thecoghlans: ER Tuesday

When I woke up at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday I got up to take Lexi out to go potty & started having severe chest pains. I was having problems breathing & my left arm felt very thick & heavy, when I tried to take a deep breath & calm myself, the pain was excruciating. When I went downstairs thankfully Dan was still home & I told him what was happening. I sat down on the couch & I asked him to get me my acid pills because I thought that's what it was. After a few minutes & the pain getting worse, Dan told me he was taking me to the emergency room. We got in my car & before I knew it Dan pulled up at Reston Hospital; he was driving like a crazy person just to get there (he later told me he thought I was having a heart attack - I did too). As I walked into the ER I got very dizzy and it was difficult for me to walk; the nurses took me right in to a room, hooked me up to an EKG, started an IV & told me the doctor was on his way in. They ordered a CATscan & an x-ray & gave me some pain medicine. The drugs kicked in immediately & I started feeling pretty loopy; I was so glad that the pain had stopped; I had never felt anything like that before - it was horrible. After a few minutes I was taken to get my scan & the technician was so nice. He was trying to keep me calm & be funny. He explained to me that he was going to put iodine into my IV & I was going to get very hot & the warm feeling was going to start at my throat & then work its way down to my stomach where its going to feel like I peed my pants. Wonderful. :o( Instantly this alarmed me but the technician said, "don't worry; this feeling will only last about 5 days & we can give you some adult diapers to take home & you can even have your choice between blue or pink ones." Very funny. After it was all over I said, "that was quick" & he said, "now you sound like my ex-wife." Gross. I was then taken back to my room to wait for the results. Dan stayed by my side & held my hand the entire time. The doctor came back in after my test results came back & told me that I had pleurisy which is "a condition that results from the swelling of the linings of the lungs and chest; a variety of factors can cause the pleura to become inflamed and rub against one another, rather than slide smoothly, as one breathes which is where you have inflammation around the lining of your lungs & it makes it difficult & painful to breathe; pleurisy is a common complication, the most pervasive being a viral infection of the lower respiratory system; the main symptom of pleurisy is a sharp, stabbing pain in the chest - this pain can affect the shoulders and back as well, but is often on one side of the chest only." (I think that's enough literature.) I was given 800 mg of Motrin, Percocet & was told to stay in bed the rest of the week & then he handed me a work release.
Dan & I got home around Noon & I went straight to bed while Dan called my parents & my office. I didn't wake up until 6:30 p.m. when my Mom called me. I still have pain when I sit up, walk or breathe normally & the Motrin really upsets my stomach so I'm constantly taking my acid pills. I'm really hoping that this will all go away in the next couple of days.
I'm so thankful that Dan was home that morning because he's usually already gone by the time I wake up. I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't there. Since I got home Lexi hasn't left my side. Here's a photo I took of her lying in bed with me:

My little buddy.
On Wednesday afternoon I got a delivery from Edible Arrangements from Sandra Lue & Santiago, look what they sent me:

They are so sweet & too good to me. I'm so lucky to have them as friends. Thanks guys. :o)
When I checked my email Wednesday evening, I found a link to this from my other co-worker, Cami: