A Picture Says It All...

The dragon did not manage to stay healthy after all. I started feeling rotten late Saturday night and by 4 am Sunday, I took a cab to the hospital. Nick was too groggy from his Tylenol 3s to drive anyway, so I snuck out of the house by cab.

It turned out to be quite possibly one of my worst experiences with the health care system in Moncton. I arrived at the Emergency department around 4:15 am with only one other person in the waiting room. I checked in and had to rush to the washroom to hurl before they could get the bracelet on my arm. I saw the triage nurse a few minutes later and explained that I needed the shot of Maxeran to shut down the nerve that controls vomiting. Mine has been so badly damaged from gallbladder attacks during my 1st pregnancy and 8 month of morning sickness with my 2nd that once I am sick more than once, my body just keeps hurling... whether there is anything to hurl or not.

For whatever reason... I sat out in the general waiting area hurling for 3.5 hours until the shift changed at 7:30 am and I stumbled over to the new triage nurse to explain that I was going to faint soon. Perhaps the prospect of a weaving 6’5” female towering over her was enough to tip the balance because within 5 minutes three names were finally called and mine was among them. After donning the obligatorily humiliating johnny shirt, I curled up on the stretcher and hoobed in private until the doctor saw me.

Because I had been sick so many times, the first shot of Maxeran didn’t do the trick this time. After 45 minutes, I was still having dry heaves so they decided to try an IV and a further dose. Unfortunately, by this time I was so dehydrated that the nurse had to make several attempts to find a vein... this dragon really does NOT like being a pincushion!!

Just before noon on Sunday, I was able to grab a cab home and collapse into bed for a sleep until everyone else got home from church. The girls immediately went into Florence Nightingale mode and brought me crackers or ginger ale (with the bubbles stirred out) to see what I could keep down. This morning, I am dizzy and weak, but at least able to get up and move about a bit. So I did what any stitcher would in recovery mode. I sat in bed and stitched!

The girls keep asking me what is for supper tonight. I think that it will be a “must go” meal of leftovers so that I can just have some dry toast and not stand over the stove cooking anything just yet!