So, I've been thinking tonight that I've been meaning to write a blog about my whole meningitis deal... but I keep putting it off for some reason. Tonight I decided that there is no time like the present. Not to mention if I keep putting it off I'm going to forget more than I already have.
I should also say that this is going to be a series of posts because there is a lot to tell, and a lot of details that will make it worth reading.... I hope!!!
Anyway.
So, I'll start from the beginning and explain all the illness stuff. Following that I will go into other details. While I was sick I was really out of it, delirious really. So my version of what was happening was not reality. It's an interesting part of the whole experience. In addition to all of that there is the stuff that my family told me that is not in my memory.
So here we go.
It all began with a head ache. It's hard to remember exactly how the headache was, but if I remember correctly it was a like a migraine. However, I don't really get migraines. I get headaches occasionally. But not a migraine that I know of. My mother and my sister get migraines and so I figured that it was something that I'm predisposed to getting, it just takes more for me then them. anyway
So I was in Anatomy and Physiology the semester I got sick, and I was really overwhelmed with that class. I had a big video project due for that class the week I got this migraine and so I kept putting off going to the Dr. about it.
see the previous spring I ended up getting a very serious case of mono and was out of school for weeks. The Mono started with a persistent headache that last for at least a week if not more.
So being that I had this persistent headache my parents really wanted me to go to the Dr. I told them that I would go to the Dr. on the weekend after my project was due. In addition to the headache I was super sensitive to light and sound. So I had to wear sunglasses in the video project we made.
moving on.
the day that I told my mom I'd go to the Dr. I woke up with a headache worse than ever. and the second I got up to move I couldn't see straight and I had to balance. I couldn't stand up. I pretty much grabbed anything I could on my way to the couch from my bed so that I wouldn't fall down.
layed down on the couch, and anytime I had to get up, to get a drink or go to the bathroom, I had to puke, so I carried a bag around with me. I was texting my mom. (I'm pretty sure that talking made me need to puke too) So I told my mom what was going on and she told me to tell my dad immediately.
So I texted him, and he called me. Now mind you this was a Sunday, so my dad was at church. He had ridden to church with my sister so she came and dropped him off at my building. I let him in, by somehow managing to get down the hall and stairs to the door. I managed to explain to him how to get down to the garage and where to find my car, and how to come pick me up. All the while I had to pause in my explanation to puke in the bag that I had with me.
My amazing father went down and found my car. drove out of the garage and helped walk me across the street to get into the car.
He then drove me to urgent care at west health in Plymouth.
He ran inside and grabbed me a wheel chair, then helped me into it and wheeled me inside. He wheeled me right up to the desk and I explained to them what was going on. they took my make shift barf bag for a nifty urgent care one. it was like an accordion style deal.... which sterile material that would leak through. Anyway.
The Dr. didn't know what was wrong with me. He had the nurse take blood I think.... I asked a lot of question.... they took my temperature and mine was normal. (to note later, some of my family has a naturally lower temperature than the average 98.7.) The Dr. and gave us a prescription and some pain killer, and told us to come back tomorrow if I didn't feel any better. So we went back to my parents house in Plymouth, and I slept. Well I tried to sleep. I had this sleeping blindfold thing that you get in the kits they give you when you fly first/business class. So mind you I'm wearing this blindfold on all of the car rides, and in all of the waiting rooms, and sitting on the steps outside my apt building in uptown Minneapoli while puking in a bag, waiting for my dad to come pick me up.....
My eyes were so sensitive to light that regular sunglasses couldn't help enough.
Anyway.
So, this is my state. ill, in all sorts of pain, headache that could blow up my brain. and a little bit of relief, but in the sense that the pain is more being blocked by my brain, however the cause for the pain was still present.... if that makes sense.
So, we went back to the Urgent care the next day because I felt just at bad as the day before. The Dr. thought that it was possible I had meningitis. So, he sent me to the emergency room and recommended that they do a spinal tap. It took a bit of a wait to see the Dr. but I finally made it in there. they shot me up with pain killers and they may have possibly hooked me up to an IV.....
So, they pumped me with pain killers again. I believe it was Demerol. To be honest I went to the ER twice and I get the first night and the second night mixed up. so forgive me for my poor memory.
I believe that it was the first night that the Dr. at the ER told me, "It's possible you have meningitis, however if it were bacterial you'd be dead by now, and so given that it's probably viral there's nothing we can really do."
So they sent me home. I was hopeful because the pain killers had really helped.... When I got home my dad told me that my mom was coming up from FL early to take me in to my family practitioner and help take care of me.
The next day I didn't feel any better, in fact I felt worse.
So, I asked my sister to drive me to Urgent care again. They made me wait for an hr before telling me that there was nothing they could do for me and they sent me to the ER.
I believe it was this second trip to the ER that they gave me a CT scan. and I'm positive they hooked me up to an IV the second night as well. They again gave me pain killers and sent me home.
that was Tuesday. My mom came into town on Wednesday, and I slept all day. In serious pain and not any better at all. Again sleeping with an eye mask on because I was so sensitive to light.
Thursday late morning my mom took me into my family practitioner.
again adorned with my super hot blindfold I try to walk into the office building but I am so disoriented with my vision that I can't walk straight. As my mom tried to help me walk in by grabbing onto my arm to steady me, I'm puking off to the other side. She finally got me inside and they came right away with a wheel chair and took me straight into a room. They turned off the lights and turned on a soft dim lamp in the corner. I can't remember if I got onto the exam room bed or if I just sat in the wheel chair. The Dr. game in and asked me questions. That whole experience is really hazy for me. I'll have to ask my mom for more details and touch up on it later.
In the end my physician was going to admit me to the hospital and asked me how I wanted to get there, if I thought I could ride in my mom's car, or if I wanted to ride in the ambulance. I remember at first thinking I could just have my mom drive me. But I changing my mind and wanted to ride in the ambulance. So they got me onto an ambulance bed and loaded me into the bus. I'm pretty sure they gave me pain killers and kinda knocked me out. My memory black-out starts before I actually got to the hospital. The next two weeks are not clear to me, and what I thought was happening, in my strange memories from the delirium.... not accurate. I'll go into that in another post at a later date. But it's weird crazy stuff. It is truly insane to experience brain malfunctions due to illness.
The first real memories I have are of church people coming to visit me.
I think their presence helped heal me. I'm convinced. I know there were a lot of prayers said on my behalf, and I have no doubt that they were heard and contributed to my healing.
I remember Carol and Steve Hansen, Brenda Armstrong, and Staci Schneider; a little later President and sister Bautista came to visit me as well. Those are the church people I can remember at the moment. However I know that other people came to visit me as well, including Linda Sarles, and Frank and Jake Hartranft. Others might have come as well, but in my memory right now, this is what I've come up with. If I remember others I'll edit.
Anyway.
I had a few other friends that came to visit me. Jenna Garlock, Andrew Herkert, and Alley Baer came to see me as well. and I know that their positive juju contributed to my healing as well.
Alright, that's as far as I can go for tonight. But not too bad I'd say....
I hope I didn't ramble on with irrelevant details.....
If you have any questions feel free to ask. :)
also, keep in mind that this is a really rough draft of this entry. I plan to come back to later and edit so it has a better flow. :)
thanks
thats all.
No comments:
Post a Comment