My First Trip to the ER

Last Thursday started as a normal day.  I woke up with a little bit of heartburn but it passed relatively quickly.  Cason and I played and played and around 4:45 when Mike came home the heartburn seemed to be flaring up again.  I rested for an hour before making dinner and eating it.

 As the time went on, the heartburn got worse.

I took 2 tums, drank some milk, took more tumb... nothing helped. 

We were supposed to go to the airport and pick up my brothers car.  He had flown out around 6 and left his car in 1 hour so we could pick it up.  We headed to the airport by way of CVS to pick up some Sprite.  I thought that might help.

I asked Mike to take the long way to the airport so we would pass the hospital... just in case I decided to go. 

See, I didn't want to go.  I didn't want to be the girl who went to the ER for heartburn.  How could I facebook that? 

Less than half way to the airport I told Mike to go to the hospital.  The pain was worse.  I couldn't get comfortable.  I had no idea heartburn could be this bad- and I had some serious heartburn when I was pregnant. 

Remember when we set out on this little trip we were just going to run by the airport.  As we walk in the hospital I realize my son has no shoes.  Classy. 

The front desk process was pretty easy and they got me right in to the next step.  They take your vitals and ask you like a million questions and most importantly how bad your pain is.  A 10.  The pain is a 10.  When can I have a shot?

She sends me back to room 11 and leans out the door to tell Mike that I will be here for a couple of hours at least.  What?  I have a shoeless 2 year old and I know you are about to send me home with gas or reflux- that will really take several hours?  I told Mike to call Weslee because she lived the closest. 

They sent me to the room and I began the big process of waiting.  Waiting in pain was the worst.  Somewhere in my waiting my brother texted and asked if we had retrieved his car yet.  Uh, not really.  If I tell him we were at the ER he would call my parents, and that would make them worry and drive down, and that would mean someone knew about my dumb ER trip.  I thought I would take a casual approach.  I texted him back "We will be a little late, had to make a quick stop by the ER".  I was hoping that was casual enough that he would NOT call my parents. 

No such luck apparently, within 5 minutes mom had mike on the phone and it wasn't much longer before she was driving over.  Something we turned out to be very thankful for.

Meanwhile I'm in the back and the FINALLY get an IV in and start pumping the anti nausea meds and at last, the pain meds.  Beautiful wonderful things. 

They started a billion questions, an ultrasound, bloodwork, an EKG, chest x-ray and other things.  All symptoms pointed to gallbladder problems but those typically occur closer to when you have a baby.  The ultrasound showed some stones on the gallbladder but for some reason they didn't feel like it was a huge concern. 

By midnight they were ready to let me go.  Told me to eat a fat free diet and call a dr. in the morning. 

We went home and straight to bed. 

Oh, funny story.  Since we didn't know we were going to the ER- I didn't have a diaper bag for Cason.  Gone are the days when I kept extra diapers in the car as well so poor Mike had to change a very wet and dirty Cason into a swim diaper.  If you are a mom, you know what happened an hour after that.

Tomorrow I will post about my second trip to the ER.  It's much more interesting.