tara cleveland

04/25/2003 Archived Entry: "My brush with SARS"

Toronto is a SARS hot spot. The WHO has put a travel advisory on us. The media is going nuts - there's almost nothing else in the news. But strangely, Torontonians don't seem that freaked out. It's not like Hong Kong here - people aren't wearing masks everywhere (yes I have seen a few - but only a few). Basically, if you stay away from hospitals you are okay.

But I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. My family doctor is part of the Family Practice Clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital. Mount Sinai has been affected by the SARS virus - shutting down most of it's services until recently. Luckily for me, they've moved the family practice clinic out of the hospital and into the Hydro Building.

I was a bit nervous about going, but I decided that my immediate health was more important to deal with then the small risk of getting SARS. I was also nervous about what would happen. What do they do? What will I have to do? How long will screening take? Will they ask me crazy quesitons? Will they spray me down with disinfectant? I wasn't sure.

So I walked up to the door of the building - and it's a big office building and there were notices all over the doors. . I walked in and there were photocopied signs around telling various patients where to go. It seemed as if there were a fair number of clinics moved to this building. By the elevators was a big sign that said "Mount Sinai Hospital Clinics - Elevators 11 and 12 only". So I walked over to those elevators and pressed the buttons. The doors opened and a big sign was plastered on the back wall of the elevator, "Patients only past this point. No visitors or companions allowed." So I walked in, pressed the button for my floor and went up.

The doors opened and in the elevator hallway were several tables with equipment and clipboards and masks and things on them. There was a small group of (gowned) health care workers at the end of the hall. I stood around looking helpless and one of them came over. She asked me to disinfect my hands with alcohol rub. Then she wanted my health card and hospital card. I handed them over.

I asked (nicely) if I could take some photos of myself and the tables with equipment on them. She said no, she didn't think that was a good idea. I ended up taking pics of myself anyway when no one was looking.

She gave me a mask to put on. Then I had to disinfect my hands again. Then she handed me a clipboard with a survey on it. There were questions about whether or not I'd been in Asia recently, whether or not I'd been to a hospital recently, if I was feeling any of a list of symptoms, if I had a fever. There was a spot to write down my temperature. So I had to wait for someone else to take it. Of course, I had to take off my mask to have my temperature taken. I signed the sheet swearing that I didn't have any of the risk factors. Wrote down all my contact info. The nice nurse wrote my temperature down, and checked the "pass" area and said I could go in. But first I had to disinfect my hands again.

I walked through the corridors and people passed me. Some in gowns - all in masks. It was very quiet, surreal and tense. Everyone looked suspiciously at everyone else. No one was there just for a cold. Everyone was there because there was a damn good reason for them to be at the doctor's office.

It was hard to hear the doctor when she spoke to me. It was hard to hear her. Our masks muffled all the sounds coming out of our mouths. It was hard to breathe through the masks. Mine also made my nose very itchy. My glasses fogged up every time I exhaled. These aren't those flimsy dust masks that you get when you're doing renovations - these are the real deal; thick, with two strong elastics and a stiff metal nose piece. They were uncomfortable for an hour - I can't imagine what it must be like for the people who have to wear them all day long.

I survived the consultation with the doctor. I made a follow-up appointment with the receptionist and walked out. But not before discarding my mask and disinfecting my hands again.

I'm not really worried about my personal safety in Toronto. I can understand why the WHO put a travel advisory on Toronto. If someone did come from Toronto to infect people in a country or place where the health care system couldn't handle SARS, it would be a major global catastrophe. The chances of that happening may be minuscule, but the harm it would cause would be overwhelming. So, even though it means economic hardship for Torontonians, we're all better off if SARS is contained - including Torontonians.

I have larger versions of all the photos.

Replies: 1 Comment - add a comment

I have to say that you look very cute in those masks.

Posted by Nana Jokura @ 05/10/2003 01:53 PM EST

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