The Color of Heather

Me: A cow gave birth to a pig.

Danny: Thank you for that wonderful and useful information. I shall take it to space, where the bear goddess shall flower me with mashed potatoes. Then the astral owl shall desend and we shall chill.

So as many of you may or may not know, I was in the hospital last night. Yes I know you are asking “what happened?”, “Are you OK?”, etc. Hold on to those questions and read. I am writing all the details down now, in case I need them later.

So yesterday, leap day 2012, I’m not feeling to good right? I’m not necessarily sick, but it’s about 4pm or 5pm and my throat starts hurting. I want food, but swallowing hurt like hell. Sean and Korvelle think I have strep throat, based on previous experiences I know I do NOT. Bless their souls, Chris Griffin (yes, that is his name) a good friend of mine, and Bryan, my boyfriend, went all the way to Albertson’s and bought me clear Gatorade and Ramen. Ramen is amazing… not to healthy but it goes down easy. Around 530, 6pm after Ash finished her homework, I was online playing megaten with her… Until Bryan took my laptop so I would go to bed.

This is around 730pm now. I get in bed, and take Robitussin for my cough. I sleep like a baby until I am yanked out of my sleep because I am coughing. This is when I realized that I wasn’t breathing… I was only getting air during the few seconds of coughing. I’m borderline panicking by now, but somehow I kept my cool, grabbed my phone and texted Bryan. Low and behold, his phone is dead. I got on fb chat cause it’s a little quicker than texting, and lucky me, Clayton’s online. I tell him that I need him to find Bryan and that I can’t breathe. He apparently is freaking out on his end, running around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for a MIA Bryan. Here’s where I’m freaking out. I stop coughing… I can’t breathe I can’t talk, so I mass text everyone ‘I need someone in my room NOW, I can’t breathe’ figuring at least one of them would get the text and help me.

Here’s the bits and pieces I picked up from other’s stories. Korvelle I guess was hanging out with Josh and Sean cause when he got the text the three of them freak out and Korvelle goes up to my room. I had also texted Ashley Aragon, my roommate, and Geneva who are with Julian, Rachael and Jordyn at Village Inn. Geneva calls the SRA Lyndi and Ashley calls Julian’s roommate Marcus, and sends them. And during this fiasco, the random waiter at VI now knows I’m not breathing. Chris gets the text, and he’s on first floor with Bryan (thank god) and goes to get Lyndi, who is still on the phone with Geneva, and they head up. I also texted Autumn (3rd floor RA) since she’s the closest.

Here’s where I come back in. I’m in my bed, trying to breathe thinking to myself, well, here’s where I meet my end, in a old small dorm room all alone. Ashley’s going to find my body and have a cow. Bryan, you better be the first one through that door. All of the sudden BAM, Bryan bursts in, with Chris, Lyndi, Korvelle (I think) and Autumn (and I later learn Marcus was there too) close behind.Keep in mind, I just woke up, I neither have my contacts nor my glasses on so I can’t really see. But what I do see is what freaks me out more than not breathing. The look on Bryan’s  face when he came through the door and landed next to me on the bed (pretty sure he jumped over my dirty laundry basket). His look scared me. I can’t even pretend to describe the fear on his face. I don’t remember much after that, I remember Chris and Bryan grabbing my arms and legs to open my airways and I remember coughing so bad I needed to puke.

I don’t remember how I got into the bathroom, but I’m in a stall, Lyndi has my hair and my Ramen comes up (lovely imagery I know). She helps me out of the bathroom and into the hall where I start coughing bad again. Lyndi let’s go of me to go grab a trash can. Neither of us realize that I can’t stand, and I collapse. Chris and Bryan are jumping over each other and other people to catch me. I can’t move, I still can’t breathe without coughing. Somewhere in here, I actually blacked out. I don’t know how long, but the next thing I know, there are four paramedics hovering around me. I don’t know when or who dialed 9-1-1, but someone did.

It’s scary when all of the sudden paramedics are latching things to you, and shoving things in your mouth. At least that tube thing (a respirator I think) got me to breathe. Every time they took it out so I could answer a question I stopped breathing again, so note to paramedics, ASK SOMEONE ELSE! I can’t talk when I can’t breathe and I can’t breathe without that tube thingy. I want it back dang it! I seriously was yelling this at them in my head. Suddenly, I’m in the air and in an elevator. Sadly, the tube is still in my mouth but the air is gone. Note: I’m claustrophobic. There is a tiny elevator (luckily my room and where I collapsed is actually right next to it) and I’m shoved in it with two grown men, bunch of things attached to me, not actually standing on ground. I was NOT happy. I laugh at myself now cause I’m talking to them through the tube complaining about elevators and wanting my air back…

Out the elevator I go and onto a stretcher… strapped in. The thing about my Claustrophobia, it’s not tight spaces I really fear, it’s not being able to move at all. So naturally, I’m forcing myself not to struggle with them thinking, hey! I’d rather not move than to fall off this thing and hit my head and die. Luckily by now, I’m slightly calmed down cause the air’s back. Unluckily for me, they move the stretcher into the ambulance, and now on top of everything, I’m dizzy and car sick. I lay down trying to will  myself not to puke on the air breathing for me. Sadly, I forget about needing to puke when they start shoving needles in me. Big… Plastic… Needles. Sure I might need an IV but good luck sticking any needle in my left arm, no veins for that there. The paramedic guy on my left shoves one in anyway and totally misses. I spit out that damn tube and mouth yell talk choke at him that you must use my right arm, since that’s where they draw blood. Not sure how they understand that but they do, and they stick the tube thing back in and stab my other arm (after cutting all the circulation off. So now I have blood being drawn, my nautias is back, I can’t breathe on my own, and now there’s an IV involved. ICK. Lovely, they took the tube. And tried to stick the oxygen thing in my nose, but I’m trying to tell them my nose is clogged and that’s not going to work.

By this time I’m now getting pulled out of the ambulance and into a hospital. I’m delerious so I have absolutely no idea where I am. Lovely right? Keep in mind I’m also BLIND. I’m freaking out, I’m pretty much begging for Clayton or Bryan, and I’m crying. The stick more needles in me, and more cord things, and take my oxygen tube (wasn’t helping anyway) and drop a heated blanket on me cause I’m now in nothing but a hospital gown. Low and behold, they open the curtains and Bryan walks in and grabs my hand. First thing I say? You’re hands are freaking ICE I can feel them through the blanket… and it’s heated! He, of course laughs. The nurse hands me a phone and it’s dad. Yay! I was on the phone with them when I REALLY started freaking out, realizing how bad it could have been.

Everyone is there and visits me one by one. Clayton, Sam, Christy, Chris, Geneva, Jordyn. By then they have stuck to many needles and things on me, cotton swabs down my throat more than once, they have me sign something give me papers and yay, I’m home free! But still can barely walk on my own. I am so glad everyone was there to help. I love everyone TT__TT The doctors put me on steroids and the super cough medicine that knocks you out (which I just took so I’m going to rush the rest and go to bed). Ashley, Bryan and Korvelle took me to rite aid to pick that up. $.67 and socks XD

OMG Ashley just walked in with this! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

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