This morning, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. I tried to do some reading, but couldn't keep my eyes open so I set my alarm for 6:50 and went back to sleep. I got up, got ready, and went to school like any normal Monday.
Mondays are late start for the students and we have teacher meetings in the morning. At 7:45 a.m., I was sitting in our general meeting before we split into departments and I got a sudden, sharp pain in my left side. It got worse and so I slipped out of the meeting. I started sweating and went pale and I could no longer stay upright because the pain was so intense. I hobbled to the financial office and talked to our secretary to find out where the appendix is, thinking it was bursting at that very moment. I laid down in the office and they went and got my co-worker, Christy. She's the band teacher, so we work together a lot and we're good friends.
Christy was going to drive me to the Springville Instacare since the Provo one wasn't open, but the pain was so intense that I told her just to take me to the emergency room down the street, even though it was going to cost me a lot more. We ran a yield sign and almost hit another car, which made me feel like I was going in to labor and rushing to the hospital. Maybe the pain would be worth it if I got a baby out of it.
When I got in to the ER waiting room, they started asking me questions about my address, phone number, etc. and I was thinking to myself, "Why are you talking to me? Is this really necessary? I don't want you to ask me questions like everything is normal." The pain was so intense at this point that I was breathing really fast and shallow and alternately crying and moaning. They sent me to another room where the lady started asking me more questions about where the pain was, how bad it hurt, etc. She asked if I could walk to hospital bed in a room in the ER and I said meekly, "How far?" I had to repeat myself three times before she could understand me because I was trying to answer in the midst of really bad pain. I remember thinking to myself, "Don't they have to learn in the ER how to decipher what people in pain are saying?" Sort of like how I have to learn how to read handwriting that is impossible to decipher from middle school boys. Later I realized that she was probably actually a volunteer and not a nurse.
She got me a wheelchair even though I said I could walk and as soon as I laid down on the bed, the pain started to ease gradually. My hands went numb, which kind of freaked me out, but a medical assistant assured me that happens when you breathe fast and shallow for a long period of time.
They started an IV and the doc came to see me. During this time, Christina came and switched posts with Christy so the latter could get back to work to teach her classes. It was a surreal experience for Christy to be there, as she had been in the ER one month earlier after passing out after a band concert. I was so grateful for her help. She arranged lesson plans for me and helped my sub out with difficult students. I work with great people!
The doctor ordered blood and urine tests. After studying the results of the tests, he determined that I needed to get a CAT scan of my kidneys. His first guess was that I had a kidney stone. The weirdest part about the day was they had to wheel me in to the x-ray room on the hospital bed, even though at that point, I felt perfectly capable of walking. I think it's a legal thing, but it felt very strange. They ran some tests and ran some more. I went back to my room and waited. My sister had some school matters to attend to, and since the doc seemed pretty confident as to the diagnosis, I convinced her to go to back to school and I would chill until she could come back to pick me up.
I ended up having to wait a lot longer than normal because for some reason, the ER was totally hoppin' on this particular Monday. The doctor told me I was lucky enough to come on a Monday morning that was acting like a Friday night. A very nice/cute hospital volunteer came in to chat with me and see if I needed anything. I wouldn't have minded a longer visit, but he had lots of places to go and people to see I'm sure.
The doctor came back and told me there was no stone, but there was a kidney infection and started me on an antibiotic drip and then sent me home with a bunch of prescriptions. He said it was possible there was a stone and I passed it in the morning when I was in so much pain. Often, infections are caused by stones. He said there was nothing I could do to prevent it and that they consider first time stones/infections flukes unless they begin recurring more frequently. He told me to take it easy today and tomorrow and wrote me a doctor's note for work.
And that was how I spent Monday.
Thanks everyone for checking up on me, bringing me food, and sending me texts of Ella to cheer me up! What an adventure.