Greetings, everyone. I apologize for completely dropping off the map this week. I’ve just been feeling sick and miserable since Tuesday. It started with a horrific headache, followed by vomiting, followed by severe back pain and more vomiting. I tried to take pain medicine yesterday and brought it up, twice.
I finally called my doctor’s office this morning and told the nurse what had been going on and asked if I should come in. She said, “No, I think you should go to ER.” So I dragged myself out of bed, moaning, put on some pants and drove to the hospital.
I spent five hours there, most of it just lying on the bed whimpering in pain. Online friends were suggesting “kidney infection” or “kidney stones” but the hospital determined I had no fever, and an X-ray and a urine test revealed nothing untoward. They shrugged their shoulders, gave me shots for the pain and nausea and a prescription for Tylenol 3, and sent me away. They suggested it was “just a spasm” but that doesn’t really explain why I’ve been puking.
At the pharmacy I ran into Michael’s dad, as well as an employee who knows me and is very friendly and always said hi, and both of them said I looked terrible and they didn’t think I should be going home by myself. I went anyway. I did make sure to text David when I got back though, to let him know I’d arrived safely.
The pain medicine has not been wholly effective, although I’m no longer crying out in pain and I can sit up now without too much difficulty. I hate Tylenol 3; it tastes horrible and leaves a dreadful pharmaceutical aftertaste in your mouth. I texted Michael to ask him to pick up some pop or milk or something with taste to take home to me, because swallowing those pills with just water (my primary liquid these days) is awful.
Michael has come and gone; he came home, dropped off a bag full of pop, and left again to spend the night with his parents for something or other.
I did do that podcast interview yesterday, though — this was before my back started hurting. I felt rather sickly and miserable but didn’t want to cancel at the last second and I made sure Ed had no idea there anything wrong. I think it went rather well. It might go up on Friday or it might wait till next week.
The Charley Project Blog 