gahhh
I have pneumonia. I was sick all last week and over the weekend, but I had to keep go-go-going at work and to put up another houseguest since he got in at 1 AM Thursday night. Entertaining a guest has entailed going out for dinner, going to Vieques on Saturday, then bio bay (I am a horrible navigator, just like last time, and must never navigate again), then the art museum on Sunday and then out to dinner and then live music. Nonstop activity.
I thought I was doing better on cough medicine, but the back pain and shortness of breath kicked in on Sunday and yesterday the shortness got shorter and scary chest pain too. I went home midday after nearly blacking out at my desk and Quinn bullied me by text message into going to the hospital last night once my fever hit 102.7 and she made me afraid I would go to sleep and stop breathing.
Meghan took me and I start to cry when I think how great she was. Best friend ever. I would have been totally lost without her, since she is fluent in Spanish and the triage nurse spoke no English and got offended when we asked. She was rather unpleasant, but apparently "chest pain + shortness of breath" is good for....... a 3-hour wait in the yellow triage area. Between midnight and 4 AM I saw a nice, English-fluent doctor, got diagnosed, had 2 sets of xrays taken, was put on an IV antibiotic drip, and was told I had hypoxia and needed to stay overnight.
Meghan harangued people to make sure I got seen (eventually), translated for me, and went home at 3 AM to bring me back a warm blanket and pillow, sweatpants, a sweater, and snacks. (Of course it's 60 degrees in the ER! Why do I never learn?) She picked me up around 1 this afternoon after I finished my IV antibiotics and passed a MRSA test. She got me orange juice and cereal and milk and her 30 Rock DVDs. And she said she felt really bad leaving me for the night. After spending until 4 AM keeping watch over me in the freezing hospital!
My health insurance is awesome. A night in the ER, IV antibiotics, and 4 xrays = $25. Wow. I got a prescription for the IV med in tablet form, and the 10-day course of that costs about three times what my ER visit cost. Still, all told, a downright steal in the United States.
I am on orders to stay home the rest of the week. Boss and his assistant phoned me while I was waiting to pick up my prescription (I'd left voicemail early this morning of the "I am in the hospital and will not be in today" variety) and were very concerned and said to get some rest and do you need a GP recommendation? Love them.
I wish my houseguest were gone already. He took my car yesterday and today to explore other parts of the island, but he will be back this evening and he doesn't leave til midafternoon tomorrow and I just want to be alone and not have to deal with having him in my space anymore since it's not like he's going to do anything this evening after he gets back and goes out to dinner. So it'll be awkward. He isn't one of my better friends (in fact it's always been one of those things where he always contacts me to hang out, I never contact him) and I am not really affirmatively enjoying having him around. I am a horrible hostess and friend, but GAH PLEASE LEAVE. I had heard the saying that guests, like fish, get stale after 3 days, but it says something that Quinn was here a month and I missed her when she left and I wish this one's 6-day trip were 3.
So there you have it. Meghan is an awesome friend, I am not, and I survived a Puerto Rico ER experience. And pneumonia.
I thought I was doing better on cough medicine, but the back pain and shortness of breath kicked in on Sunday and yesterday the shortness got shorter and scary chest pain too. I went home midday after nearly blacking out at my desk and Quinn bullied me by text message into going to the hospital last night once my fever hit 102.7 and she made me afraid I would go to sleep and stop breathing.
Meghan took me and I start to cry when I think how great she was. Best friend ever. I would have been totally lost without her, since she is fluent in Spanish and the triage nurse spoke no English and got offended when we asked. She was rather unpleasant, but apparently "chest pain + shortness of breath" is good for....... a 3-hour wait in the yellow triage area. Between midnight and 4 AM I saw a nice, English-fluent doctor, got diagnosed, had 2 sets of xrays taken, was put on an IV antibiotic drip, and was told I had hypoxia and needed to stay overnight.
Meghan harangued people to make sure I got seen (eventually), translated for me, and went home at 3 AM to bring me back a warm blanket and pillow, sweatpants, a sweater, and snacks. (Of course it's 60 degrees in the ER! Why do I never learn?) She picked me up around 1 this afternoon after I finished my IV antibiotics and passed a MRSA test. She got me orange juice and cereal and milk and her 30 Rock DVDs. And she said she felt really bad leaving me for the night. After spending until 4 AM keeping watch over me in the freezing hospital!
My health insurance is awesome. A night in the ER, IV antibiotics, and 4 xrays = $25. Wow. I got a prescription for the IV med in tablet form, and the 10-day course of that costs about three times what my ER visit cost. Still, all told, a downright steal in the United States.
I am on orders to stay home the rest of the week. Boss and his assistant phoned me while I was waiting to pick up my prescription (I'd left voicemail early this morning of the "I am in the hospital and will not be in today" variety) and were very concerned and said to get some rest and do you need a GP recommendation? Love them.
I wish my houseguest were gone already. He took my car yesterday and today to explore other parts of the island, but he will be back this evening and he doesn't leave til midafternoon tomorrow and I just want to be alone and not have to deal with having him in my space anymore since it's not like he's going to do anything this evening after he gets back and goes out to dinner. So it'll be awkward. He isn't one of my better friends (in fact it's always been one of those things where he always contacts me to hang out, I never contact him) and I am not really affirmatively enjoying having him around. I am a horrible hostess and friend, but GAH PLEASE LEAVE. I had heard the saying that guests, like fish, get stale after 3 days, but it says something that Quinn was here a month and I missed her when she left and I wish this one's 6-day trip were 3.
So there you have it. Meghan is an awesome friend, I am not, and I survived a Puerto Rico ER experience. And pneumonia.