sick and maybe contagious people? With all kinds of possible undiagnosed and untreated diseases? OMG, even with mandatory mask wearing by patients and staff maybe the ER is the most dangerous and life threatening place for your health!