Hospitals are ~Fun~!

As I may have mentioned, my kids have been sick, the little one being really bad on Thursday. So when I came down with a fever this weekend, I was being a little extra cautious. Here's how the events worked out ...

~ 10:45am - Called nurse to let her know of fever (101.3) which was staying in the 99's with tylenol. She told me to go to urgent care due to having no appointments available.

~ 11:15am - In waiting room at urgent care.

~ 12:30pm - Gone through all steps and have been seen by doctor. Lungs sound fine, but she's worrying about my belly, as when she pushes on the sides, very low under uterus, I wince in pain. She is now worried it's diverticulitis (yeah, had to look that one up) or even appendicitis. I told her is just felt like I was sore from coughing, as it hurts when I cough and only started with the heavy dry cough. But she says she's transferring me to the hospital. What?

~ 12:45pm - Paperwork given and I was asked to sign a "refusal for ambulance" (heh.) and had to sign another waiver that if I didn't go to hospital on my own, it was that whole leaving against Dr's advice thing and my insurance may not pay. (believe me, my insurance would have rather me go home!)

~ 1:15pm - All signed in at ER and in triage. "Did you get cleared by L&D?" "Nope, I just got here, no one told me to go there." I get transferred to a very very quiet L&D.

~ 1:30pm - All hooked up to the monitors. Baby's HR is great but low and behold - I'm contracting very slightly (BHC) every 3-7 minutes. They call my OB and I'm cleared if I'm given IV fluid in ER (which is where I'm still trying to get to). So down to ER I go. The ER is now PACKED with people. Crap. Crap. Crap.

~ 1:45pm - Back in triage after a teeny wait. Vitals taken, I keep apologizing for being there. They laugh and say that 75% of the people in the waiting room don't need an ER visit. It didn't make me feel any better. Good news is my time at Urgent Care and L&D "counts" as time spent, so I'm next for a bed!

~ 2:15pm - I'm in a bed and I've peed in a cup. Which just sits there. It's a busy day as I hear ambulance after ambulance come in (probably from all the urgent cares. <--- sarcasm.)

~ 3:00pm - The NP is working all of the non-bad (i can't think of the word) cases and she thinks urgent care is stupid. She agrees I need IV fluids, but I don't have that colon thingy nor appendicitis (duh). Nurse comes in, can't get IV (I have terrible veins plus being dehydrated didn't help) and I got an IV in my inner wrist. Good lord. I've had IVs in my feet before due to no veins, but the inner wrist? Ouch. And pushing 2000ccs of fluid through that? Yeah. I had to keep my wrist extended, as if I relaxed the IV would stop. And I found doing "the fonzie" made it drip faster.

~ 4:00pm - The NP comes back in and tells me my urine is clear of UTI but "heavy with ketones" (no idea what that means). But my white blood cells count is "really high" and she is worried that it's too high for a simple viral infection. Now they want xrays.

~ 5:00pm - Xray is done (I asked them to take an xray of my belly but they said no. I mean, how cool would that of been?!! Yeah, yeah, radiation, fetus, I know.) and chest is clear. First IV bag finally finishes. The second is hung.

~ 7:00pm - The second bag finishes! Yay! I'm free of IV!

~ 7:45pm - I'm finally discharged with a diagnosis of "you are sick." Funny.

So that was my day yesterday. I bet you wish you were me, eh? (more sarcasm.)