AN UNEXPECTED TRIP TO THE ER

As I finished up my work very early in the day on Friday I thought to myself how nice it would be to actually go along with Eric to his interview (well, not actually attend with him) and have have him drop me off at the Galleria. I had wanted to hit the Bath and Body Works Flagship store for the new "Goldie" bag and of course, I had coupons to use as well. Gotta use those things up and my bathroom linen closet definitely looks like a small BBW store! Anyway, we took off for the mall, had some lunch and hit Godiva for some luscious chocolate (love their raspberry stars and raspberry cordials) as dessert. I sent Eric off to the interview which was just across the tollway from the mall then I was off and running. I hit BBW and Victoria's Secret for the best panty offer I have ever seen there, 10 for $30 (it is normally 5 for $25). I also snuck into Forever 21 in search of some cool bling. I made my way back to the other end of the mall and hit Old Navy and used my $10 reward card and then sat and waited for Eric to call and tell me he was on his way over to pick me up so we could head up to Stonebriar to have all of my jewelry cleaned and inspected and to hit Illuminations to spend the $30 in reward certificates I had there. He called, we headed to Stonebriar and got all of our stops taken care of and as we were walking out of Stonebriar I suddenly had these sharp, stabbing pains in my lower abdominal area but was certain they would subside thinking that it must be................yes, you guessed it.........gas. By the time we got to the car I was in some major pain. We still had a stop at JoAnn's to make to return the runner from the wedding we were unable to use due to the wind. The trip there was very uncomfortable and with every bump and every move the car made I hurt more. Once there I decided to hit the bathroom. I got really hot and sweaty, was nauseated and felt as if I was going to pass out. It took all I had to get myself out of the bathroom and luckily Eric was waiting for me outside the door. At that point I was doubled over in pain and wasn't sure I could walk myself to the car. I told Eric I wanted to go to the hospital and not a second later a cashier from the store stopped and asked if I was okay. He went and got me a wheelchair but unable to wait, I told Eric I wanted to walk as far as I could to get to the car faster because I really wasn't sure what was going to happen, if I would pass out or yak or what. He found us and gave me a ride the rest of the way to the car. I had always wondered what it would be like to have everyone staring at me while I was in pain if something ever happened to me in public, wondering if I'd feel stupid or embarrassed and I can honestly say I didn't care what anyone thought. All I cared about was getting to the hospital.

Again, this trip in the car was very uncomfortable with every bump hit and even the speeding up and slowing down of the car causing me more pain. Finally we arrived at the hospital and I was in excruciating pain by this point. Eric had to get a wheelchair to get me into the hospital since by this point I was in so much pain I was unable to walk. There were three people in front of me and while I was writhing in pain for what seemed like hours I tried to be patient and calm knowing I was exactly where I needed to be. I was still nauseated and believe me, everyone knew I was in major pain because I was cussing and groaning, the pain being that bad. If any of you know me at all you know I have got to be on my death bed to go to the doctor, let alone an ER. The man who was just before me tried to get them to take me before him but the person triaging told him no. I thought he was so sweet to offer and he apologized to me and I told him it was okay. I know by the look in his eyes as he was sitting across from me being triaged that he felt so bad and wished there was more he could do. Even as bad as I felt I honestly was so touched by the fact he would put my care in front of his.

Once I was triaged and placed in a room my nurse came in to do the typical nurse things. He name was James and he was an awesome nurse. He drew blood and inserted an IV in the event I needed meds or an IV for something like surgery and since I am deathly afraid of needles he was definitely thinking ahead. He did a great job and I barely felt the needle. I am glad I didn't know he was doing a catheter for the IV because I am sure I would have been more of a basket case than I already was. As he was drawing blood he kept the conversation going (typical - trying to keep my mind off of what is going on) and he told us that he was a single dad with three kids. He went on to tell us this funny story about one day when he took a nap (he works nights). As he was ready to lay down he told his three kids (two older boys 9 and 6 and one girl 3) that his daughter was in charge and that they had to listen to whatever she told them to do. When he awoke from his nap he found his oldest son was crying. When James asked why he was crying his son told him it was because his sister told him to put on a dress and that he had to do it because James had told them that their sister was in charge. He said he got some photos for blackmail later on! I couldn't help but chuckle when he told that story.

After the IV was set I was given some meds to help with the nausea and pain and it pretty much put me in sleep mode. I was also given a bag of fluids so I could give them a urine specimen. The doctor came in and said that they were unsure as to why I was having the abdominal pain and that my labs and urine were very pristine. Hearing that made me feel good but I was still as confused as they were as to why I was in so much pain. They thought maybe an ovarian cyst or maybe an ectopic pregnancy even though I have had a tubal and take the pill but that was quickly ruled out. The only thing they thought it could possibly be was the beginnings of an appendicitis and explained what the symptoms would be if it should turn into that. I was sent home with the orders of returning if it got worse or didn't get any better than it was. I haven't been back to the ER and have been slowly feeling better. Today I am much better than I was yesterday and hopefully I will continue on that course. I have to get back to work tomorrow so I am praying that I will be back to normal. I wasn't exactly happy about spending my Friday night in the ER but I was very happy with the care that I received, once I was taken back and placed in a room. I am still stumped as to why this happened and I am hoping it doesn't ever happen again but I am still a little freaked out because I know, from my past employment, what these sorts of symptoms can mean. Honestly, I am just hoping it's a really bad case of that thing all we women must endure on a monthly basis.

Here's hoping to health..................