Falling Hard

Becca says when I get sick, I fall hard. Maybe she's right...

It started Monday afternoon. I had an itch in my throat that I recognize at this point to be a potential sign of bad things on the horizon. Nevertheless, I pressed onward with my plans for going to the gym after work. After half-an-hour on the elliptical machine, the itch was definitely an ache. I cut my workout off at 30 min rather than the normal 45 and went home.

My parents called at 9PM, and by the time I got off the phone at 10PM, I was feeling achy and shivery. I went to bed, huddled in a little ball to try to warm up. I woke up again at 10:45 because I was cold - in my flannel pants, socks, sweatshirt, and covered by a very warm comforter. I curled up in a smaller ball and went back to sleep.

Gavin called at 11:30 to say he was going to be very late coming home from his game night. I answered the phone with a croak. Hmmm, apparently I now have phlegm as well. Still freezing, I pulled the comforter up over my head, tried to actually retract all my limbs into my body, and concentrated on not shivering until I fell asleep again.

Gavin came home at 12:45, kissed my forehead, and immediately got very, very worried. He stuck a thermometer in my mouth which read 103 deg F. I think he was wondering if he should take me to the hospital at that point. The good news was that I was not shivering anymore. I was actually feeling quite warm and was able to take my arms out from underneath the comforter. (Side note - I wasn't sure at the time what a "dangerous" temperature was. I have since been informed by a doctor that I should be worried if it is above 104.)

I woke up next, drenched with sweat, when Gavin left for work. I managed, after a nasty sounding wet cough, to ask him to tell my boss I wasn't coming in. Then I went back to sleep until 12:30. Still feeling a bit feverish (but nothing like the previous night), my first coherent thought was that I should go see a doctor. I've been kind of permanently between family doctors since we moved to Houston; they all either close their offices or I don't like them much. So, I ended up having to call an urgent care clinic that is run by the same people that run one that I'd liked in the past but is being remodeled now.

unfortunately, the clinic was very busy and I had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get in to see the doctor. Somewhere during that time, I realized I forgot to eat anything for lunch. This is not uncommon for me when I'm sick. I told the doc that I was going to South America in 10 days, and please make this go away quickly. He suggested a couple shots (steroids and antibiotics), and three different sets of pills (another antibiotic for after the shot wears off, a cough suppressant for nighttime, and a chest decongestant for during the day.) When he suggested the shots you could hear bawling in a childish tone coming from a nearby room, and he asked jokingly "You're not going to cry when I give these, are you?" I laughed, "No, but I might look a little scared until it's over." (Dum-dum-dum)

So, the nurse came in with the shots and informed me that it would be in my best interest to get them in the "hip" rather than the arm. Now, I hate shots. It is a totally irrational fear, because they're never as bad as I'm afraid they will be. Shots don't hurt; I know this. Doesn't matter, my blood pressure still goes up every time. So the nurse gave me one shot that didn't hurt a bit in one "hip", and one that stung but wasn't that bad in the other "hip". She asked me to wait in the waiting room for 5 min to make sure I didn't have a bad reaction.

I sat down in a chair, feeling just a touch lightheaded. After a few more seconds, my vision started swimming. I slouched, but I was still graying out. At that point I stumbled to the reception window, and scared the receptionist half to death by trying to knock gently on the window but I think actually hitting it a bit more heavy handedly than I intended to. I had pretty bad tunnel vision at that point, but I remember watching his hand go toward the hold button on the phone. It seemed to take him a year to push it. Someone came through the door and took my arm to lead me back into the offices. I made it through the door, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor. One of the nurses asked me a question - I think I answered - and then I was waking up on a different floor, a blood pressure cuff around my arm, hot and sweaty, with no less than 6 people standing over me. If you're going to pass out, doing so in a doctor's office ensures a lot of immediate attention.

Anyway, the immediate fear that it was an allergic reaction to the shot was unfounded. It was just the combination of lack of food, being sick in the first place, and stress from the shot doing strange things to my blood pressure. They called Gavin to come get me, and he took me home, fed me, and put me to bed. I slept 6 hours in the evening, and then was up from like 12-3AM, but I feel much better today. I'm not at work, though. I figure the quickest way to end my flight control career would be to faint on console.