Taking an Uber to an emergency room during a global pandemic hits differently.

All three times I’ve been to the ER I’ve taken an Uber, but in July I was going to an active hospital with a COVID-19 unit. On the way, I had to accept the realities that I could get “the rona” from this emergency room visit, and it could kill me.

But I had to go, because there was something wrong with me that was getting worse. When I described my symptoms to a nurse on the hotline provided by my health insurance, they strongly suggested the ER. 

At first, I thought I might have an ear infection. Then I began to experience severe pain in my jaw area and assumed it was dental, as I’d had necessary restorative work postponed by COVID. After not sleeping for about a week, I went to the dental emergency room and was there for hours, with four different residents and dentists looking at my teeth. They couldn’t identify any specific tooth that had an issue, either through X-rays or manual testing, so they sent me home with nothing.