so, that was a week. yes. it was definitely a week.
hi, internets! how are you? I am. hm. I am here! I am very happy that you are here too.
some of you may have heard part of the story of my Amazing Week of Amazingness from nafs; it actually started last Tuesday when I had a job interview for an aboriginal counsellor position at a shelter in Kingston that I completely kicked ass at. I kick ass at job interviews, and it went really well, but I was so parched afterwards (despite sucking down two bottles of water that I brought with me to the thing) that I stopped at the mothership to pee and pick up some oj for the trip home. and then I drove home and threw up, but I assumed that was probably a combination of it being really really hot (over 30C and humid) and me drinking the oj too fast, and didn't really think anything about it.
I went to work on Wednesday and Thursday and was feeling punkish, but nothing too bad (threw up a couple more times, but it was still hot, so). took Friday off because I was supposed to have Fiona here for the weekend, but I had to postpone her when I realized that the throwing up was probably going to knock me on my ass for the weekend. I figured, I'd just sleep it off, and everything would be better on Monday.
I did sleep most of the weekend, but my throwing up went from anything solid I tried to ingest to _anything_ I ingested, including bottles of water. by Monday, I had the shakes, I couldn't stand for more than ten minutes, and just going up a flight of stairs had me totally winded and panting. I was sort of freaked out.
I also had to go to Oshawa on Monday, since I've been spending the last couple of weeks, in between job hunting, doing my real job, and being sick, refinancing my mortgage! so the paperwork was being signed Monday, in Oshawa, and away I went.
I literally do not remember the drive there or back. all I could concentrate on was the huge thing of water I got at *$ (which stayed down, yay!) and sucking in as much of Joshie's a/c as I could. I had a feeling that I'd need to go to the hospital on Sunday night (I'm bright like that!), so I packed a bag of essentials just in case they made me stay, and I brought that with me to Oshawa. also in Oshawa, which was a crucial thing, I renewed my badly-expired OHIP card. (for non-Ontarians, that's health insurance.) while I _could_ have gone to the hospital at any time without it, I would have had to pay for my care out-of-pocket, and as wonderful as the Canadian health care system is (and it is, a lot), I cannot afford that shit.
so, armed with my wee bag and my new temporary health card, I went to the hospital in Belleville. the fun thing about triage? if you show up and are a 40ish woman who cannot breathe and is tachycardic? you get seen first! pretty much the only people who would have gone in front of me would have had to have been bleeding from the head, in mid-heart attack, or gsw. so, yeah.
I got put into a bed in Emerg at 7pmish, hooked up to a heart monitor, and put on iv of fluids and electrolytes to rehydrate myself. I started to feel better within 15 minutes of the iv going in, but my heartrate really didn't reflect how I was feeling in a significant way. (I went from being tachycardic to just. . .having a really fast rate.) so, despite the doctor telling me he thought that I'd probably be able to go home in the morning, the night went by and I had chest and abdominal x-rays, more ivs, an ECG, lots of bloodwork and injections, and lay on the most uncomfortable bed ever designed to hold a non-terrorist person (I think.). in the morning, the doctor said there were some abnormalities on my x-rays, and since I was still having a bad heartrate, they decided to admit me.
I got put in a room after lunch on Tuesday. somehow, through the grace of whatever diety might be out there that doesn't want to smite my ass for being a non-believer, I got a private room, which is sort of like getting a golden ticket to Wonkaville. private rooms do not happen on socialized health care! except, it happened to me, which was great, because in addition to all of the beepy machinery I was hooked up to, I was also on my period (which started while I was in emerg) and peeing approximately every fifteen minutes, which would have been really annoying to anyone I had to share a ward room with.
last night I also found out that nafs is sekritly Nancy Drew, when she called me up in my hospital room. I, of course, hadn't been able to contact anyone, since I couldn't use my cell and couldn't call long-distance from my room. imagine my surprise when Fiona called me! I'd texted her Monday night to tell her I was going to the hospital, and she figured out that since I hadn't texted again, I must have been admitted, tracked down the number, and got my room. she is fantabulous. I had a pretty bad Sad by then, and it was wonderful to hear her voice, and then alexandriabrown, and then placidia, who had the fun task of distracting me since she called when they were trying to put a new iv line in my left arm, as the right injection site had gotten all swollen. I am not lying when I say that it took 3 nurses three hours to put that sucker in, not working all that time thank god, but giving me rests and wrapping my arm in hot towels to try and bring my veins forward with try after try after try not working. my entire arm is black and blue today. it's really gross, although from a distance it looks like I have a pretty wicked sleeve. :)
it was stiflingly hot in my room last night, but the nurse brought me ice and a fan, so I survived. despite having ultrasounds and radiology appointments yesterday, by lunchtime today I hadn't seen my doctor for 30 hours, so I was resigned to staying, probably through the weekend, and had another Sad when Fiona and Alex called at lunch to check on me. honestly, my friends are the best thing evar. then, around 2 this afternoon, my doctor came, and told me that all the tests and x-rays had checked out fine, despite the fact that my right diaphragm is apparently abnormally high, sometimes that just happens. my liver is also a tiny bit worrisome, and I'm on some meds for high blood pressure, but the doctor said that what happened is I had an ass-kicking flu/virus over the weekend and dehydrated myself, and it should work itself out of my system on its own. I was SO RELIEVED. I was honestly just freaked the fuck out, not the least of which due to the fact that every other time I have been in the hospital in my life I have ended up having major surgery, and also the fact that my mom went in with low potassium levels and you know. died two weeks later. so.
ANYWAY. things what I have learned:
- the green health cards? expire! it's good to remember that. (the old red-and-white ones never expire. I miss my red-and-white one.)
- the doctors and nurses at Quinte Health Care are awesome. :)
- my friends are amazing. *hugs and hugs Fiona, Alex, Elaine, and everyone else who texted - I spent 10 minutes in the car when I got discharged this afternoon just reading texts :)*
- seriously, Fiona. just. thank you. I hereby promise to stop rooting against the Jays just for you! :D
- my brother D is also kind of amazing. his was literally the only family phone number I could remember off by heart without being able to look at the contacts on my cell, and when I called and told him I was in the hospital, he literally got in the shower, picked up some books from his gf, and came right over to visit and stayed for an hour. it was awesome.
- surprising me not in the least, my dad did not come to visit. or call. sigh. I mean, it's _not_ a surprise, considering the fact that I haven't seen the man in like seven months, and when I was in the hospital for two months when I was 10? he came to visit me once for 15 minutes. still, I'm hurt. I guess I just have to get over that, though. we're not close; it was always my mom who held the family together and it's been the brothers and I who have been making the contacts since she died. he has another life and another family and I hope he's happy, I really do. and I know for a fact from my stepmonster that he remembers things when we were kids a _lot_ differently from the way they really were, so. yeah. whatever he needs to do.
- it's going to take at least a day for me to get the smell/taste of Hospital out of my lungs. I've been coughing/sneezing it up for 8 hours now, and it's still as fresh as being there. bleah.
- asking the doctor for a note for work to cover my absences so far this week was an awesome idea, because he gave me a note saying not to go back to work until Monday! score! four whole days to rest and recover and see if the bruising/swelling goes down.
so, yeah. this is epically teel deer, and I'm sorry, but I wanted to get that out, mostly for my own "record." I am feeling better, if battered and bruised, and I look forward to doing nothing much for the next several days except sleeping and catching up on the internets. and researching treadmills online, since I am going to get one and get back to regular exercise as soon as my refi goes through. oh, and an air conditioner, because seriously, if this fucking weather continues all summer? I _will_ die without one. I'm also going to look into some targeted breathing/very simple yoga classes I can take, because I need to find a way to deal with my stress better than I have been. I really do not ever need to walk around for two days hooked up to a heart monitor again, thanks.
oh, and the job I interviewed for last week? I got it. but, in fairness to them, I turned it down. and, in fairness to me, too - as unfair as it would have been to them for me to start a new job not at 100% health, it would also be unfair to me to start a new job and take on all of that stress right now. so. still, it was kind of an amazing ego boost to come home today to a couple of messages and a call offering me the job. :D
annnnnd I'm done. how was your week, internets?
some of you may have heard part of the story of my Amazing Week of Amazingness from nafs; it actually started last Tuesday when I had a job interview for an aboriginal counsellor position at a shelter in Kingston that I completely kicked ass at. I kick ass at job interviews, and it went really well, but I was so parched afterwards (despite sucking down two bottles of water that I brought with me to the thing) that I stopped at the mothership to pee and pick up some oj for the trip home. and then I drove home and threw up, but I assumed that was probably a combination of it being really really hot (over 30C and humid) and me drinking the oj too fast, and didn't really think anything about it.
I went to work on Wednesday and Thursday and was feeling punkish, but nothing too bad (threw up a couple more times, but it was still hot, so). took Friday off because I was supposed to have Fiona here for the weekend, but I had to postpone her when I realized that the throwing up was probably going to knock me on my ass for the weekend. I figured, I'd just sleep it off, and everything would be better on Monday.
I did sleep most of the weekend, but my throwing up went from anything solid I tried to ingest to _anything_ I ingested, including bottles of water. by Monday, I had the shakes, I couldn't stand for more than ten minutes, and just going up a flight of stairs had me totally winded and panting. I was sort of freaked out.
I also had to go to Oshawa on Monday, since I've been spending the last couple of weeks, in between job hunting, doing my real job, and being sick, refinancing my mortgage! so the paperwork was being signed Monday, in Oshawa, and away I went.
I literally do not remember the drive there or back. all I could concentrate on was the huge thing of water I got at *$ (which stayed down, yay!) and sucking in as much of Joshie's a/c as I could. I had a feeling that I'd need to go to the hospital on Sunday night (I'm bright like that!), so I packed a bag of essentials just in case they made me stay, and I brought that with me to Oshawa. also in Oshawa, which was a crucial thing, I renewed my badly-expired OHIP card. (for non-Ontarians, that's health insurance.) while I _could_ have gone to the hospital at any time without it, I would have had to pay for my care out-of-pocket, and as wonderful as the Canadian health care system is (and it is, a lot), I cannot afford that shit.
so, armed with my wee bag and my new temporary health card, I went to the hospital in Belleville. the fun thing about triage? if you show up and are a 40ish woman who cannot breathe and is tachycardic? you get seen first! pretty much the only people who would have gone in front of me would have had to have been bleeding from the head, in mid-heart attack, or gsw. so, yeah.
I got put into a bed in Emerg at 7pmish, hooked up to a heart monitor, and put on iv of fluids and electrolytes to rehydrate myself. I started to feel better within 15 minutes of the iv going in, but my heartrate really didn't reflect how I was feeling in a significant way. (I went from being tachycardic to just. . .having a really fast rate.) so, despite the doctor telling me he thought that I'd probably be able to go home in the morning, the night went by and I had chest and abdominal x-rays, more ivs, an ECG, lots of bloodwork and injections, and lay on the most uncomfortable bed ever designed to hold a non-terrorist person (I think.). in the morning, the doctor said there were some abnormalities on my x-rays, and since I was still having a bad heartrate, they decided to admit me.
I got put in a room after lunch on Tuesday. somehow, through the grace of whatever diety might be out there that doesn't want to smite my ass for being a non-believer, I got a private room, which is sort of like getting a golden ticket to Wonkaville. private rooms do not happen on socialized health care! except, it happened to me, which was great, because in addition to all of the beepy machinery I was hooked up to, I was also on my period (which started while I was in emerg) and peeing approximately every fifteen minutes, which would have been really annoying to anyone I had to share a ward room with.
last night I also found out that nafs is sekritly Nancy Drew, when she called me up in my hospital room. I, of course, hadn't been able to contact anyone, since I couldn't use my cell and couldn't call long-distance from my room. imagine my surprise when Fiona called me! I'd texted her Monday night to tell her I was going to the hospital, and she figured out that since I hadn't texted again, I must have been admitted, tracked down the number, and got my room. she is fantabulous. I had a pretty bad Sad by then, and it was wonderful to hear her voice, and then alexandriabrown, and then placidia, who had the fun task of distracting me since she called when they were trying to put a new iv line in my left arm, as the right injection site had gotten all swollen. I am not lying when I say that it took 3 nurses three hours to put that sucker in, not working all that time thank god, but giving me rests and wrapping my arm in hot towels to try and bring my veins forward with try after try after try not working. my entire arm is black and blue today. it's really gross, although from a distance it looks like I have a pretty wicked sleeve. :)
it was stiflingly hot in my room last night, but the nurse brought me ice and a fan, so I survived. despite having ultrasounds and radiology appointments yesterday, by lunchtime today I hadn't seen my doctor for 30 hours, so I was resigned to staying, probably through the weekend, and had another Sad when Fiona and Alex called at lunch to check on me. honestly, my friends are the best thing evar. then, around 2 this afternoon, my doctor came, and told me that all the tests and x-rays had checked out fine, despite the fact that my right diaphragm is apparently abnormally high, sometimes that just happens. my liver is also a tiny bit worrisome, and I'm on some meds for high blood pressure, but the doctor said that what happened is I had an ass-kicking flu/virus over the weekend and dehydrated myself, and it should work itself out of my system on its own. I was SO RELIEVED. I was honestly just freaked the fuck out, not the least of which due to the fact that every other time I have been in the hospital in my life I have ended up having major surgery, and also the fact that my mom went in with low potassium levels and you know. died two weeks later. so.
ANYWAY. things what I have learned:
- the green health cards? expire! it's good to remember that. (the old red-and-white ones never expire. I miss my red-and-white one.)
- the doctors and nurses at Quinte Health Care are awesome. :)
- my friends are amazing. *hugs and hugs Fiona, Alex, Elaine, and everyone else who texted - I spent 10 minutes in the car when I got discharged this afternoon just reading texts :)*
- seriously, Fiona. just. thank you. I hereby promise to stop rooting against the Jays just for you! :D
- my brother D is also kind of amazing. his was literally the only family phone number I could remember off by heart without being able to look at the contacts on my cell, and when I called and told him I was in the hospital, he literally got in the shower, picked up some books from his gf, and came right over to visit and stayed for an hour. it was awesome.
- surprising me not in the least, my dad did not come to visit. or call. sigh. I mean, it's _not_ a surprise, considering the fact that I haven't seen the man in like seven months, and when I was in the hospital for two months when I was 10? he came to visit me once for 15 minutes. still, I'm hurt. I guess I just have to get over that, though. we're not close; it was always my mom who held the family together and it's been the brothers and I who have been making the contacts since she died. he has another life and another family and I hope he's happy, I really do. and I know for a fact from my stepmonster that he remembers things when we were kids a _lot_ differently from the way they really were, so. yeah. whatever he needs to do.
- it's going to take at least a day for me to get the smell/taste of Hospital out of my lungs. I've been coughing/sneezing it up for 8 hours now, and it's still as fresh as being there. bleah.
- asking the doctor for a note for work to cover my absences so far this week was an awesome idea, because he gave me a note saying not to go back to work until Monday! score! four whole days to rest and recover and see if the bruising/swelling goes down.
so, yeah. this is epically teel deer, and I'm sorry, but I wanted to get that out, mostly for my own "record." I am feeling better, if battered and bruised, and I look forward to doing nothing much for the next several days except sleeping and catching up on the internets. and researching treadmills online, since I am going to get one and get back to regular exercise as soon as my refi goes through. oh, and an air conditioner, because seriously, if this fucking weather continues all summer? I _will_ die without one. I'm also going to look into some targeted breathing/very simple yoga classes I can take, because I need to find a way to deal with my stress better than I have been. I really do not ever need to walk around for two days hooked up to a heart monitor again, thanks.
oh, and the job I interviewed for last week? I got it. but, in fairness to them, I turned it down. and, in fairness to me, too - as unfair as it would have been to them for me to start a new job not at 100% health, it would also be unfair to me to start a new job and take on all of that stress right now. so. still, it was kind of an amazing ego boost to come home today to a couple of messages and a call offering me the job. :D
annnnnd I'm done. how was your week, internets?