A week ago Friday, in the middle of the night, Hank woke up barely able to breathe. All of us had been having exaggerated allergy symptoms, and it was starting to sound like a tuberculosis ward in my house. I was just going to make appointments at the pediatrician's office and then take myself in to the doctor at a later date, but Hank sounded awful! He was wheezing, and it sounded like his throat was closing up. So Ro sat with him in the bathroom with the hot shower running, we gave him some cough medicine and after a couple of hours he started breathing normally again and went back to sleep.
An hour and a half later, I loaded everyone into the car and headed off to Complete Urgent Care, which is my absolute favorite place to see a doctor on short notice. If you live in NW San Antonio and want to know more about my experiences there, please let me know. I'll take the time to tell you. Anyhow, $250 later (co-pays for office visits and medication all around) we were all diagnosed with bronchitis.
No problem, I thought. Hank was on an inhaler, but mostly we all just had to take cough meds and antibiotics and relax. When I got checked out, my blood pressure and heart rate were really high. Over the weekend, they both just got worse. I felt like I was smoking crack nonstop, and if you've ever done that, while it can be fun, it can also be highly uncomfortable.
So Monday rolls around, and we head back to our favorite emergency clinic. I got 2 EKGs and my heart rate was holding steady at 137 with my blood pressure around 160/110. Seriously, I quit my job. I shouldn't be having stress or anxiety.
But I was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and sent home with Xanax (which is kind of cool, I admit. I mean, how many ER clinics do THAT?) and told to relax. I'd already scheduled a follow-up with my doctor the next day to make sure my heart was ok. Lots of heart disease in my family, and I worry about it.
The next day, my new doc (whom I LOVE! Dr. Mark Smith, if you're looking for a GP) was seriously concerned. He put me on a beta blocker and made an appointment for me to see a cardiologist. Mind you, this is Tuesday and I couldn't see the cardiologist until the following Monday (which ended up being yesterday). He told me to come back the next morning for labs and a checkup to see how the beta blocker was working.
The beta blocker brought my heart rate down but not my bp. And the next morning I almost passed out in his office because I couldn't breathe. He says that's it, go to the ER. Seriously? I have to babies with me and no help. He said if I didn't he was worried about what would happen. So I called the hubs and off we went to Methodist. Great ER. They took me in right away and put me on monitors and found out I have NOT a heart problem but pleurisy, which is an infection in my lungs. I'd only heard of it peripherally because one of my friends had it after having pneumonia.
Luckily, my parents came to the rescue. Wednesday evening, I was released from the ER and sent home to rest. By Friday, I was in so much pain I could hardly stand it. That, apparently, is common with pleurisy. And they told me to take Advil. Not working. So to distract myself, I decided to go to the store to replace all the Advil I'd taken. And to get some ice cream. Ice cream is essential when you're sick. Plus, I figured the trip would distract me.
I am so not joking here, but right around the corner from my house, I hit a Nissan Xterra. She started to move forward, and when I looked down after I started rolling (a pen rolled under my foot), she slammed on the brakes and I hit her.
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| Poor Bob. He is my car and my friend. I am not functioning well without him. |
Again, my husband races to rescue. I can't decide whether I've done him a favor getting him out of a day and a half of inservice at his school or if it's a bad reflection on him, but whatever the case, I was thankful he took care of me last week.
I was shocked when AllState told me that not only would a rental car be covered the entire time Bob was being fixed but our deductible was only $100. I had to go the weekend without a car because Enterprise was closed, but aside from that, everything has gone smoothly. Bob is already being worked on. They'll give me a time estimate Wednesday or Thursday. I get the rental, which looks like a lunchbox on wheels, for as long as it takes, and I don't have to pay an extra penny for it. Not only that, but the rental is big enough for both car seats, the double stroller and Mitchell and me.
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| I'm calling him Junior because he kind of looks like Bob's tiny child. |
Someone is looking out for me. Just hoping this week goes better than last!
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