This isn't actually from tonight, but it's the only picture I could find of me that was close... This is when I was in labor with Lydia.
Have you ever noticed how the doctors at the ER know a lot about what to do when you're bleeding or have a broken leg, but if you come in for pain due to a mystery illness, they get all squirmy? If you ever get the chance, try it.
It's kind of entertaining.
At least that's what happened tonight. I'm not sure how it happened, but something triggered an attack on my way home from my mom's house tonight, and I feel lucky to have made it home without seriously injuring myself and my kids.
(Really, I was okay. It was just getting to the point that I was going to have to pull over and call my husband - who was still at home and not feeling well.)
So, I pull into the driveway and my legs just give out. I got the car parked and everything, but I just sat there because I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't really move my legs anymore.
I kind of get the feeling that there was quite a bit of work done by my guardian angel and our Father in Heaven.
They got us home safely, and I am so grateful for that!
But, my husband is sick, and can't drive. (The poor guy woke up with a flu today.) I feel bad for him. He's all achy and is having a hard time breathing.
Here's the kicker - As soon as I get home (I'm still sitting in the car at this point) then I start to feel the same way.
Gaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!
So my honey comes out and helps me inside with help from the wheelchair. (You have no idea how grateful I am to have that thing, even though it's annoying and I complain about it a lot... It is really nice to have one when you need it!) He puts me in bed, and I start feeling almost feverish. So Tyler takes my temp.
101.
Great.
Now, this could mean that I have whatever bug Tyler has, and it could also mean that I'm having an attack and my muscles are eating themselves. (Rhabdomyolysis can trigger a fever - usually low grade.)
Oh joy.
Either way, I'm not super excited.
The pain got worse the longer I laid there. I had resorted to sucking on a piece of candy to get my glucose level up, and it helped... but only barely.
Things were still getting worse, so my wonderful mother came over and took me to the ER. Now, this is her first ER experience with me in this condition.
She got on the freeway and raced to the hospital.
I glanced at her speedometer once on the way.
Any guesses??
90!
(I don't think you needed to go that fast, Mom, but I really do appreciate your speediness. Especially since they took their sweet time once we got there.)
We checked in and waited. The initial wait wasn't too bad. Maybe 15 mins or so. (I actually think that's a record except one other time when they took me right back.)
Then nurse that took me back asked me a bunch of questions.
What kind of pain am I having?
How bad is the pain on a scale from 1 to 10?
Do I smoke?
What medications do I take?
You know, the usual stuff they ask you when you visit an ER or a doctor's office for pain of any kind.
Then a few minutes later, the doctor comes in.
He was Mr. Emotionless.
No expression on his face, a kind of monotone voice - he stood there with his clipboard and asked me some questions and took notes.
His first question was "What can I do for you today?"
Really?
You're looking at my chart, you can see what the nurse wrote down, you can see what I've been in previously for, and you can see (it was VERY obvious) that I was in a lot of pain.
REALLY?
I told him that I was hurting, and my mom chimed in and explained that I have been in previously for this, so it should be in my chart, and this is normally what we do, blah, blah, blah, etc... The usual speech that we give everyone so they understand what's going on.
So the doctor continues with his questioning...
What kind of pain am I having?
How bad is the pain on a scale from 1 to 10?
Do I smoke?
When was my last period?
Where is my pain?
Pretty much the same thing that the nurse asked me (literally) 5 minutes before then. I told him of my CPT 2 Deficiency. His reply?
(He literally squirmed a little bit)
"I'm not familiar with that, what is it?"
Yeah...
The thing that really bothered me about this man was that he even talked and wrote slowly.
I was in TEARS!
I was in tears when we came in. I was sobbing... I haven't hurt that badly in quite a while, and he wanted to have a nice leisurely conversation. Thanks...
So I was already kind of frustrated. Then the nurse came back in and told me what the doctor wanted to do, which is the same thing he said before he left.
("Hello, you've reached the Department of Redundancy Department. Can you hold on and wait?")
But, I just took a deep breath and tried to relax. I knew I was irritable from the pain, so I just brushed it off.
Then, a completely different nurse comes in and asks me if I can give her a urine sample.
Sure.
I can do that.
She asked me a few questions.
Can she help me?
Do I need a wheelchair?
Do I smoke?
(Yes, I'm serious. She's the 3rd person to ask me if I smoke...)
REALLY? No one communicates in the ER apparently. No matter how many times they ask the question, the answer will still be the same. I didn't start smoking while in the ER, so the answer is still no.
*SIGH*
So after the fun with the urine sample, I started shivering really badly. I was really cold! So my mom asked if we could get a blanket. They brought me a heated blanket. So nice! But I was still really cold. So, eventually I have 2 blankets on and a hospital gown wrapped around my shoulders. After about 30 mins, I FINALLY started to warm up.
Then, they finally get around to bringing me the pain medication. We got to the ER around 10pm (or so) and this was around midnight. About a half hour after they give it to me, I finally started to feel a little bit better, but I was still hurting - A LOT!
But, they sent me home anyway...
Now what they should have done was give me a glucose IV, lots of fluids, something for my fever, and something for my pain. That's the normal protocol for CPT 2 Deficient patients who have attacks.
At least they got one of the things right.
I'm still hurting, but it's bearable now, so hopefully I will be able to sleep tonight. With my luck, I'll end up dreaming about that doctor and nurses who kept asking me if I smoke...
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