Girls Day Ouch or Counting Blessings

Things didn't go as planned. 

But the moral of the story, once all was said and done, was to be thankful that one misstep put things back into place and saved a lot of agony in the long run. But I digress...the plan...

My plan was to stay in my pajamas all day. And then maybe ... maybe ... shower and change into new pajamas after dinner. There were errands I needed to run, but they could wait, as my hip was incredibly painful and not quite where it should be and I haven't been sleeping well and really just needed a "day off."

And then...

Alia came to me and reminded me about her finger. She did this by basically flipping me off, although that's not what she meant to do. It's just that her middle finger on one hand isn't bending much and her knuckle and tendon/bone in her hand are painful and it's not in the correct position when she holds her fingers straight. 

I weighed the options as took a larger dose of prednisone and dragged my aching body into the shower. Her primary care doctor is out of the country and if they could squeeze her in with the nurse or another doctor, they'd just send her to the hospital for x-rays anyway. Her primary is a half hour drive away - not a drive I wanted to take with my painful hip. Then I thought about Urgent Care down the road - but they would probably send us to the emergency department at the hospital anyway, but the wait might not be as long. As I was emerging from the shower, I didn't lift my painful leg quite enough and my foot caught on the edge of the tub sending me off balance. The decision was made as my hip popped fully out of joint and then slammed back in as I landed on the floor in a crumpled heap. Emergency it was!

I managed to get up, dried off, dressed, and we were off to the hospital. Thank God for crutches. My husband was at work, so I drove Alia and I. There was no parking, and the valet was amazing, letting us pull up close to the emergency entrance so I didn't have to crutch across the parking lot. It was packed. People in masks with horrible coughs rivaled for seats with those with bag-lined buckets. Once checked in ("yes, both of us") and through triage ("we're a package deal - I'm next on your list"), Alia and I chose seats in a group of three away from the main crowd, next to a man who was just seen for mental health issues and was waiting for a cab. We had an interesting, disjointed conversation and assured a concerned nurse that we were having a nice chat. 

Once in our room, I got the head of the bed and became Alia's lounger as we chatted and waited to be examined ("yes, both of us"). When offered pain meds, I refused, and the nurse was surprised. My explanation that I drove myself to the hospital was sufficient, but she couldn't believe I was in such pain and wouldn't take anything. She had vicodin at the ready. I also explained about my autoimmune liver issues and how I have to limit pain meds to when I really need them. 

After we went to get x-rays ("yes, both of us"), I started feeling as if I might be heading for adrenal crisis, but was having a difficult time speaking and communicating my need for steroids to the nurse. At some point, while Alia was watching Ellen on the tv on the wall opposite our bed, I fell asleep for a half hour or so. I felt greatly refreshed afterwards, and then remembered the prednisone I'd taken a while before the fall which helped greatly after the fall and that I'd had very little sleep in days, leaving me exhausted. Crisis averted, it seems!

After x-rays, we had a nice conversation with our roommate, who came out from behind the curtain to chat with Alia, after she said hi. He had a splint to match the one they fitted on Alia's finger, except he needed stitches before the splint, after an accident with a power tool. 

We eventually learned that neither of us had broken anything. It appears that the fall put my hip back where it needs to be, and that I had a sprained hip. They also discovered I have the beginning of a UTI (huh...that itself would have landed me in the ER within 24 hours), and pre-existing "abnormalities and impressive damage to the L4 and L5 vertebrae and SI joints" that are contributing to the pain. Alia's finger is most likely the result of hypermobility related tendon issues. We're both to follow up with our doctors.

Soon we were on our way to pick up prescriptions (not nearly as easy as it should have been) and dinner and head home. 

Our five hour girls afternoon out ... or should it be ouch ... ended with tasty food, a movie, antibiotics, pain meds, ice packs, and Alia and I counting our blessings:

Blessing 1: Updosing on prednisone for hip inflammation, pain, and adrenal issues long enough before the fall for it to be effective.

Blessing 2: The fall putting my hip fully back into the socket, perfectly.

Blessing 3: The valet who made getting into the ER easier and who parked our van as close to the entrance as possible before leaving for the day.

Blessing 4: A test that revealed the beginning stages of at UTI. My last UTI went from feeling like I might be getting one to acutely ill in the emergency department in less than twelve hours. Hopefully starting antibiotics now will ward off another ER visit.

Blessing 5: Amazing pharmacists who, because their online system was having issues, called the hospital to get the antibiotic prescription over the phone so I didn't have to go back to the hospital to pick it up. And who apologized for not being able to fill the vicodin prescription as they have to have a physical prescription or receive it online. (I assured them I have enough at home to get me through tonight.)

Blessing 6: Having enough money in the bank to pick up dinner, as making it myself was out of the question and I hadn't the forethought to throw something in the crockpot before heading to the hospital.

Blessing 7: Five Guys french fries with lots of salt, which put enough sodium in my system to get rid of the type of headache I'd developed, which usually indicates the early stages of hyponatraemia.

Blessing 8: My husband and 17 year old son who brought me more fries and a milkshake just to be on the safe side.

(This post is brought to you by vicodin-induced insomnia. The author is not directly responsible for run on sentences, sentence fragments, or grammatical errors. Send fries.)