by Kerry McCawley

I have been going to the Barbara Davis Center since I was diagnosed with type one diabetes at 21 months old. I can remember going to the BDC when it was still in Denver. I know exactly what a visit is supposed to be like, so much so, that I pull out my meter and disconnect my pump before heading through the door.

However, in my nearly 18 years of attending appointments at the BDC, I have never attended an appointment during a pandemic, until this year. 2020, the year to change everything. When COVID-19 started back in March, one thought immediately popped into my head: how will I have my Barbara Davis appointment?

As April approached, I received a call from the BDC and was asked if my appointment could be rescheduled for June 2020. I obliged as I wasn’t eager to go out during a pandemic. I still however wasn’t sure if my appointment was going to be done via the internet or in-person. As June drew nearer and nearer, and the BDC began to accept a small number of patients a day I was told that my appointment would be in-person.

Finally, the day came, and I felt a mixed emotion of nerves and wonder as my mom and I began the familiar drive to Aurora. When we arrived at the Barbara Davis Center, the parking lot was alarmingly empty, aside from a few stray cars. As my mom and I pulled on our masks and walked to the front doors, a new sense of nerves poured over me. And not the kind when you’ve forgotten to drink enough water and your doctor wants to do labs. Upon being admitted into the building, I was prompted to pull out my phone and scan a QR code which took me to a COVID questionnaire. After filling out the questionnaire, my mom and I’s temperatures were taken, and we were given our bill of health to move on.

After checking in, we waited in the reception area to be called to test my a1c. It felt odd as my mom and I locked eyes with the only other patient, across the room, over the top of the chairs draped with signs asking for you to not sit on them. Once my a1c was done, we were swiftly taken to a room I’d never seen before. I asked the nurse about it, and she told me it was so they could clean the other rooms.

While waiting for my doctor I rigorously examined the wall displaying a painting of elephants wading through water. I’ve always loved getting lost in the different paintings when I’m put into a new room. Even with the warm orange glow of the painted sunset, the BDC felt chillingly empty in the strangely deafening quiet. It was odd to not hear the multitude of voices streaming through the hallways, that I had become so accustomed to. Finally, my doctor came in, breaking the silence and scrubbing her hands profusely in the sink.

In all my years as a patient of the BDC, I have never seen my doctors come in in scrubs. It was peculiar to see her with her long hair pulled back, a mask strapped over her mouth and a face shield on. A strange sense poured over me, as I wondered if this will be the new normal for appointments from here on out. My doubts and worries faded away as my appointment went on. I even found a calming sense of normalcy as the phlebotomist and I chatted about the pictures of different employees’ pets on the walls as she drew my blood.

After my appointment and blood draws, my mom and I were thrilled to be able to take off our face masks after getting in the car. We pumped out big blobs of hand sanitizer, which had gotten hot from the sun, before leaving for home and talking about how odd it felt with such a small amount of people at the BDC, but how grateful we were to be able to have a safe appointment. As a type one diabetic, safety has been my top concern since the COIVD outbreak, and the BDC did a wonderful job of ensuring both patient and employee safety under the circumstances. Even with all these new oddities, it was nice to see some friendly faces and be at the BDC with my doctor. Through all my years of going to the BDC, I’ve always looked forward to seeing all the wonderful people who work there, and nothing can change that. Nothing beats being face to face, and I know that even if all appointments do end up being socially distanced, that everything will be okay.

n