I started a new job in April, people wanted to hang out, I worried about my car, I didn't get enough sleep, busy, busy, busy! I was doing things non-stop for a few weeks now and I thought I was getting enough sleep.
It started on a Tuesday, the last one in May. I felt fine the entire day. I went to work, mowed the lawn and even had time to work out...I actually wanted to get a head start on the June challenge so I did the extra reps. I ate, took a shower and my right side of my neck started hurting and I got really tired. I just assumed that I over did it that day and needed to rest.
The next day I woke up feeling really awful and my right lymph node was HUGE!
The next five days I had a raging headache. The kind that would not go away even with pain meds. Work was really hard on me. I really needed the money so I went to work the days I was scheduled and tried to rest on my days off.
Three days after I started showing symptoms, I had a fever. I was cold, hot, cold, hot...I woke up in the mornings just drenched with sweat.
The next few days my left side between my kidneys and ribs started hurting.
A week after I started feeling bad, my boss made me call the doctor to find out what was going on. Of course I am one of those people on Obamacare, it's terrible insurance by the way, I had to find a preferred provider and no one wanted to touch Obamacare. They gave me one but that person, phone number and address did not exist. I had to call the people who issued me my card to tell that we found an office that would take that insurance. I got it all squared away and it was in effect immediately. I called Tenino and made an appointment for Tuesday.
Tuesday showed up and I left work early to go my appointment. They checked all my vitals, asked me questions and I waited for the nurse practitioner to see me. I guess the doctor was gone? She didn't tell me much. I knew I had a virus. I just wanted some information on what kind of virus it was and she didn't provide it. She wrote me a prescription for hydrocodine for my head pain and sent me on my way.
I drove to Walmart and got my prescription, which didn't cost me anything and neither did the doctor's office visit, grabbed some more IB Profin and some other things and went home to relax. I was hoping that the medication would help me sleep. It really didn't.
The next day I woke up and felt nauseous. I thought maybe eating something would help...maybe it was the medication? I had to get up and run to the bathroom. I puked and I was not happy. My head hurt, my side hurt and I was tired. Mostly I worried about not getting better because I had to work in a few days. Most of the day I sat in the chair drifting in and out of sleep. I felt like crap. Just before dinner time, Ben came over and said to get up because we're going to the ER.
I grabbed my phone, wallet, pillow and blanket and joined Ben in his Explorer. When we got to the hospital, I checked in and waited about an hour and a half before being seen in the "triage". They got my vitals, I told them what was happening, etc. Then we sat inside there for about an hour. I just laid there talking to Ben. I was in so much pain. My head hurt really bad and I was tired of waiting around.
A lady came in and told us we had to go back into the waiting room...we waited for another hour or so and saw a lot of people come and go. Eventually we got called back. I had my vitals taken again, I told my story three more times and then they ran a few tests based on the two sicknesses I could have. One was a blood test to see if I had mono and the other was a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. Both tests were horrible. I hate needles. They had to give me an anti anxiety pill before they numbed my lower back. After harvesting the liquids that they needed, I waited an hour to 90 minutes to hear that I tested positive for mono and negative for meningitis. I asked the nurse to give me something so my head would stop hurting...another needle went into my arm. The drugs were fantastic. My headache went away but I didn't feel like moving. I just wanted to sleep.
It was time to go. I couldn't walk or stand upright. Ben had to put me in a wheel chair. All I remember doing before we checked out was waving my arm vigorously to get someone's attention before I barfed all over the floor. Ben grabbed a barf bag quickly and it caught it just in time. He wheeled me out to the Explorer and we headed home. I don't remember much about the ride home except just before we got onto Rainier Road I barfed again. Then two seconds later, we were in my driveway. He helped me to the door and into my room. He even helped me brush my teeth before I passed out for good. He went back to the station.
The next few days my headache went away but I was tired all the time. Then about a week later my throat started hurting. I found out that mono could turn into strept throat. It was horrible. I couldn't eat, sleep or swallow. I begged my mom to get me some antibiotics. A day later, I started taking antibiotics and within the three hours of me taking them, I started feeling better right away. It took about 30 days to feel better. I do not wish this misery upon anyone, it is a waste of time and I hope I never get it again.
Next Adventure: Mando's, Dinner at Ben's Grandma's, Caching and Buffalo Wild Wings
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