My life is a mess today
Posting here because it's just TMI and seems inappropriate to keep updating in facebook...
Last W-F I attended a Teacher Leadership conference at Loews Ventano Canyon where I got sick on the first day. I wasn't sure at the time, but I am fairly certain now that it had nothing to do with the lunch buffet on Wednesday, though that was the beginning of it. Ever since then, I've had trouble with pretty much everything I've eaten. Even the broth and banana that I finally dragged myself out of bed for this afternoon. Within a few minutes of eating (or drinking), the severe cramping begins, and the only relief is when it finally passes through me -- sometimes as quickly as 15-20 minutes. Sorry if that's TMI, but there it is.
While at the conference I did my best to manage it all and attend the most important sessions. The staff at Loews was amazingly helpful, and I am deeply appreciative of their hospitality. They treated me like a "guest," not a "customer," even though I'm just a lowly teacher who will likely never be able to afford such a nice resort. When I got home, I slept. Then tried to eat, and ran into the same problems. Sunday, I drove to Chandler to meet a friend who needed some support, and that was okay until about an hour after I ate when the cramping began again. The drive home was agony -- I've been fighting off migraines all this while, too -- with abdominal pain like I don't know. It kept up for another four hours after I got home until... well, the non-solid movements started back up again.
Yesterday I called my doctor first thing in the morning, and when his assistant got back to me, all she said was to go to the ER. Not Urgent Care, but the Emergency Room because there would be liver and pancreas tests that I would have to have done there. I hesitated for several hours, but when my symptoms only got worse, I went to UMC where I spent the next nine hours, again in agony. My apologies if I offend anyone who works in health care, but ERs are not places you want to be when you feel like crap. They are not places where you go to get help. They are places that deal with emergencies. They stabilize patients so that others can help them; they do not treat illnesses and injuries. They are very busy dealing with traumas and critical injuries and illnesses, and they do not have time for the merely ill. Their triage procedures demand they deal with the most serious and unstable cases first, and others can wait. I get this. I did not have a medical emergency; I had a doctor who refused to deal with me himself -- given my "history with pancreatitis" he covered his ass by escalating my case.
Of course, all the labs were normal (I didn't see them; they just told me) as was the chest/abdominal x-ray. Because of other ongoing trauma cases in the ER, however, they didn't get a review of the x-ray I had at 5:15 until after 9:30, and then they were able to release me about 10:30, and I was to "follow up with my primary care doctor" the next day. I drove home in pain and tears of frustration and anger, and when I got home, I could finally hammer my migraine with the meds I'd not taken with me (and they wouldn't provide in the ER). Eventually, I just passed out from exhaustion and slept -- much needed sleep. I woke long enough mid-morning to call my doctor and leave a message that I'd followed his orders, gone to the ER, everything tested okay, and I'm still having pretty bad abdominal pain and unable to keep anything I eat from slipping straight through me.
Finally about 1:45 I got a call back from his assistant with a recommendation that I go to the ER. You must be kidding. I just did that, I told her. She was sympathetic and said she'd call back, which she did about 30 minutes later, to tell me that I needed to contact my GI doctor. Ok, I called my GI doc and spoke with his assistant, who says she'll be able to give him the message when he returns on Friday. I called my doc's office again and left a message about that, and that's where I am now. Clean as a whistle, down 12 lbs. from last week, exhausted, and down half a bottle of Pepto Bismal since yesterday.
In other news, I have been playing phone-and-email-tag with my principal since last Tuesday. He left a voicemail asking if I were alright; he was concerned because I didn't go to any of the CCSS work the week after school and cancelled my registration for the AP Summer Institute later in June. I don't want to explain to him in an email that I got cold feet contemplating the possibility of having to reimburse the district $600 for the institute if I go but renege on my contract... especially given the precarious state of my finances and how difficult it will be if I get a position in California and have to move. I also do not know how to explain to him that a part of my soul dies at the thought of teaching there another year but I will do so if I need to, and I might just need to. Maybe that's better left unsaid. What I do need to speak with him about is the letter of recommendation he promised me a couple months ago. I've emailed him a reminder a couple times now asking that if he doesn't feel he can provide a positive recommendation to please let me know as soon as possible... no response. I missed him again yesterday; he's not in today at all. The office manager doesn't know his schedule.
And I've been trying to keep up with the job application process. I average 2-5 applications a day... (but I might not make it today; I think I'm going to have to head back to bed pretty soon.) Salem has filled their opening, and Ceiba turned me down, but everything else seems open still. As far as I know. I got a call from Parajo Valley USD (also Watsonville) for a phone interview on Thursday, and that's promising; they have two openings. I need to do some research before Thursday. I haven't had the energy to do any searching/applying today, and I have another thing I have to do to complete the Fresno application, too. Maybe if I rest for a few more hours I can do it later this evening.
In any case, I've hit the wall for now, and I'm headed back to bed. Prayers, juju, and finger-crossing are all much appreciated. If you want, call me. I'm not going anywhere for a while.
Edit: Doc's assistant called back with a recommendation I go to the ER. I give up. I'm just going to go huddle in my bed and cry.
Edit #2: Doc called; he didn't get the word that I had been to the ER and no notes on it were sent to him. He's looking at notes from 5/13 from GI doc that say they were trying meds, and if those didn't work, they'd have to do the endoscopic procedure on the sphincter of Oddi. Doc's now trying to contact GI doc's office. I'm still trying to get back to bed.
Last W-F I attended a Teacher Leadership conference at Loews Ventano Canyon where I got sick on the first day. I wasn't sure at the time, but I am fairly certain now that it had nothing to do with the lunch buffet on Wednesday, though that was the beginning of it. Ever since then, I've had trouble with pretty much everything I've eaten. Even the broth and banana that I finally dragged myself out of bed for this afternoon. Within a few minutes of eating (or drinking), the severe cramping begins, and the only relief is when it finally passes through me -- sometimes as quickly as 15-20 minutes. Sorry if that's TMI, but there it is.
While at the conference I did my best to manage it all and attend the most important sessions. The staff at Loews was amazingly helpful, and I am deeply appreciative of their hospitality. They treated me like a "guest," not a "customer," even though I'm just a lowly teacher who will likely never be able to afford such a nice resort. When I got home, I slept. Then tried to eat, and ran into the same problems. Sunday, I drove to Chandler to meet a friend who needed some support, and that was okay until about an hour after I ate when the cramping began again. The drive home was agony -- I've been fighting off migraines all this while, too -- with abdominal pain like I don't know. It kept up for another four hours after I got home until... well, the non-solid movements started back up again.
Yesterday I called my doctor first thing in the morning, and when his assistant got back to me, all she said was to go to the ER. Not Urgent Care, but the Emergency Room because there would be liver and pancreas tests that I would have to have done there. I hesitated for several hours, but when my symptoms only got worse, I went to UMC where I spent the next nine hours, again in agony. My apologies if I offend anyone who works in health care, but ERs are not places you want to be when you feel like crap. They are not places where you go to get help. They are places that deal with emergencies. They stabilize patients so that others can help them; they do not treat illnesses and injuries. They are very busy dealing with traumas and critical injuries and illnesses, and they do not have time for the merely ill. Their triage procedures demand they deal with the most serious and unstable cases first, and others can wait. I get this. I did not have a medical emergency; I had a doctor who refused to deal with me himself -- given my "history with pancreatitis" he covered his ass by escalating my case.
Of course, all the labs were normal (I didn't see them; they just told me) as was the chest/abdominal x-ray. Because of other ongoing trauma cases in the ER, however, they didn't get a review of the x-ray I had at 5:15 until after 9:30, and then they were able to release me about 10:30, and I was to "follow up with my primary care doctor" the next day. I drove home in pain and tears of frustration and anger, and when I got home, I could finally hammer my migraine with the meds I'd not taken with me (and they wouldn't provide in the ER). Eventually, I just passed out from exhaustion and slept -- much needed sleep. I woke long enough mid-morning to call my doctor and leave a message that I'd followed his orders, gone to the ER, everything tested okay, and I'm still having pretty bad abdominal pain and unable to keep anything I eat from slipping straight through me.
Finally about 1:45 I got a call back from his assistant with a recommendation that I go to the ER. You must be kidding. I just did that, I told her. She was sympathetic and said she'd call back, which she did about 30 minutes later, to tell me that I needed to contact my GI doctor. Ok, I called my GI doc and spoke with his assistant, who says she'll be able to give him the message when he returns on Friday. I called my doc's office again and left a message about that, and that's where I am now. Clean as a whistle, down 12 lbs. from last week, exhausted, and down half a bottle of Pepto Bismal since yesterday.
In other news, I have been playing phone-and-email-tag with my principal since last Tuesday. He left a voicemail asking if I were alright; he was concerned because I didn't go to any of the CCSS work the week after school and cancelled my registration for the AP Summer Institute later in June. I don't want to explain to him in an email that I got cold feet contemplating the possibility of having to reimburse the district $600 for the institute if I go but renege on my contract... especially given the precarious state of my finances and how difficult it will be if I get a position in California and have to move. I also do not know how to explain to him that a part of my soul dies at the thought of teaching there another year but I will do so if I need to, and I might just need to. Maybe that's better left unsaid. What I do need to speak with him about is the letter of recommendation he promised me a couple months ago. I've emailed him a reminder a couple times now asking that if he doesn't feel he can provide a positive recommendation to please let me know as soon as possible... no response. I missed him again yesterday; he's not in today at all. The office manager doesn't know his schedule.
And I've been trying to keep up with the job application process. I average 2-5 applications a day... (but I might not make it today; I think I'm going to have to head back to bed pretty soon.) Salem has filled their opening, and Ceiba turned me down, but everything else seems open still. As far as I know. I got a call from Parajo Valley USD (also Watsonville) for a phone interview on Thursday, and that's promising; they have two openings. I need to do some research before Thursday. I haven't had the energy to do any searching/applying today, and I have another thing I have to do to complete the Fresno application, too. Maybe if I rest for a few more hours I can do it later this evening.
In any case, I've hit the wall for now, and I'm headed back to bed. Prayers, juju, and finger-crossing are all much appreciated. If you want, call me. I'm not going anywhere for a while.
Edit: Doc's assistant called back with a recommendation I go to the ER. I give up. I'm just going to go huddle in my bed and cry.
Edit #2: Doc called; he didn't get the word that I had been to the ER and no notes on it were sent to him. He's looking at notes from 5/13 from GI doc that say they were trying meds, and if those didn't work, they'd have to do the endoscopic procedure on the sphincter of Oddi. Doc's now trying to contact GI doc's office. I'm still trying to get back to bed.