An Xray Tech during coronavirus was profoundly transformed as he/she navigated the pandemic, dealing with a diverse array of patients. The radiation chamber became a crossroads for humanity, each patient bearing their own narrative of struggle, strength, and survival.
In this journey, he/she has encountered five distinct types of patients – each category deeply human, shaping his/her experience and etching indelible memories into the fabric of my professional life. This is his/her confession, a raw, compelling, and intimately human recounting of an X-ray tech’s voyage through the pandemic.
5 types of patients seen since “The Rona” started:
1) Steve:
He has been brought in for chest pain and cough, again, to get out of confinement. Now he says he has the “The Rona.” When asked to remove just his outer shirt, he takes everything off saying, “You’ve seen it all before, Honey.” You ask him to hold his breath for the chest x-ray and he says “When?” right in the middle of your exposure. His police escort says, “See you next month,” and escorts Steve back to the inmate floor. Steve makes you thankful that you aren’t a sonographer (inmates are known for requesting scans “down there”.)
2) Brad:
Standing at the wall bucky, he is wearing skinny jeans and a Patagonia t-shirt. He is mad because Whole Foods had no organic tomatoes two days ago. Now he’s worried he has the virus because he has a slight cough. He won’t put his chest all the way on the wall bucky because “That’s gross. I’m not touching that!” After the exposure, he hands you a Bernie Bro bumper sticker and says “Here, you should put that on your car.” If he is unfortunate enough to pass Steve in the hall, he’s going to get throat punched.
3) Nancy:
She comes in reeking of Thieves oil. She bought all the Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, meat, and Vitamin C from the local grocery chain. During checkout she says the bag person “coughed at her” and she is now worried. She has quarantined her kids and sprays them with a mixture of thieves, lavender, & mint essential oils daily. She knows everything there is to know about the Coronavirus yet asked you after the PA chest x-ray “do you need to do another one for my front?”
4) Karen:
She has called every manager in the hospital asking why there aren’t more hand sanitizer dispensers on the walls. She asked for the manager of Imaging, Respiratory, Emergency Room, Admissions and the Cafeteria all before noon demanding more hand sanitizer. Transporters are currently faking “The Rona” to avoid her. She tells you that you didn’t take her chest x-ray correctly and writes down your name.
5) Mary:
She comes in wearing jeans with holes in the legs and is clearly relaxed from her numerous glasses of red wine. She almost falls off your table when she sits down for her knee x-ray. When you ask her to bend her knee, she says “Which way?” After completing the x-ray she confides in you “I’m not worried about toilet paper.” You dare not ask why. But she continues on her own “I bought enough cheese to plug a horse!”
Go ahead, add your favorite in the comment section about Xray Tech during Coronavirus.