Thursday, April 24, 2008

Emergency

Yesterday, I was reading Coffee Beans blog when she required a rescue and it brought up a memory of my own. Sometimes I think it is not healthy to go to the doctor on a regular basis. I was seeing a pulmonary doc who kept me on all kinds of drugs, I had meals of pills. My stomach did not appreciate the meals of pills and was rebelling causing exacerbation's (freaking out) of my asthma. My pill loving doc prescribed Reglan, 4 times a day before meals and bed. This is usual and customary.
One evening shortly after taking my pills I was feeling really strange. My legs kept bouncing and my muscles felt tense and unnatural, like to much caffeine. I was having trouble relaxing my body and then whammo!!! My face began to contort into a really grotesque shape. I could not control my mouth, drool was rolling out one side. I looked in the mirror, yep, sudden onset of Cerebral Palsy. What the heck was happening? I was not calm. I was seeing myself in a nursing home in a wheelchair with hairs on my chin that needed plucking. I was freaking out, to put it mildly. I ran to my husband who promptly tried to put my jaw back into shape. These muscle contractions were so strong I thought he was going to break my face. I also couldn't talk well. Ok I'm having a stroke. Husband call Dr.Pill; she (meaning myself) was having a reaction to the reglan. Take a Benadryl now. Me the one who is having a stroke and going to the nursing home takes two Benadryl. I would have taken the whole bottle! My heart was fixing to go into sv-tachacardia a lethal rhythm.

Try and relax. Dr. Pill had said try to relax so the bendryl would work. More facial gyrations, this was starting to really hurt! My throat started feeling tight,that's it! I picked up the phone and dialed 911 and handed the phone to my husband. I could not talk at all. He ASKS me what to do. In a wild charades style I gestured for him to speak into the phone and request assistance. I was dying, of this I was sure. Mental pictures of the nursing home would not go away. Then suddenly my face relaxed. It hurt so bad, but it relaxed. I wanted to cry. I had been too scared to cry. Just then there was a knock at the door. Six big hunky, gorgeous paramedics came into the front room. Did I mention gorgeous? Yeah, I felt better. "It's OK guys I'm alright now." They sat down. "Tell us about it." As I began speaking my face had a return spasm and I flipped out,"Let's go let's go!" I hollered. Did I mention that I lived on a very steep driveway? Did I mention that I was a very big woman from taking so many doses of prednisone curtesy of Dr.Pill? Again I was having mental pictures. This time the six big hunky paramedics were losing their grip on the gurney and I was careening into my neighbors garage through their garage door in true cartoon fashion. I was scared. "You guys cannot hold me on this gurney, can't we walk down the hill?" They on the other hand had total confidence in their big hunky muscles,"you'll be fine, we got ya." You have me, well whose got you? This night would end in my death it was for certain. They made it. I know they laughed about it over coffee and a donut. How could they not? I did not lay down on the gurney, I sat straight up with the frozen deer in the headlights look, face twitching.

In the ambulance the fella who was going to start my IV was looking all over my hand for a vein. That is not a good sign, maybe he was a beginner. I am not an easy stick. It was also freezing cold in that truck. Without warning he stuck me in my knuckle! PAIN, shocking awful pain, it felt like he had just broken my finger! My other hand had involuntarily clenched into a fist and was ready to 86 him in the jaw. "You stuck me in my finger! Your so lucky I didn't hit you, you should warn a person." He did not heed that because he proceeded to inject undiluted IV benadryl into my already broken knuckle. FIRE! More pain. This was a rescue? This was feeling like a big mistake. This guy was not looking hunky anymore. Was that a big wart on his nose? Did he have spinach in his teeth? Was he an undiscovered psychopathic killer? Arghhhh, what a night.

We arrived at the ER. I was now transferred to a different gurney and a nurse took my vital signs and pulled the curtains. I now had 100 mgs of benadryl in my system and was wide awake. My face was relaxed, but hurt like crazy. My finger was broken and burning, my nerves were totally shot. I was so freaked out that I didn't even need to pee. I then laid on the gurney for hours being observed, racking up a big hospital bill to be watched. The doctor had only one comment, "I can't believe your awake with all that benadryl." Being awake impressed him. Very strange that this was the event of the evening on which he would focus so much thought. I kept trying to explain to him their was also gallons of adrenalin pumping through my system but since it was organically produced he was not impressed. I did find out that I was indeed having a reaction to Reglan. Facial Dystonia, one in 17,000 people have this. I do not win many contests, or the lottery, or the cake walk at the county fair. One in 17,000 chances of having facial dystonia? What a time to hit the jackpot.

7 comments:

Debbie in CA : ) said...

YIKES! Memories of those scary days just came flooding back.(Shudder!) That was something ... but God really turned it all around for you. Truly miraculous! Andrew hit the jackpot with reglan once in the hospital, but they couldn't confirm reglan caused the COMA. Later he hit the jackpot again after a routine dental visit -- COMA!!! 12 hours of stillness -- SCARY!!!! Glad Tigger is on the mend.
Love, Debbie
p.s. Was my hubby one of those hunky-ones in your living room -- I can't recall? (He loved fireman duty.)

Karen Deborah said...

I don't remember any one the hunks. Thanks for poppin in!

Laura ~Peach~ said...

dang ... I would have decked the fella and started my own iv... sheesh. glad you made it through all that and hope you have it posted BIG that you are allergic... martha had an anapahlactic reaction to PCN when she was little... dr tried to give her some a few years later little kid told that dr in no uncertian terms... NO I AM GONNA DIE IF YOU GIVE ME THAT!
sheesh...
HUGS

linda said...

Karen,
That was a great story!! Gee, you're kinda dramatic for a nurse!

Love.

Karen Deborah said...

uh huhh exactly, you'd be dramtic too! scare the bee gee gees out of ya.

Kathy said...

You are too funny! Loved the story.

Karen Deborah said...

From Tigger:
There's only one thing I can say after a story like that: Hahahaha!