Note: The following is probably the longest post I have ever written (and I've written some doozies), and it doesn't even have pictures. Just giving you fair warning.
Last night, just past midnight, my roommate and my boyfriend took me to the E.R. I wasn't unconscious, or bleeding, or shot. Gosh dangit, I didn't even have a stomach problem (they did, however, ask me to rate my pain and I said between a 7 and an 8 and I immediately thought of Mr. Regan here). What I thought I had was meningitis.
Well, I had the first three symptoms. I had a high fever that started suddenly (literally, one moment I was fine and about five seconds later I was shivering uncontrollably), I most definitely had a very painful and very stiff neck, especially when I tried to touch my chin to my chest, and whenever I changed positions my headache flared with a vengeance, but I hadn't vomited, I felt like I was pretty aware, and I hadn't had a seizure (and sure as heck didn't want to have one), but I was willing to wait it out.
Because here's the thing. I have been to the hospital for myself exactly twice. Once when I was two and I fell off the top of a 15-foot slide, and in that case I was two. And it was quite a fall. The other time was when I was in 6th grade and I fell of my bike without a helmet on and I got a concussion. In this case I was definitely out of it (example: I was playing GoFish with my siblings (my mom told them to keep me awake) and I held my cards face out, not realizing anything was wrong), and even then my mom finished my paper route before we went. We are very responsible, us Blackhursts. I can't remember any other time I've been to the hospital for myself, but anyone else is free to remind me. The point is that I do not go to the hospital. Ever.
So why did I go?
I went because the speed of the onset of the fever kind of freaked me out. I had had a sore neck the neck day before, but it hadn't been too bad, and when I woke up that morning it was much worse (as was my headache), but I took two ibuprofen and was fine all day, well, until about 9pm when my neck suddenly stiffened up while Jeff and I were walking around the Museum of Art at a gallery opening (we had even been swing dancing right before that and I had been fine). And then at 10pm when the fever struck without warning.
So finally, after talking to my brother (a doctor), and a few other people and taking my temperature about 50 times (okay, not really, more like 10 times) over the course of about 45 minutes and watching it climb, I called my Dad, let him know that I was going to the hospital (and asked him which hospital I should go to), and off we went.
There was an odd moment when we wondered if we should go to the E.R. or the front entrance, but we decided on the E.R. They checked me in, got my vitals really quick, I told them that my pain was about an 8, and then they showed me to a room and said to each other,
"Eight. "
"Yeah, I was thinking eight too."
I don't know exactly what this encounter was about, but it made me smile.
Anyway, I got changed into a gown, a few minutes later a doctor and two nurses came in, they asked me some questions and then he (the doctor) said,
"Well, I'm a pessimist," (perfect) "and although we're not sure exactly what it is yet, from everything that you've told us it looks like you have meningitis."
Thanks, that's why I came in here.
"We can't be sure yet, so we're going to need to take a sample. Now, we can take blood from anywhere in your body, well, except your head because there's no opening there, but the problem is that what we need is not blood. We need to get to the fluid that surrounds your brain, so you can see our problem. Fortunately, the fluid that surrounds your brain also runs down your spine, but we don't want to poke a needle into your bone, so we're going to poke it at the base of your spine, where there's some of that fluid just sitting there."
Mmm goody. A spinal tap.
So he and the nurses went to work, sterilizing my back, numbing me up, and getting ready to poke me with a needle. Well, actually they poked me with a couple of needles. He numbed me twice, and then when he got ready to poke me with the big needle, he said,
"Now Sarah, I'm going into a space where there are nerves."
Thanks for the heads-up.
"I have a really good idea of where the needle needs to go, and I won't actually puncture any nerves, but it may brush up against it, which may cause some pain."
At least he didn't say that I might feel some "pressure" (look at about minute 3:15)
"If you feel any pain in your legs, let me know immediately, don't try to be brave and get through it on your own."
You got it, boss.
So he started the needle in and after about 1/2 second it felt like my entire left leg had gone numb. The kind of numb when you hit your funny bone, and it hurts. So I said tersely, "ow! leg!" and he immediately backed off, asked me which leg and went in again. I thought for sure he would have it, but after about a second, once again, my entire leg felt simultaneously tingly and on fire. "ow! leg!" and then immediately after "ow! leg!" again. He asked me if it was my right leg. Nope. Still my left. I think you're going to far to one side, doc. Try again.
Anyway, he got my spinal fluid out and as he was doing it he said that if I had bacterial meningitis that the fluid would look yellowy and puss-y.
Delicious.
But mine looked clear like water.
Oh good. What am I doing here again? Oh yeah, because it might be viral meningitis, which wouldn't show up as a color in the fluid.
After they were done, a nurse took a blood sample and then they gave me antibiotics because until they knew that it wasn't meningitis, they were going to treat me like I did have it. And then they left.
And we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I'm pretty sure they said it was going to be about a half hour, but it was an hour before they came back and said.... (drumroll)..........."You don't have meningitis."
What I have was just a regular old virus of some kind. How anti-climactic. Well, at this point I'm glad that I don't have meningitis, but I'm also disappointed that I went to the E.R. when I didn't really need to, especially when I made Saundra and Jeff stay up til 3am just so they could hear that I was not, in fact, that sick. And all that I have to show for it is a little band-aid on my back and a tiny hole in my arm where they took the blood sample.
However, I am glad I went because I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't. For all I know, the fever might have gotten worse and might have caused a seizure. I don't know). I'm just glad that I'm better now.
