It all started Friday night. Lisa and I went to bed and I felt fine. Completely normal except that I was cold. And I'm often cold so that's no biggie. I woke up at 12:30 AM fahreezing. You have no idea. I got up, put pants on {tmi?}, got another blanket, put the mattress heater on and climbed back in bed. I still felt ok. Cue 3:30 AM. I woke Lisa up moaning in my sleep. She asked me what was wrong and I said "I think I'm sick". She felt my head and I was burning up. So of course we couldn't find the thermometer. You know, why would we? Right? Lisa gave me Ibuprofen and I fell back asleep.
I woke up again at 8:30 AM. I was burning up again. This is where Saturday gets hazy for me. I know Lisa went and got a thermometer. I know I had a temp of 102.7. I know I threw up once. Then I gave in and went to the ER.
{Of course I put my hair into no-heat curls the night before}
As I was walking into the ER I remember sweating. It was the first time my fever had actually broke. Or at least I felt like it was breaking. And I thought to myself, Oh great. They're gonna laugh at me and send me home. Gosh, I was wrong.
I got a room and the doctor came in. They started an IV. They took blood cultures from both arms. They did a chest xray. They took a urine sample. Then the doctor came in and told me that he was really concerned and since the blood cultures take a few days to come back, he wanted to do a Lumbar Puncture. That's when it hit me. They thought I had meningitis. I told him ok, he left the room and I had my first panic attack. Seriously. I couldn't breathe and not in an "I have asthma and need my inhaler" kind of way. Although I did need it because of the panic attack. Are you still with me? Lol. Thank god for Lisa. She kept me calm and sane throughout this whole ordeal.
{I vaguely remember signing this}
My ER dr did the spinal in the room I was already in. I think that helped a lot with my nerves about it. He did a great job and besides the burn from the Novocain, it didn't hurt at all. He said the fluid that he got looked clear and that was a good sign. As I sat up from the spinal I had the worst pain of my entire life in my head. I'm not sure what it was but it was bad. The dr ordered pain meds. This is when it got interesting for Miss Lisa and less painful for me.
{My lovely IV and one of the last times I'd wear my ring for days due to swelling}
As the meds went in I was talking about how I could never be a drug abuser because I hated the way they made me feel. The meds they gave me would also make me feel warm because I was shaking uncontrollably every time my fever spiked with the chills. I only remember a few things I said while on the meds. I know I asked for Gatorade. Red or Blue. And Hostess cupcakes. You know, the chocolate one with the white swirl. When Lisa told me that they were Hostess cupcakes and therefore they are no more since Hostess went out of business, I was horrified. How could they do that to me? The only thing I wanted in the world right then was one of those sweet chocolate cupcakes. And a slush puppie apparently.
Me: Oooh. I want one of those drinks. The one's from the convenience store.
Lisa: Ummmm, ok. What one?
Me: You know the one that had the puppy and the thing that spinned around? ::insert finger twirling around in a circle above my head::
Lisa: A slush puppie?
Me: YES! omg I love slush puppies.
Lisa: I've never had one.
Me: What's wrong with you???????????
Lisa: I dont' know. I've just never had one. I think ICEE bought them out.
Me: Gross. Icee's are all wrong. The ice is wrong. The ice in a slush puppie was perfect.
Lisa: Yeah it was ice that you put flavors on, right?
Me: EXACTLY! Those were the best flavors ever.
So yeah. I was a bit out of it. I guess I also asked for Cheezits and powdered donettes. The nurse joked that I had a bit of the munchies. Oh well. Then the dr. came back in and hit me with more news. They were transferring me to another local hospital. A bigger one. The one that I was at did not have a Neurologist or Infectious Disease doctors. As I waited for the ambulance, Lisa ran home to get some stuff we needed.
The ambulance drivers came and gave me a mask to wear. This was it. I was being transferred to what would become my home for the next few days. They were very handsome. Like tv handsome. I kidded with Lisa that they looked like they belonged on ER or Grey's Anatomy. As we were pulling out of the ambulance dock the EMT in the back with me joked with the EMT in the front about speeding. And then, he sped. It was surreal to be laying in the back of the ambulance looking out the window at all the familiar places in our downtown with the big + of the ambulance in the view. It seemed like we got there in minutes. And right after I sat down on the bed in my new room, Lisa walked in.
A very nice woman dr. came in and told us that even though the spinal tap results came back negative, they were going to start treating me for meningitis anyways. That's the most news we got for days. Communication was not this hospital's biggest win. Neither was the food. Lol. They posted a pretty sign outside of my room saying that everyone that entered had to wear gloves. My door also had to stay shut the entire time I was there.
Fun huh?
{Thanks so much to Lisa for thinking to take pics throughout the day knowing that I would want to blog about it. I didn't so much as touch my phone all day which will tell you just how sick I was feeling}
Part 2 will be someday. It took days to write this. Ughhhhh.
I am so sorry that you are having to go through this and I hope that you get answers soon! When is your next dr. appt.?
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! Hope you feel better fast.
ReplyDelete