Tuesday, October 27, 2009

My Luck's Like a Button, I Can't Stop Pushing It

Here is a skeleton on a fence.

Please see the post below for the back story and Part one before reading this. Here is the second part:

"Get her a bag," the big nurse says to a nursing assistant who is just checking to see what's causing the raised voices.

"What?" the nursing assistant asks.

"A bag. A paper bag. She's starting to hyperventilate!" the nurse says with some urgency. By the time the nursing assistant comes back, it's too late. I'm shaking, but not just trembling. I can't control it and my whole body is spastic. Heather says she thinks I'm having a seizure. The nurse holds the bag over my nose and mouth. My arms are shaking so badly that I can't swat her away. I want to, though. The bag isn't giving me enough oxygen and I know I'll suffocate.

"Breathe, honey," Heather says. She is rubbing my back. "Coadster is fine. They think she broke both her legs, but baby's bones heal really fast. They said you saved her life. You protected her head so she didn't hit it. It was just her little legs dangling down when you hit the ground. So, you need to breathe in here and relax. As soon as you calm down, we can go see Coadster. Okay?"

I nod my head to show that I understand. I've stopped shaking and can now hold the bag by myself. Heather keeps her hand close in case I start spazzing again. The big nurse leaves and the nursing assistant takes care of my paperwork. She makes me sit a little longer until my blood pressure goes down.

When I'm finally calm enough, they let me leave the ER. On the way out, we almost run into the nurse who has been attending to me. If I were a more gracious person, I would stop and say thanks for all of her help, but I'm not. I can only feel embarrassed. I look away and Heather pushes me past her. I just hope the nurse doesn't ever come into the business office with questions about her bills.

7 comments:

Tara said...

I would've had to breathe into a bag too.

laura b. said...

Geez, what a horrible feeling, but really well described.

rel said...

Churlita,
I was right there with you!
rel

NoRegrets said...

so odd that breathing into a paper bag would help. I would have swatted it away too.

booda baby said...

This installment plan is a good one.

MrManuel said...

I can't imagine the feeling. I would have needed them to hook me up to oxygen, screw the bag!

Churlita said...

Tara,

Yeah. It was all way more than I could handle...Even without a concussion.

LauraB.,

Thanks. It was horrible.

Rel,

Thank you. That's kind of what I was going for. Although that wasn't very nice of me, was it?

Nor,

Hyperventilation is caused by not having enough Carbon dioxide in your blood. What you breathe out is full of carbon dioxide, so by catching it and breathing it back in, you correct the problem. Weird, huh?

Booda Baby,

thanks. I usually read blogs on my breaks at work, and don't have time to read long posts. I try to keep mine short in case others are in the same position.

Manuel,

Except I didn't need oxygen, I need carbon dioxide. I know that sounds weird.