ER Trips Make Good Stories

Hello once again! Now, before we start this post, I will say that this will most likely be my last post before Christmas.  I'm heading home to Kansas in about a week and will be saving all the juicy stories for a post-vacation edition of the blog. 

Nothing much has been happening since last I wrote and I wasn't sure if there would be another blog between Thanksgiving and Christmas, since the year was winding down and it would just be school and work.  But, of course, there are always those nice little surprises that pop up.  Last Friday, I wound up in the emergency room.

"But why?" you may ask. Although I hadn't been writing about it in my blog, I'd been feeling pretty ill for about the previous two weeks.  I'd been experiencing constant nausea and just feeling downright rotten.  When the family was out here, they told me to call a doctor and get in to have this weirdness checked out.  So, I did.  The Wednesday after Thanksgiving, I went in to see the doctor.  She didn't have an outright explanation for what was going on, so they took several blood samples and I would come back in two weeks to receive the results.  Until then, the doctor prescribed me an anti-nausea medication to take to help with things.  I got the medicine and took it and it seemed to work.  Yay, right? No.

That Friday, I had just put up my Christmas decorations and was watching a movie, when my lower jaw began to move all on its own.  It was a little weird, but I wasn't terribly concerned.  But then, it began to pull to one side REALLY hard.  It felt as if it was trying to pull itself out of the joint socket.  It was incredibly painful.  So, being a good, independent adult, I called my dad to see what I should do.  I could barely open my mouth to speak but I told him what was going on, and he said to go to an emergency room.  Of course, I had no idea where the nearest hospital is so dad looked it up and sent me to the University Medical and Dental Center of New Jersey emergency room.  As I drove there, my jaw centered itself, but then proceeded to lock up completely.  Not good.  I pulled in to the parking lot and went in. 

The place was packed with people and very noisy.  I made my way to the initial reception desk, where I received a bracelet and a number and was told to wait.  About two minutes later, they called my number to triage where I told the burly nurse my symptoms and he took my blood pressure and told me to wait again.  After five minutes, my number is called to reception, where I had to speak through clenched teeth and thick bullet-proof plexi to a nurse who was a bit apprehensive about taking my insurance.  After that, I was told to wait AGAIN and then I would see a doctor.  So I sat down and waited.  After a while, it seemed that it would almost be my turn to go in, when the doors opened and in came two gunshot wound victims.  I guess the deal is that when gunshots come in, no one else goes back to see doctors for a while.  Great.  So I waited and waited and waited for another two hours.  By now, it seemed that anyone who was related to, knew, or had bumped into one of the gunshot guys had poured into the ER waiting room so it was crowded and noisy.  Around 11:45, I called my dad again and asked if it was worth it to stay.  By now, my jaw had been locked for about three hours and my neck muscles were starting to clench up too.  Needless to say, I would have much rather been in pain and at home than in a crowded ER.  He told me to go ask a nurse how much longer I would have to wait, and then judge whether or not to stay.  I wandered back over to the triage booth and just at that moment, a nurse came out and saw my number and said I was next to go in! So she led me back into a quiet area, showed me a bed and drew the curtain.  After a few minutes the doctor came in and began asking all the standard questions.  When the 'What medications are you taking' question came up, I said the garbled name of the anti-nausea mediation, to which the doctor replied 'That's what's making your jaw lock.' She told me I should probably not take it anymore, which was a downer for me since the stuff had been working.  She then gave me a HUGE shot of benadryl and sent me straight home because I had driven myself and the shot would make me fall asleep.  And that's just what I did.

So after that, I'm patiently waiting to see the normal doctor this Wednesday and hopefully she can tell me what the heck has been going on with me and that it will be an easy fix.  I haven't been eating much due to the way I feel and I'd like to be able to eat a nice, proper meal again :)

Well, that was my fun little tale.  Don't worry, I'm fine and I'm not dying or anything.  On that note, have a wonderful and happy holidays!  Maybe I'll get to see some of you when I'm home!

XOXO,
K