I woke at 3:30 this morning to pain in my abdomen and lower back. This level of pain is not uncommon for me, and I initially thought that I might be able to just grin and bear it. The pain quickly worsened to the point that I felt it necessary to wake Jeremy and ask him to drive me to Urgent Care. I experienced nausea, the chills, a fever, vomitting, etc. for some time before deeming this Emergency Room - worthy.
Unfortunately, the large Urgent Care center on Canton Center Road was closed, and the one near Lifetime Fitness only operates (no pun intended) between the hours of 8 AM and 10 PM. Apparently locals may only have an emergency between those hours if they want to be treated.
So, Jeremy drove me all the way to Garden City Hospital. I don't really remember much of that trip, other than feeling a great deal of pain. I was groaning, whining, screaming, and trying to keep from throwing myself onto the road to end it all. I made Jeremy pull over as we neared the Emergency Room parking area; I vomitted in the grass. I felt so classy at that moment.
After parking, we entered the hospital. No one was in the waiting room. I gave my ID and insurance card, filled out their short form, and tried to hold it together. Within five minutes I was in Triage. After the initial assessment, the nurse said it sounded like I was suffering from either a kidney stone or an ectopic pregnancy. Yeah, that second one is not a possibility. I was fairly certain it was a kidney stone way before we left the townhouse, anyway, after I was able to push on different parts of my abdomen and there was no additional pain (appendicitis would not yield the same results).
After moving on to my little ER station, I had to vomit again. The doctor and an intern arrived shortly thereafter, and they did a quick assessment so that the on-call nurses could put an IV in my arm. I was shaking uncontrollably, partly from dehydration but mostly from intense fear (I have always experienced Trypanophobia - a fear of needles). They were able to get the IV in on the first try, so that was good. It took several minutes for me to feel the effects. I was in the middle of my CAT scan when I finally felt some of the pain dissipate. The X-ray technician was really personable and we had a nice conversation. When he dropped me off back in the ER, I thanked him, which now seems a little weird to do.
I waited for a little while with Jeremy, trying to hold a conversation. I have no idea how lucid I really was at the time. Only a couple of minutes went by when my doctor (and intern) returned to let me know that I have a kidney that is at least four millimeters. Yippee. I was out of the hospital within the next ten minutes. I may have been there an hour, at most. Everyone there was friendly and helpful. If you get injured, Garden City Hospital is one of the most inviting places to go.
Jeremy drove me to CVS, where I paid my $3.00 for my Vicodin knock-off (Hyrdocodone) pills. We stopped at McDonald's for plain biscuits (one of my favorite comfort foods, right after grilled cheese sandwiches), where Jeremy's rage was unleashed on some moron in the truck behind us. We were told to pull ahead to wait for our food, and the guy behind us kept pulling up closer and closer, honking at us, telling us to move. Jeremy got out of the car and started yelling at the guy. Not the finest (or classiest) of moments, but I still had drugs from the hospital in my veins, so I wasn't too worried.
We eventually made our way home and I ate my biscuits (after, of course, knocking over my water all over graduate school papers and almost sitting on a cat). I watched the sun rise, which was lovely. I took a pill almost forty minutes ago and I have to tell you...I feel funky! I don't think I will be driving anywhere any time soon. Jeremy is asleep on the couch, but I can't seem to sleep (the pain medication is supposed to make me drowsy, too). So much for my plans to hit the gym this morning.
In a couple of hours, I will probably call my parents and let them know what happened. There's no sense in waking them for this.
I am really glad I decided not to go out last night (beyond a walk with Jeremy). I ended up going to bed early - which was good.
2 comments:
Glad they figured out what it was and that you're okay. Enjoy the loopiness. I'm sure it will help your creative writing. Take care and rest up.
Thanks. I wish I could enjoy the loopiness. It just makes me feel like vomitting. My arms feel really heavy and my toes are tingly. I hate Hyrdocodone so much! To that end, I hate all medication.
Maybe I will try writing - thanks for the suggestion.
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