And then I called 911

I really enjoyed my Friday.  I ran a few errands, gathered my swim things into my swim bag, and headed for the Y.  I had a week of water walking and would take the first water aerobics class.  I enjoyed the first half hour of the class, then decided to stop while I could still walk and breath.  It was still my first time in this class, since last spring.  I showered, and my friend Belinda invited me to the Diner for lunch.

Her sister, Belinda, and I had lunch together, and then I ordered some chicken salad for take-out.

"You won't believe how delicious this chicken salad is.  There are dried cranberries, nuts, grapes in it.  Oh, the grapes are not just sliced, but cut into little pieces.  It is SO good!  You will love it!"

I was so tempted to try a spoonful on the way back to the Y, but there was no spork in the bag.

Back at the Y I ask the desk lady,  "Where is 'book club' meeting?"

She points to the hall on the right, "Conference Room".

Moving my slow, usual self, I head toward the room with a lot of name tents, a sign in sheet, and a small plate of brownies on the table.  At each place there are several papers.  I am welcomed and asked to sign in.

"Have you read the book?"
"I'm here for the first time, and want to see what it's like.  No, I haven't."

First, the members take a page of thought provoking spiritual reading about a young man getting ready to blast a barn with a shotgun to shoot a toad or a wasp(or something), and then there was a bible passage listed.
"I didn't bring my bible," confessed the leader.

We moved on.

I was losing focus.

The book read was "Plainsong."

"I really disliked the use of bad language in the beginning of the book."

A discussion ensued.

"I can't believe there were no quotation marks in the entire book!  It really bothered me!"

A really long discussion about quotation marks, and how hard it is to read without them followed.

I think I may have nodded off once or twice.

Conversation turned to discuss how much you learn about farming from this book.
Questions from a paper led the discussions.  Reading from the book answered some of the discussion questions.

Everyone participated, reminding me of school.  I don't think I had issues with sleep apnea while I was in school.  It is harder to stay focused while struggling with sleep issues.

The book for November is "The Christmas Train".  I will see if that book interests me before I decide to join the group again.

I drove to Jack's Aquarium and bought a batch of seaweed for my guppies.  I headed home, and saw my neighbor walk toward me.  She had locked herself out of the house, and I let her use the phone to get a key brought over.

I put a  load of laundry into the dryer, one into the washer.  Then I headed into the house.  I let Chester out, and planned to test the chicken salad.  I had had only a salad wedge with blue cheese dressing for lunch, and was eager to try the salad.
I was really sore from the water aerobics class, so I took a pain pill.
I warmed up a tortilla,  filled it with two scoops of the chicken salad, and sat down in the living room, and ate it.  It was delicious.



Within a few minutes I started to feel weird, my hands tingled, got red, and my hands and feet started to itch badly.  My breathing became harder, my eyes watered, my stomach ached, and I started to feel queasy to my stomach.  I made sure the front door was open, and tried to decide whom to call.  If I call either Cass or Thom, they could not be there in 15 or 20 minutes.  I was worried I was having an allergic reaction to something.  I might need to get to the ER quickly.  I have seen a LOT of doctor shows.

I was sitting, phone in hand, feeling worse by the second, not knowing what to do.  If only I knew what was causing the pain, the itching and the swelling I would not be so worried.

The thoughts going through my mind, was that if I call either Cass or Thom, by the time they get here, they might find me unable to move, or take to the hospital.  Better let the people take me in an ambulance.

So, then I called 911...I could hardly speak.  It was hard to breath, and I sweat so much I was shivering from being chilled.

The emergency responders arrived and did something.  I do not remember, except I could not straighten up, my stomach hurt so much.

"It's a 10," I said when asked how the pain level felt.

The ride to Mercy Fairfield was painful, because apparently they build ambulances without shocks or springs.  They must believe you are in such pain or nearly dying, you could care less about being comfortable or getting a few more injuries.  The young man with me in the crash box, a Mr. Flick, was asking me questions in a quiet, deadpan fashion.  I was in horrid pain, explaining it was like having a baby.

"I have seen those shows where they have a baby and do not know they are pregnant!"

"This is as painful!  But I really can't be pregnant...I have not had sex in ten years!"

Mr.  Flick just keep asking questions.  "Social.  Do you have your appendix?  Gall bladder?  have you had kidney stones?"

At the hospital it takes three nurses to find the veins.  I get an IV for fluids, and they take some blood.  They do a bunch of tests, but I feel better fast.  I get to the hospital around 4pm, and by about 6 I am feeling a lot better!

Thom arrives around seven pm, and we finally get sent home about eight.  I get a baked potato at Arby's for supper, and I am so glad to be home again!!!!!


All the tests from the hospital showed nothing, and I have no clue what went so terribly wrong in such a short time.

I did buy another box of Benedryl, to keep  on hand.


And a message for whoever has plans to send me to the hospital, YOU failed!  You'll just have to do better than that.  I watch a lot of MONK, and I will find out what's going on, eventually.