The days seemed so long when I was unable to sleep, and it never seemed like I could sleep long enough. I wished I could just sleep all day long. I was already so tired of being so helpless. After a long and much needed nap, I woke up feeling rather rushed to get to the bathroom. As I tried to sit up pain stabbed all around my stomach to my back. I tried to hold it in but using any of those muscles hurt even more. I wasn't going to make it. As I sat and tried to get the urge to go away I realized that nope, this was not going to work and wanted to get off the couch (since you know, that is where I was sleeping.) I stood up, which caused more pain and which helped the flow of everything else. I had never tried to hold it in as hard as I was then. But nothing was working. I untwisted my legs to walk back to the bathroom and that was that. I waddled, ashamed, as fast as I could to the bathroom, with a nice trail behind me. I was so embarrassed. My husband came in to help me and I was so ashamed. He should not be cleaning up "that" after me...his wife. He went in and scrubbed the couch, assisted me back, set me up and then I had to sit and watch him clean up the floor. This was awful. If I had known that Sunday was only going to be worse than Saturday I don't think I would have even showed to the appointment to be drained.
So Sunday came and we got on the road. Bailey stopped at a gas station and I couldn't think of anything that sounded good. Friday and Saturday I had been downing Walmart Orange Juice that had tasted amazing so I thought I could prob down some more. Unfortunately the kind at the gas station was not hitting the spot like Walmart's had. We drove straight there and I only got about three little drinks of the OJ down. Once there they took me straight to the procedure room where I did the usual. Because the IV from Thursday didn't work we had to poke again. This time the pain and pressure in my abdomen was much worse, so I knew that there was much more fluid in there. I came to find out that this means no veins. I don't even remember where they started but they dug for a vein FOR-EV-ER. Once they figured out that that wouldn't work they came to the inside of my elbow. There they continued to dig and move inside of my skin, almost as if it were a game, or maybe that they were trying to lure my veins out of hiding. The needle felt ginormous. She pulled the needle out after forever (again) and very quickly I wasn't feeling well. I expressed this and somehow they knew what was coming next. Everyone shuffled all at once. I sat up, the assistant grabbed the garbage, and the phlebotomist backed off as I started to hurl water and any OJ I had in my belly. A stomach that is contracting and expelling anything that is in it, ON TOP of an abdomen filled with fluid, was NOT pleasant. It hurt :( Now sweating and spitting (OJ is terrible the second time) I was so done with this. They got me a cold wet washcloth and Bailey wiped me down, legs, neck, arms, everywhere. It felt amazing. Thank goodness I was the only one there. They were able to open the door and cool the sauna of a room off and I was so hot that I had no shame. I was getting anything that was covering my body, off! But they weren't done with me yet. I got a shot in my bum cheek that they said would help with nausea and also relax me. It seemed like forever until it kicked in. I felt more relaxed and once they realized that, they decided to try again. In the end I was poked 7....seven....times. Seven times they went fishing in my skin with a big 'ol needle, but my veins were not coming out for the bait. Any fluid that my body would have was not to be found in my veins. The Dr showed up and discussed with us that perhaps they would give all of the medications I needed through shots in my bum and after draining all the fluid, I would be sent to the hospital where I would be for a couple of hours with an IV getting fluid to make up for what was taken. After a while of them discussing, they attempted a poke one last time (making it the seventh). By this time I looked at the nurse and practically begged her to let me do it the next day. She sadly told me no, that we had to get it done asap. They told us that they were sending us to the hospital just down the road. There they had professional IV pokers. You know, the ones that do hundreds of IV's everyday. By now you can only imagine how livid my poor husband was. He had sat there in the room for more than an hour watching me be poked over and over again, and puking my guts out, when this was a possibility all along? He was not liking any of this either and not so pleasantly expressed that in the car on our way to the hospital. Lets just say that this marked the first time I had heard him say some choice words.
When we got to the hospital which really was just a block away, Bailey helped me inside and we had to sit at the front desk to register. Seriously? I am dying of pain here and you Ms. Smiley, want me to tell you when my birthday is? I was NOT wanting to answer questions. But we sat for about ten minutes so they could register us or whatever and slap a cute bracelet around my wrist. They wheeled me back, laid me on a bed in the ER and I had a nurse on each side of me. I hate that plastic stuff that they wrap around your arm before the stick. They wrapped that stuff so tight that it hurt more than the poke itself. The hospitals needles were much smaller than the clinics, so that was nice. And they also had those cute blue barf bags which was nice so I could take some with me and not worry so much about locating a garbage can..or even wonder what is in there as I'm throwing up in it. The nurse on my right poked me and was unable to locate a vein. She poked again in another spot and asked for a tube. I excitedly asked if she got it and she replied, "I don't know yet." By the time she pulled the needle out they had retrieved three tubes of blood and an IV was placed. I wanted to hug her I was so happy. Total time at the hospital was about 15 minutes. They wheeled me out to our car and I was yet again on my way to the clinic.
Once at the clinic I was right back to my room and a few of them gawked and wanted to see where they were able to place the IV, like it was a magic trick. Let me just add, that they at the clinic really didn't even take a look at my right arm because the veins were supposedly worse on that side. Anyways. I stripped down, laid on the bed and the game began. Once down I of course asked for my oh so favorite oxygen only to find out that they were out that day. Man, it was most certainly NOT my day. Well by the time they pushed the drugs through my sacred IV I was out. I think with all the drugs before, the drugs now plus my exhaustion I really just passed right out. I really don't remember any more of the appointment. I was sad to wake up because sleeping felt so good, but Bailey was rushing me out because my mom and sister were waiting for us. My mom would be taking care of me for the next however long. That day they told me that they had drained two and a half... yup, 2 1/2 Liters from me. Which was about twice as before. Holy moly, that fit in me? Thank heavens I could keep my IV for next time, the only "pain" about it was having to flush it every eight hours. But I would SO rather do that then everything else ALL over again. Finally after a four and a half hour visit at the clinic we were able to leave. So we met my momma and sissy at Taco Bell (I was hungry) and not long after being in there I just went right back outside to sit on the curb and breathe all the fresh air I could. It was such a nice day and I felt like that was my little tender mercy. Not long after being there they were finished eating and Bailey tucked me into my mom's car and kissed me goodbye. I did not want to say goodbye at all. It felt terrible. After how well he just took care of me and everything he had just done and I hardly got to thank him or show him my gratitude for it. I really just wanted to go home to where he could cuddle me to sleep. My heart broke to see him drive away. I missed him already. How grateful I truly am for such a wonderful husband who truly shows me how much I mean to him.
So we were on the road to Idaho where I would be until I got better. And that was the scary thought. UNTIL I got better. I couldn't tell work when I would be back and I wasn't going to be able to teach my little primary kids until who knows when.... Who knew how long that would be, no one did. Only time could tell and all I could do was lay flat on my back with my feet raised and wait.
P.S. I'm pretty sure that I forgot to include something very important in the last post. Something that you all have been squirming to know. On the previous Thursday when I had my first draining done I had my blood drawn and they told us that they would go ahead and test for pregnancy then. This was awesome because Monday already seemed like years away. I wanted to know now! And Bailey was not going to allow any excitement enter until he knew for sure. So on our way home after I had been drained and filled with meds, I am sleeping away when all of a sudden I am awoken by an anxious husband telling me to call the clinic. I replied somewhat annoyingly (I needed my beauty rest more than ever right now), "They said they'd call us." Barely finishing my sentence he anxiously says, "Well they've had plenty of time and should know by now. Call them." The cuteness of it all got the best of me and so I called. They told us that they like to see the pregnancy number above 75 and we were at 118. We were definitely pregnant. :) And that it was got me through Sunday.
I miss you!
ReplyDelete