A New Year’s Hijacking

I think it is only appropriate that my first blog post of this new year of 2015 should be about my own hijacking.  That’s right.  Me.  I did it.   I guess that’s what I get for talking about everybody else that’s hijacked me this year…REYNOLDS.  And…MOM.

Most of my facebook friends have read and seen some of this hijacking but I am here today to give you the full story.  In this case, curl up with a blanket and a nice cup of hot chocolate…

It all started last Tuesday, right before Christmas.  I cashed in a gift card for a massage and boy, was it great.  Deep tissue.  The kind where when you leave the place, you’re sore…but a good kind of sore.  So I left, drank a million cups of water as instructed and enjoyed my day.

Hop to Friday, the day after Christmas.  Andrew had Reynolds so Eliza Jane and I went down to the canal for a long walk.  Three miles.  It was the first time in two months that I’d walked such distance (don’t judge).  THEN, for whatever reason, Andrew and I decided to do some yoga that afternoon.

I woke up Saturday morning like my body had been contorted all night long because I was incredibly sore.  My head was pounding and it was not a good start to the day.  I took some Tylenol.  In fact, I took Tylenol all day and never felt any better.  My only thought was that I’d overdone it the day before…and maybe with the massage?  I’d never been sore like that before after a massage, or a walk, or yoga, but had the three done me in?  Seriously, I was not this badly out of shape!!

Sunday morning when I woke up, I was a big better, but still sore.  Then my temp rose, not too high, but it wasn’t normal.  And just around dinner time my throat started hurting, so off to the store Andrew went to get some drugs.

By Monday evening I was down.  My back never hurt so bad.  I couldn’t breathe deeply without being in tremendous pain.  What.on.earth was happening to me?  I woke up in the middle of the night just hurting so badly.  Andrew says to me, “You’ve got pneumonia.”  “I do not” I said.   {famous last words}

I went to Doctor’s Care Tuesday morning and was told that, in spite of the test coming back negative, I had the flu.  All my symptoms were flu-like.  “But what about my back?  Why does my back hurt so badly, why am I in such pain?”

Everything was attributed to the flu.  So I got my Tamiflu prescript and went to get it filled.

I felt a little better Tuesday night (I slept) and Wednesday morning.  Thinking I was on the mend, I went to get my hair cut.

I got back home and like a trigger was pulled, my back went right back where it was on Monday night – the fritz.  I laid on the couch, barely able to move.  Deep pain running through my upper back, shoulder blades and neck.  I cried.

Andrew called his mom, who came over to watch the kids and to the ER we went….on New Year’s Eve.  I was hijacking New Year’s!!  And…isn’t the ER the busiest place on NYE, besides bars?!  We must have been crazy.

I was so uncomfortable sitting in the chair in the waiting room, the sweet triage nurse, Anna, put me on a stretcher…in the hallway, out of the waiting area.

After three long hours of arriving in the ER, we finally got into a room.  A nurse took my vitals and my temp was up to 102.3.  Doc said that since I’d had a fever off an on for five days and my heart rate was up, he was concerned about my heart.  whaaaaat?

He rattled off tests he wanted to run, ekg, chest x-ray, ultrasound and possibly a MRI.  I literally could only see dollar signs.  New year, new insurance deductible, of course this is happening to me.

Then, I said a prayer, that whatever it was, the Lord would take it away from me, heal me.  My babies.  My man.  Let it be nothing, Lord.

The nurse came back and put stickies all over my chest and ran the EKG.  Another nurse came in and took, what seemed to be, a gallon of blood.  Then a transporter came in and took me to the x-ray room where I had to stand up.  Thankfully, I’d gotten some miracle drug that had subdued most of my back pain.  Back in the room, the doctor came in and did a quick ultrasound, showing Andrew where and what he was looking for – possible fluid around my heart – and saw nothing.  Praise.

Next, they were considering my lungs.  Since the lungs reflect to the back, any issues with infection can cause back pain.  I was given a breathing treatment to see how that would help.  I honestly couldn’t tell a ton of difference.  Doc came back in and said that he and the supervising physician think I have either walking pneumonia or pleurisy.  The more interesting thing about me was that I didn’t have a cough.  Was I an enigma? 😉

He gave me a prescription for a zpack and naproxen.

We got home at 4am…7.5 hrs after we’d left.  Grandma was asleep on the couch, with Lily close-by, snoring up a storm.  Both kids were sleeping soundly in their rooms.  We told Grandma to go to bed in the guest bedroom (isn’t that what guest bedrooms are for?) and then we went to bed.

Thankfully, our neighbors had seen the excitement on facebook and quickly volunteered to take Reynolds for a few hours on New Year’s.   He got to go to the Children’s Museum!  First time, and he loved it.

Andrew and Eliza Jane watched tv and took naps together and I stayed in the bed most of the day.  At least until my bum went numb 🙂  Around 5:30 I finally got up to see if I could hang with the living and did pretty well.

I think I’m on the mend and praying the rest of my crew doesn’t get this mess.  For all my friends who have been or are sick, I pray that you get well quickly!  It is no fun being stuck in the bed.  Rest up, drink plenty of fluids and take your meds.

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” – Psalm 103:2-4 (emphasis mine)