8/5/08 I DON'T DO NEEDLES!

We were on the road by eleven this morning heading down to the ocean.

In two years a lot of houses have been built along the way. Hey house builders, leave some open space, no new land is being made!

We arrived at Kenny's a little after one and it was so good to see him again. After taking a tour of his new place and talking a short while catching up we decided to take a walk around the park he is in. It was hot today and the humidity is back up to 92%. So thick you feel as though you can cut it with knife. You can see it hanging in the air almost.

When we got back to his place I was really laboring with my breathing. Kenny suggested we go to the local drug store and have the pharmacist recommend something.

Now this is going to sound gross but I need to tell you this. I've been having a lot phlegm and I can't get it up. I cough but I can't get it out. I now think it should be a law that dad's be required to teach their daughters how to "hock one up" I don't know how to do that! I asked Bob how to do it and he thought for a minute and just said, "You just do it". Well, no you don't! I think its the genes of the male species on knowing how to do that! No one ever taught me how to spit!

I decided a trip to the emergency room was in order because now its so hard for me to breathe that its getting scary.

I got in Kenny's truck since he knew the shortest way to the ER and Bob followed behind. There was no sense in Kenny spending his afternoon/early evening/all night in the emergency room with us. He dropped me off at the ER entrance and I went right in. At this point I'm gasping for air now. Its difficult to talk but of course I have to do the check in part first as Bob is finding a parking space. In between gasps I'm trying to give my name, address, social security # and phone number. Finally a nurse came by saw the distress I was in and told the lady, "get the info later she needs help now!"

I can't remember being so scared. Have you ever not been able to breathe, to try to draw breath in and can't? Its not a good feeling!

Before I knew it I was hooked up to an EKG machine, oxygen and people were running in and out. They told me they needed to draw blood and that was then I lost it. I am deathly afraid of needles! They finally agreed to use a pediatric needle, the smallest one they had, I think they called it a butterfly. My pulse was racing which concerned the hospital personnel. The numbers they were watching were all over the board with my blood pressure down to 84 over 52.

After they drew gallons of blood the nurse told I wasn't going to like the next procedure either. What??? I had visions of them trying to draw blood from my eyeball or cutting the tip of my tongue off. What could possibly be worse than giving blood via a sharp pointy object piercing your skin? Oh, but I found out.

When they took my temperature I had a fever of 99.2. The nurse, Bobbie, explained to me that they needed a core reading. Ok, what's that? She said they had to take my temperature rectally. Are you kidding me(?) I asked. She assured me that she in fact was not kidding. I told her I felt much better and that it was time for me to go home. She said, "No way Jose, you're staying, you're sick and we have to find out what's going on. OMG, I can't believe this woman is going to take something that looks big enough to fly a flag over the Capitol Building from and stick it up my butt! I offered my armpit for temperature taking but she said no, that would be armpit temperature. Picky, picky, picky. So she told me to unbutton my shorts and roll over. OMG, I can't believe this happening to me. She assured me it would only be an inch for 20 seconds. 20 seconds???? Twenty seconds is an eternity! So I got through that. I didn't like it but I got through it. Turns out my "core temp" was actually 102.4. I didn't even know I had a fever!

No sooner had I had my shorts adjusted and up where they belonged and this young guy comes in and announces he's there to draw blood. I looked at Bobbie and through a new batch of tears asked why didn't she draw enough blood for all the tests? The fellow said it had to be from a different site and each drawing would have to be done that way? Whoa! Did you say each drawing???? Just how many times are you going to do this to me? He said he didn't know yet as he hadn't gotten the order yet. Let me tell you, I was ready to give him an order!

At this point Bobbie leaves and just outside my room she ran into Bob. She told Bob they were having a hard time with drawing blood and he told her that yes, he knew what they were going through.

Next came a chest x-ray. You know, its a little nervewracking that when the technician says he's ready that everyone in the room runs out. That isn't very comforting at all!

Next came Mike, very nice guy, cute too and he puts me through four nebulizer treatments. That is some salty tasting stuff but I could B R E A T H E! For that I was thankful!

I kept asking what was wrong with me but I wasn't getting any answers. That isn't very comforting either. Bobbie just said, "There's small sick, medium sick and large sick and that I fell into the medium catergory.

The numbers on the monitor I'm hooked up to are all over the place. Everyone seems to be most concerned about the heart rate and my blood pressure. One way too high and the other lower than what they would like. Well, doesn't it make sense that my heart rate was high? Two needle sticks, a flagpole up my butt, radiation exposure, I just don't see the problem here!

OK, now I have to have an IV for fear of dehydration. I can understand that, I've cried a lot of tears and there is no water left in my body and half my blood has been drained. Since I have smallest of pediatric needles in my arm they had to bring in a pump to get the clear liquid into my body. Oh, where will it end?

Being the dedicated blogger that I am I asked Bob to go out and get the camera for pictures but he wouldn't do it.

Bobbie asked me if I wanted something to drink and I replied without hesitation, "Yes, a Pepsi please." She said she'd be right back with one. And she did. A DIET Pepsi. Oh please, I don't do needles and I don't do Diet Pepsi! And I don't do Ginger Ale and I don't do 7-Up. Can I have a cup of ice please?

The young fellow with needle tray is back! I don't like him. Not one bit. When he looked at his paperwork he said, "Oops, wrong room". YES! I have been saved!

Finally, all the test results have been gathered, we know what's wrong with me. I have pneumonia. So my trouble breathing hasn't been this humidity we're not used to.

After several hours in the Beebe Hospital Emergency Room, prescriptions in hand, I am allowed to leave. Free and hungry. Remember, I lost my appetite on Sunday at Dianne's, didn't eat anything Monday and nothing so far today.

Oh wait, the day just gets better! We decided to stop at Pizza Hut for a take out pizza that we could share with Kenny. The place was total chaos! People standing at the door waiting for tables much longer than they should have been. No pizza on the buffet table and waitresses coming back to find out where their orders were. After 30 minutes I found out my pizza hadn't even been made yet! Darn it, I'm hungry! I told the manager how long I had been waiting and she offered me a credit. I told that I was visiting here and wouldn't be back but I would be glad to give her my credit/debit card so that she could give me a credit on that. She said she couldn't do that but could refund me in cash. Whatever it takes lady, I'm now 37 minutes into this wait. Finally my pizza was done. Its getting late now and I just want something to eat.

I didn't get my prescriptions filled tonight. I know, I know, I should have but I didn't. Big Mistake! Big, big mistake! Hey, I was feeling GOOD when I left the hospital, I could breathe without a problem, I knew what was wrong with me and all was right with my world. I figured I'd get them filled first thing in the morning.

I went to bed at ten and was up at three having a very difficult time breathing. I sat out in the living room for awhile sitting upright which seemed to help some. At 3:30 I went in to Bob as I was having what I can only describe as a panic attack. He couldn't do anything for me nor did I expect him to. I just wanted him to put his hand on my back as I sat next to him until I could calm down and get myself under control again.
I ended up watching A Field of Dreams on DVD until a little after five and then went back to bed. I could only catnap for the next for the next hour or so and then I sat watching the clock inch itself towards nine when the pharmacy would open.