Nurse Jessica to the rescue

I've always prided myself on being fairly calm in emergency medical situations. I don't get queasy at the site of blood or vomit and I generally keep from crying or panicking if it doesn't involve a niece or nephew. My roommate, R, had surgery on her leg about a week and a half ago. She has been on crutches since. On Friday I took her to the doctor's office to have her stitches removed. The doctor said that she could walk if she was careful and could really shower. (I helped her take a shower once while sitting on a chair with her leg out of door. It was quite the process.) On Saturday I took her to the library and the grocery store. It tired her a little but her leg felt good. This morning we went to church. After Sacrament Meeting R was tired so I took her home. While walking into the kitchen, she felt something wet on her leg. Looking down, we saw blood dripping quickly down her leg. Her long incision had clearly opened. She was understandably alarmed and began to cry due to pain and fear. I ran to grab a towel, her purse, and quickly got her into my car. Off to the emergency room we went at a safe speed. All the while I told her that it would be ok and that there was nothing to fear. She was checked into a room (I asked if she could fill out the paperwork in a room so she wouldn't drip blood on the floor. They agreed.) The nurses cleaned her up and the doctor numbed her incision area, put seven stitches in, and gave her an Rx for an antibiotic. While they were working on her leg I did my best to clean the blood off her shoes while telling amusing stories about my own visits to the ER (fainting, getting a Q-Tip stuck in my ear, having a concussion, etc.) I called a friend and asked her to stop by our house and pick up R's crutches. We were then off to Wal-Mart to fill the Rx. By the time we got home three and half hours had passed. All in all it was an interesting Sunday afternoon.
As to my own life (since it's been a while since I've posted anything) I have had a cold that has lasted over a week. I am getting better but my weak immune system still hasn't recovered. Since I haven't been feeling well I haven't been very social during the past week. I missed church last week along with FHE, temple night, Sarah's dinner invitation, and my regular weekly dinner with a group of friends. This week will be a busy one at work but we will probably accomplish quite a bit. I am generally happy with my situation in life. I wish all of you a good night (or day depending on when you read this.)

911 fun (it's a long story)

Tuesday was a stressful day at work. Since I took Friday off, I was playing catch-up after staying late on Monday night. After 5pm I went upstairs to talk to Emily, and discuss a new wrinkle in the sales department. After I came downstairs, I sent an e-mail and printed off a piece of paper. After going over to the printer, the next thing I remember is laying on a stretcher in an ambulance. For an explanation of what happened, I actually had to talk to Ben, the Facilities Manager. Here was his basic explanation:

Ben was looking for me because he wanted me to send an e-mail. He passed by the HR area but didn't see me. Then a sales manager, Patrick, came in with some paperwork and found me on the floor. Apparently I was sitting upright but immersed in a cold sweat and complaining of chest pain. I then fainted. They stretched me out so I was laying flat. Ben called 911 and members of IT came out to help. Because Ben's phone wouldn't get reception inside the HR area, he went out by the door. More than one person formed a line from me to Ben so that he could relay information to the 911 operator. Someone said that I wasn't breathing although I don't know if that's true. I was told that I then gasped for air and when wheezed. By the time the EMT guys came, I had regained conciousness although I don't remember that. I apparently told them to call my roommate and cousin, Sarah. I also apprently told someone to lock the HR area and make sure the door was closed. I don't really remember any of that.

When I came back to the world, I started making conversation with the EMT guys while they drew blood and hooked up an IV. My chest really, really hurt and I couldn't feel my legs, feet, arms, hands, and my face. As a precaution, they gave me Asprin, which tasted like rancid Tang. They took me to the hospital in Provo. They eventually took me in a room that was decorated in a Finding Nemo theme. They ran some tests including a EKG and an X-Ray. Sarah and Aunt Diane met me at the hospital. They had called my parents, who I then talked to over the phone. After about an hour and a half, I finally regained feeling in my legs, but not my feet. I also could feel my hands unless I raised them at all. At that point, they would loose feeling again. They cleared my chest, which felt much better after two hours. Eventually they released me, with the words that I should probably start doing yoga or meditation. Apparently stress, exhaustion, and a panic attack is enough to lay me out for the night. My parents eventually took me home, after a quick meal. I went to bed after talking to Sarah for a few minutes. I woke once, at about 3am. That's when I realized that I had fallen asleep with my light on. I slept until about 2:30pm, when I woke up I had some food, took a shower, and then decided to run some errands. I went to the bank and post office, then to work to make sure it hadn't blown up without me. Everyone was pretty worried about me (it's nice to know that I'm loved) and I only stayed a little while. Since then, Sarah and I have been watching episodes of Bones. We also watched the season debut of Private Practice.

Anyway, I'm feeling better although I am still a little tired. As a side note, Prosper sent me some great flowers (see picture above.) Also, I received my acceptance letter to Utah Valley University.

Concussion (yep, more brain damage)

Concussion: from the Latin concussus ("to shake violently") is the most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury.


On Thursday morning I hit my head. I was leaning into my car and thought I heard Happy say my name. I stood up fast, but had not actually come out from the car. I hit the back of my head on the door frame and saw stars. I then went to work, where a headache developed. I soon developed a sensitivity to light and my pupils became different sizes. They have been different sizes in the past but they were very noticeably different on Thursday afternoon. I left work early and drove to Salt Lake to babysit Lauren. I loved it, although every squeal killed me and I was really wishing that Jen and John's house was full of dimmer lights. Driving home was painful because of the headlights coming towards me and driving behind me. The whole time I was popping Aleve and Tylenol. I went to sleep on Thursday night, and woke up groggy and with a horrible headache on Friday morning. During the day on Friday I was nauseous, light sensitive, had a slight ringing in my ears, had a horrible headache, and actually fell into a wall. I also was the butt of a few jokes by a co-worker, since I kept forgetting words. I described my computer as the "box with that typy thing." Luckily, my pupils were returning to normal (or at least my version of normal.) After much cajoling from my co-workers, I decided to visit the Instacare down the street. When I talked to the front desk guy, he almost yelled at me. He could not understand why I had not had a CAT scan or a CT within hours of hitting my head. He told me to go to the ER to get checked out.
I called Sarah to let her know what was going on and by 6:30pm I was sitting in the waiting room of the ER, trying to not look at lights or listen to the whiny woman next to me. (Apparently, she thought waiting for more than 15 minutes was the end of the world.) I got checked in and layed down on the bed with the lights off while I waited for the nurse. When I explained what had happened, the nurse asked me why I hadn't come in sooner. I gave him the excuse that I was too busy and received a mini lecture about caring for myself.
The doctor looked in my eyes for a while, had me follow his fingers, and asked me some interesting questions. He diagnosed me with a concussion, but decided not to do a CAT scan or CT since I had already slept on it for a night and managed to awaken safe and sound. Also, my head hurt less and my balance had improved. He told me to take it easy for the next few days (I guess I should only work 8 hours on Monday.) If I don't improve over the next week, I am supposed to go back or see my family doctor. On my way home, I checked out a few videos and have not had too much fun this weekend. My headache has lessened, my balance has almost come back, and am less light sensitive. My memory is still a little off, but continues to improve. According to the doctor, I now have to be more diligent about hitting my head. I am now more susceptible to having problems with head injuries. The one good thing is that I get to make brain damage jokes and I will be getting off early from work tomorrow. My biggest problem now is insurance. On the back of my insurance card it says to contact the insurance company within 48 hours of being in the ER. I called every number on the card, and the insurance broker, but no one answered. I will call first thing in the morning tomorrow.