The Hospital

I have been really sick for awhile now. And a little over a week ago, I seemed to hit rock bottom. It was a Saturday afternoon, and Tyler was at the library.  The whole week I had been throwing up quite a bit and I felt very weak.  I have the most trouble with liquids. It seems like I can't keep any down. I was on the couch all day, and at one point I stood up to move around. I felt so dizzy and weak.  And all of the sudden, I realized that I hadn't had any liquids, or been able to keep them down that is, in days. I was dehydrated, more so than I've ever been before. Tyler had texted me a few minutes before asking how I was doing, so I texted him back saying that I was sick and needed to go to the hospital.  I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I had been told to watch for certain signs, and I was experiencing everything that indicated I needed to go.

Tyler came home quickly, and we rushed to the ER.  They gave me an IV and medicine, which helped immensely. It was the first time I had ever received an IV and it felt strange. The liquid was cold, which made my whole right arm, where the needle was, cold as well. I kept watching the fluids go into me and I could feel the benefits. The dizziness started to diminish and my tongue was no longer dry like it had been for weeks beforehand.  They gave me medicine through shots, and I immediately felt a difference from that as well. It was like I was breathing peppermint or something that cleared my lungs and I could breathe deeper and had much more energy than before. I felt good, except that Tyler was still in the waiting room. They said they would get him in a few minutes, but I think they forgot because they never did. 

As soon as I felt good enough to talk, a nurse came and started asking for information: address, age, etc. She asked for my religion and I said LDS. "Oh, atheist?" she replied. "No! No! L-D-S, like Latter Day Saint? Mormon?" As sick and out of it was I was, I couldn't bare the thought of her writing down atheist! I am not in Utah anymore was what I was thinking as I explained to her that the real name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and that Mormon was just a nickname because we read the Book of Mormon. "Oh, that's cool. I never knew that." I relaxed when she wrote it down correctly and she continued to ask other information. 

They did a series of other tests, and I had to just lay there and wait for a few hours for the results. But the results were exactly what I was hoping for: that no, I hadn't miscarried and the baby had a healthy heart rate.  I felt relieved. The doctor and nurse were, however, very firm in telling me that I must get enough liquids so that they baby can stay supported with fluids.  I knew this; it is what I had been told weeks before. A baby must have enough water surrounding it in the amniotic sac to survive, and I wasn't getting enough water. 

But I am trying!  I spend my whole day thinking about liquids, trying to get more down, and keep it down.  I told Tyler I feel like my sole purpose in life is to drink water. He looked at me like I was crazy, but that is honestly my biggest challenge in life right now. I HAVE to drink water. I HAVE to keep it down. I HAVE TO.

By the way, Tyler and I are thrilled to be parents. I am in my tenth week, which isn't very far along. And I know, normally it's too early to tell the news. But I've had to tell almost everyone so they understand why I have had to go to the hospital, stop working, stop going to church, keep cancelling visiting teaching, why Tyler does all the shopping and cooking around here, and why I sometimes can barely walk from one room to another. You just can't claim to have a debilitating stomach flu for 4 weeks straight! I am doing better though. I am now getting a lot more liquids in me and am very hopeful that I will get all the way better soon.