My Wild Adventure Under The ER Microscope

Once upon a time, there was DANGER...a danger so bleak and fearsome that some people were too afraid to go outside. That was the craziest Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday ever. Okay, now that I'm out of the hospital and more coherent, I am able to write about my crazy week.

As of last week I totally assumed that I wasn't pregnant because I took an at-home pregnancy test that can be taken 5 days earlier than my missed period ~ and trusted the results. What made me trust the results more was that I started having period symptoms ~ steady cramping, lower back pain, dizziness, crabbiness, emotional instability (aka weepy over anything)...

The day after the pregnancy test, I started having sharp cramps as if some invisible power was stabbing sharp, metal barbecue sticks in my abdomen. These abnormal, non-rhythmic bursts of pain that does not mimic regular menstruation symptoms happened throughout the next two days. Then I started spotting ~ a regular symptom of the onset of menstruation.

By the weekend I felt overwhelmingly exhausted and had to take naps. I thought my fatigue was from breaking my circadian sleep rhythm, and assumed my body was telling me to catch up. I am reminded by the wise sage Oogoo, that once sleep is lost, it can never be found again. I take this wisdom with solace, and a hint of shame.

On August 11 - exactly 32 days from the start of my previous menstrual cycle - I found out that I was four-weeks pregnant. My typical cycles have run from between 26 to 35 days.

That Tuesday night, things in my body went awry. I couldn't sleep. I got shivers and chills. My temperature rose to 99.1. Symptoms got worse the following morning. I couldn't move. I was so sore and achy all over. Migraines pounded in my head like a sledgehammer pounding railroad spikes. My lower abdominal region and lower back had a steady, dull pain. My fever increased like the heat of an Escondido summer noon ~ 102.9. Cute Breanna was by my side playing nurse when I woke up ~ she tucked me and her favorite toy animals tight in my blanket and spoke tender, motherly whispers to my ears. Her caressing was a sweet foreshadowing of the care I would receive in my overnight stay in the hospital.

I called a triage nurse at the Scripps Ranch clinic that I attended for all my prenatal care when I was pregnant with Breanna. Once I explained my symptoms, she told me to come into the clinic to be examined the following hour. I dangerously drove Breanna to my cousin's house (aka grandma's house) ~ my vision was blurry, my headache was pounding, my driving judgment was as dull as a mummified cat. I had tears rolling down my cheeks as I entered the clinic, and couldn't talk very well since, my head was so confused. I was an hour late for my appt, so they rescheduled me for a different, awesome doctor 20 minutes later. Based on all my symptoms, her concern for a possible ectopic pregnancy sent me to the emergency room ~ Thornton Hospital UCSD, La Jolla. (ectopic pregnancy is when the baby is growing outside the uterus and the pregnancy must be terminated -- YIKES!!) I called David to pick me up, who strode valiantly to protect my honor, buy me a 12" sub, and drive me safely to the hospital since my head was spinning like a dreidel on Channukah.

When we arrived at the Emergency Room, the doctors performed test after test. It was a learning facility and I loved how the doctors and residents looked at my "illness" from every possible viewpoint. I got a pelvic exam, cervical culture sent to the lab, urine test, blood tests, an ultrasound over my reproductive system, an ultrasound to test for appendicitis, IV bags replaced one after another (I was so dehydrated). I even got an additonal ultrasound from a hot young lusty intern. =)Dozens of doctors walked in an out of my room introducing themselves, student doctors and expert doctors examined me, I was asked questions after questions. David made sure to give the evil eye to any doctors that seemed to be spending more time checking me out than deemed necessary. And through my entire stay, all the king's nurses, and all the king's docs, couldn't figure out why I was having a high fever and abdominal pain.

They ruled out ectopic pregnancy because they saw a 3mm sac embedded in the uterus lining. The surgeons decided to keep an eye on me overnight (a very pretty blue one!) in case of appendicitis - so I couldn't eat or drink at all in case of surgery - a 24 hr fast was the result! They ruled out appendicitis and kidney and bladder infection from the abdominal ultrasound. However, they found cysts on my left ovary (a source from which pain emanated in a most unpleasant manner) but the cysts posed no threat. My white blood cell count was high due to fighting the infection. They ruled out the flu after taking a nasal culture. All these tests and they still couldn't find the root cause of my nefarious, loathsome, and mysterious temperature that persists to this very moment in time.

So they sent me home with the following instructions: take Tylenol to lower the temperature, take your prenatal vitamins, drink plenty of water for thou art dehydrated as the Sahara, and come back if symptoms get worse.

So there you have it. I find out I'm 4 weeks pregnant and get slammed with multiple ominous plagues ~ minus locusts and frogs.

I'll keep you posted on this website ~ http://babybmiller.blogspot.com/ Please pray for endurance that I can handle the 36 weeks of pain and pray that this be a healthy baby BOY. I totally feel like it's a boy. Breanna has demanded a little brother, and she always gets what she wants.