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Mar. 21st, 2009 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violachicSo when I got a phone call from Habibi's father first thing yesterday morning saying "So hey, can you pick up some Pedialyte and some Pepto Bismol on your way over here today?" I knew it was going to be a long day.
I did not, however, know exactly how long.
Apparently, several weeks ago some woman very stupidly brought her kid with the stomach flu to Thursday play group. The flu spread like wildfire through the group for awhile, but seemed to have abated. TSo his past Thursday, one of the moms in the group with whom I've become friends told me she and her son hadn't been there the week before because he had it. Well, I thought we had all squeaked by, and avoided it.
I thought wrong.
So when I got to work yesterday, I found that both Habibi and his mother had been up since the middle of the night throwing up and having diarreah, and were perfectly, absolutely miserable. Actually, Habibi was much better off than his mother, not seeming to have had it nearly as acutely; she, on the other hand, after twelve hours, still was just starting to keep down liquids. So as soon as I arrived, I got to the task of doling out appropriate measures- Pedialyte for Habibi, Pepto and Gatorade for mom- to the appropriate person, and got the day underway.
While I had gone through the drive thru for an iced coffee, I hadn't had anything yet to eat that day. After a bit of being at work and taking care of the sickies, I realized that I still wasn't hungry. Around 11 am, I started to feel queasy, but figured it was just psychological, so after letting Habibi try a few saltines (thankfully to success), I ate a few, too.
By 12:30 or so, I realized that I was full-blown nauseated- the crackers really weren't settling well. I fed Habibi a small lunch of crackers and applesauce, and tried to fight the nausea. I decided I would try to make it until 2:00, by which point Habibi's mom would have had a good four-hour nap, or until it became imminently critical, whichever came first.
Luckily, Habibi's mom woke up about 1:30, just as I had decided that I needed to tell her that I really needed to go home. She was feeling much better, thankfully, so I bolted out there, and got home just in time to throw up quite violently in my own bathroom.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of repeated stomach and GI distress. By the time my housemates started arriving home from work, I was having problems keeping water down, but Larry went out and bought me some ginger ale, and Kate pulverized some ice. Neither wanted to stay down.
At this point, the throwing up had started to make the nerve pain in my ribcage spike. Ever time it happened, it would be like something exploding against the inside of my lungs, and the pain level would spike higher. Keep in mind that my pain level has been holding at around a 3 or 4 max for a good six to eight months. Under normal able-bodied circumstances, I knew I could probably sweat through a stomach flu, even if it was that bad; Habibi's mother was doing it, and she still wasn't dead. However, the mounting pain level, and the fact that if I couldn't keep anything down I wouldn't be able to take my evening meds were extremely concerning.
Finally, about 7:30 I realized that things were very, very bad, and had Larry take me to the ER at St. Francis Hospital. I know I am eligible for charity care at the Resurrection hospitals, and St. Francis is much closer to the house than St. Joseph. While it seemed an eternity while I was in pain and trying not to throw up in public, I think the entire time of waiting, seeing triage, having someone come and have me sign papers, and being taken back was about 20 minutes. What a difference from waiting seven hours at Rush!
Of course, they hooked me to IV fluids immediately, and started putting anti-nausea medication in it. It took almost two full bags of fluids before there was even enough in me to pee in a cup. It took three applications of medication to get my nausea under control where I could start keeping down small amounts of water. And throughout all this, they couldn't start giving me pain meds until the nausea was somewhat under control, because narcotics often cause nausea. The entire thing was exacerbated by the fact that I was having wicked menstrual cramps, which I would normally keep at bay with some ibuprofen- which, obviously, I could not take. I was the most comprehensively miserable I have been in- oh, three years.
It was a very long five hours before I was able to get any morphine in me. But I have to say, they are the kindest ER staff I have ever experienced. I always hate going into ERs with pain, because I am always afraid they are going to look at me like a drug seeker, which is what happened at Rush.
Although they were talking about admitting me for a time, I was able to keep water down sufficiently that they discharged me at about 12:30, with a prescription for one of those anti-nausea things that melt on your tongue. After a stop at Walgreens to fill the prescription and buy popsicles and more ginger ale, I was home a little after 1 this morning.
I'm feeling 1000 times better than I was last night, but still pretty sick. My stomach still doesn't want anything besides popsicles and ginger ale. I tried more crackers, but although I didn't throw them up, my stomach made it clear it was not ready for such things. I am hoping that the next 36 hours brings a lightening recovery, because I really don't want to miss work this week- what with it being my last week with Habibi. But at least I'm home, I can keep down liquids, and my pain level isn't excruciating; in fact, its not too bad, but lying in bed too long makes it ache a little.
I'm a little bummed that I will have to miss the two Godspell performances tomorrow- so for anyone who was going to come see me, well, you can still come see the show, I just won't be in it. They'll be covering my lines- which aren't much, but when you have to fill in that hole last minute it seems like a lot- and I will join them for the final three shows next weekend.
Anyway, that's the update, for those of you who were asking. Thank you to everybody who has offered to help, or to bring things by. At this point, I'd actually rather not share these germs with anybody else, and my housemates are pretty awesome at bringing me what I need. Tomorrow, if I am feeling up to it, I am going to bleach down my bathroom, which everyone else has been avoiding using since yesterday. No use in getting everybody else sick.
Uh. Okay. I don't really know how to end this. So... I am just going to end it.
I did not, however, know exactly how long.
Apparently, several weeks ago some woman very stupidly brought her kid with the stomach flu to Thursday play group. The flu spread like wildfire through the group for awhile, but seemed to have abated. TSo his past Thursday, one of the moms in the group with whom I've become friends told me she and her son hadn't been there the week before because he had it. Well, I thought we had all squeaked by, and avoided it.
I thought wrong.
So when I got to work yesterday, I found that both Habibi and his mother had been up since the middle of the night throwing up and having diarreah, and were perfectly, absolutely miserable. Actually, Habibi was much better off than his mother, not seeming to have had it nearly as acutely; she, on the other hand, after twelve hours, still was just starting to keep down liquids. So as soon as I arrived, I got to the task of doling out appropriate measures- Pedialyte for Habibi, Pepto and Gatorade for mom- to the appropriate person, and got the day underway.
While I had gone through the drive thru for an iced coffee, I hadn't had anything yet to eat that day. After a bit of being at work and taking care of the sickies, I realized that I still wasn't hungry. Around 11 am, I started to feel queasy, but figured it was just psychological, so after letting Habibi try a few saltines (thankfully to success), I ate a few, too.
By 12:30 or so, I realized that I was full-blown nauseated- the crackers really weren't settling well. I fed Habibi a small lunch of crackers and applesauce, and tried to fight the nausea. I decided I would try to make it until 2:00, by which point Habibi's mom would have had a good four-hour nap, or until it became imminently critical, whichever came first.
Luckily, Habibi's mom woke up about 1:30, just as I had decided that I needed to tell her that I really needed to go home. She was feeling much better, thankfully, so I bolted out there, and got home just in time to throw up quite violently in my own bathroom.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of repeated stomach and GI distress. By the time my housemates started arriving home from work, I was having problems keeping water down, but Larry went out and bought me some ginger ale, and Kate pulverized some ice. Neither wanted to stay down.
At this point, the throwing up had started to make the nerve pain in my ribcage spike. Ever time it happened, it would be like something exploding against the inside of my lungs, and the pain level would spike higher. Keep in mind that my pain level has been holding at around a 3 or 4 max for a good six to eight months. Under normal able-bodied circumstances, I knew I could probably sweat through a stomach flu, even if it was that bad; Habibi's mother was doing it, and she still wasn't dead. However, the mounting pain level, and the fact that if I couldn't keep anything down I wouldn't be able to take my evening meds were extremely concerning.
Finally, about 7:30 I realized that things were very, very bad, and had Larry take me to the ER at St. Francis Hospital. I know I am eligible for charity care at the Resurrection hospitals, and St. Francis is much closer to the house than St. Joseph. While it seemed an eternity while I was in pain and trying not to throw up in public, I think the entire time of waiting, seeing triage, having someone come and have me sign papers, and being taken back was about 20 minutes. What a difference from waiting seven hours at Rush!
Of course, they hooked me to IV fluids immediately, and started putting anti-nausea medication in it. It took almost two full bags of fluids before there was even enough in me to pee in a cup. It took three applications of medication to get my nausea under control where I could start keeping down small amounts of water. And throughout all this, they couldn't start giving me pain meds until the nausea was somewhat under control, because narcotics often cause nausea. The entire thing was exacerbated by the fact that I was having wicked menstrual cramps, which I would normally keep at bay with some ibuprofen- which, obviously, I could not take. I was the most comprehensively miserable I have been in- oh, three years.
It was a very long five hours before I was able to get any morphine in me. But I have to say, they are the kindest ER staff I have ever experienced. I always hate going into ERs with pain, because I am always afraid they are going to look at me like a drug seeker, which is what happened at Rush.
Although they were talking about admitting me for a time, I was able to keep water down sufficiently that they discharged me at about 12:30, with a prescription for one of those anti-nausea things that melt on your tongue. After a stop at Walgreens to fill the prescription and buy popsicles and more ginger ale, I was home a little after 1 this morning.
I'm feeling 1000 times better than I was last night, but still pretty sick. My stomach still doesn't want anything besides popsicles and ginger ale. I tried more crackers, but although I didn't throw them up, my stomach made it clear it was not ready for such things. I am hoping that the next 36 hours brings a lightening recovery, because I really don't want to miss work this week- what with it being my last week with Habibi. But at least I'm home, I can keep down liquids, and my pain level isn't excruciating; in fact, its not too bad, but lying in bed too long makes it ache a little.
I'm a little bummed that I will have to miss the two Godspell performances tomorrow- so for anyone who was going to come see me, well, you can still come see the show, I just won't be in it. They'll be covering my lines- which aren't much, but when you have to fill in that hole last minute it seems like a lot- and I will join them for the final three shows next weekend.
Anyway, that's the update, for those of you who were asking. Thank you to everybody who has offered to help, or to bring things by. At this point, I'd actually rather not share these germs with anybody else, and my housemates are pretty awesome at bringing me what I need. Tomorrow, if I am feeling up to it, I am going to bleach down my bathroom, which everyone else has been avoiding using since yesterday. No use in getting everybody else sick.
Uh. Okay. I don't really know how to end this. So... I am just going to end it.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 01:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 02:52 am (UTC)I believe I will wait to see Godspell until I can see *you* in Godspell!
Get well soon!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 03:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 03:41 am (UTC)feel better!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 04:20 am (UTC)*hugs* glad the hospital took good care of you and that you have leveled up to the liquid diet. Hope you feel better fast!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 07:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 11:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 06:28 pm (UTC)Hope you get to feeling better quickly! I've been that sick before. It bites.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-22 08:27 pm (UTC)