Not again

So last year I had two ambulance rides from my school. Once was for falling on the ice in the parking lot (they thought I had concussion), and the other was for herniating my L5 while picking up a clipboard off the ground. So, at the end of 2008, I jokingly told my school secretary that I was excited for no ambulance rides in 2009!

And that's where I should have kept my mouth shut. It seems like lately, if I joke about anything, or act as though life is going smoothly, the recently laid rug gets pulled out again.

I was sitting at my desk today, sipping on my coffee, and enjoying the few minutes of peace and quiet in between my 1st grade class and my 4th grade class when I felt as though someone had reached inside my body, grabbed my heart, and squeezed tight around it. Shooting pains started to race down my left arm, and I started sweating, and had difficulty breathing. Being the ridiculous person I am, I looked up "chest pains" on the Internet, wondering if I should tell anyone about it. It lasted about 3 minutes before I decided that I might want to talk with my school nurse. So, heart and left arm still in a great deal of pain, I walked down to the office and asked to see our school nurse. She immediately had me lay down, took my blood pressure, which was quite high (for me), and found my pulse to be quite high too. I could actually hear and feel my heart pounding, which was quite unsettling.

So, yet again, my school had to call for an ambulance to come and take me to the hospital. Once in the ambulance, the EMT's tried to get an IV started in me so that they could start some nitroglycerin so that my veins would dilate, and so they could check some things out. 4 pokes later, no IV...they said my veins were "interesting." They also couldn't get a good read on one of the tests in my heart, which was somewhat concerning to them.

Once we got to St. Luke's, I was wheeled right into a room, where a nurse and doctor both appeared within minutes. They don't mess around with potential heart problems. My nurse had blood drawn and an IV started within a few minutes, and my doc ordered X-Rays and blood work. My chest pains had started to recede, although my left arm was still hurting.

Luckily, thankfully, I had not had a heart attack. Instead, I was diagnosed with inflammation of the chest (the inside :) and of my arm. With there still being some lingering pain, my doctor put me on some very, very strong pain medication.

If you know anything about any of my hospital experiences, you will know that pain medication is always a touchy subject. I have yet to find one that leaves me a sane person. Today was no different. Apparently as soon as the stuff kicked in (within a matter of seconds) I started to ask the same questions repeatedly, and then tried to tell Chris many secrets, including something about his birthday surprise. He was with it enough to insist that I not tell him anything about it, and patiently answered my questions, no matter how many times I asked them.

I was so glad Chris got there to meet me. I fell into tears many times on the ambulance ride over, sometimes in fear of what was happening, but also in grief as I remembered my dad, and the time I had to convince him to put the oxygen tube back in his nose just a day or two before he died.

My administrator Lynnie drove over to meet me too. I cannot begin to say what a great administrator I have. The docs and nurses were all amazed that a principal would actually take the time out of her day to come and be with me in the hospital. She welcomed me back to Nampa by offering me a job, has been praying for me for many years, and has always come to the hospital during my many stays. ;) I am so fortunate to call her both boss and friend.

And then of course there is my dear husband, who has taken care of me today from the moment he got to the hospital, and is still taking care of me. Some husbands get frustrated when their wives get sick...mine is so good to me, and I am so lucky to have him.

So the plan is to try and take things low-key, although I'm planning on going to work tomorrow, since writing lesson plans would cause more stress than just showing up. Hopefully the kids will be nice to me. :) And hopefully the inflammation dies down soon...the pain is still a little intense at time.

And thank you to those who prayed for me. Your prayers are your best gifts to me and my family.

And now, to bed. Thank you Lord for the gift of life. May I serve You with that in mind each day.