This is not what I expected to come back from vacation to have to post, but... here you have it. I'll be back to normal posting soon, I hope.
This afternoon I was coming inside through the laundry room. I remember turning to pull the door shut behind me (it doesn't latch properly) and then all of a sudden I couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, I remember hitting my head (which strangely felt like water being splashed on my temple), a crash of sorts as my hearing cycled in and out, and then everything went completely out for a few moments. When I came to, I vividly remember my arm still twitching, and I was mildly aggravated because I couldn't get it to stop. (Marv later told me that my entire upper body was twitching, and he's fairly sure the only reason my lower body wasn't twitching was because my legs were pinned between my torso - which was braced against the dryer - and the wall of the laundry room, as it's merely a hallway and there's only about a foot or so of space.)
Marv was leaning over me, asking me if I could hear him. Which I could, I just couldn't get my mind and mouth to function properly and I still couldn't see clearly. After the second or third time that he asked, I was finally able to respond. I still didn't know I wasn't standing anymore. I thought for sure that I was still on my feet, even as Marv was standing and I clearly was not. He asked me again, "Lin, are you with me?" And I finally came out of it enough to respond that yes, I was, but what the hell had happened?
It was then that I realized my pants were covered in soda and that I'd dropped the Pepsi I'd had, causing a large mess. I didn't even realize until I saw it that I was covered in soda. Marv asked me what day it was. I thought about it and couldn't figure it out so I ventured a guess. I said it was Tuesday. Obviously, it wasn't. He pulled me up and after a struggle to maintain weight on my feet, we made it to the living room. I was frigid cold. I bundled up on the couch for awhile, with Marv keeping me awake for a bit to make sure I was alright.
I fell asleep for a little, but when I still felt crappy and loopy and out of it upon waking, we decided to go to the ER. Especially after having consulted with my balance therapist, who also recommended it. It took approximately an hour or so before I was even taken back to a room and a grand total of three hours before I was seen, one full hour of which no one even bothered to look in on me. Now, listen, I know to expect waits in the ER, but to not even check on someone who's had a traumatic injury to the head? (I don't think I mentioned it before - when I hit my head? I took the light switch to the temple.)
Regardless, I was eventually seen and the doctor immediately said, "Yeah, that sounds like a seizure." Marv is well versed in seizures, as Joan suffered from them, and the two of them proceeded into a rapid-fire discussion revolving around symptoms and what happened, side effects, so on and so forth. Then came the testing.
After a CT scan of my head, full blood workup, and whatever testing they do on urine, we thought for sure we'd be on some sort of path. Unfortunately, there was a shift change and a different doctor came in.
So... because the CT scan and blood work came in clear and I'm not pregnant? I was demoted to a simple fainting episode and told to ensure I was drinking Gatorade because perhaps all the water I've been drinking is diluting my electrolytes. Never mind being treated like a moron because it was "just a fainting episode." The doctor told me that, "given my condition" (history with dizzy spells and currently being in balance therapy) this is something that I "may just have to expect" because it could've just been a "larger balance issue."
Six hours in the ER to essentially be told I'm being a baby. Because of what the first doctor said, and because he's the one who was following me since someone handed him my exam room clipboard when they took me back, I'm going to be scheduling an appointment with my Primary Care Provider, just to be sure.
Thank you to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers and well-wishes. I love you all and this is one of many reasons why. <3
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