We were having some weather when I got home from work tonight, so I went out on the fire escape and up on the roof to get some shots. This one's my favorite. But after all the scary, dark clouds looming and sweeping overhead, it turned out to be a wash. Sound and fury signifying nothing. Some wind and a little bit of rain. But I got some cool shots for my flickr page.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
DRAMA!!!
So today, I got up for work and left, normal as could be. I realized as I approached 175th St. that it was already almost 8:20, so I had missed the earlier bus to NJ and would have to wait for the 8:40. But it was at this point that I started feeling some twinges in my back, and I feared I was having a kidney stone attack.
I went up to wait for the bus, and the pain continued to increase in intensity, so I went back downstairs to sit down in the waiting area. As I sat, it got worse instead of better, so I pulled out my phone to call work and leave a message that I wasn't coming in after all. As I walked back down to the subway, I passed my co-worker Kambra, who wondered why I was going in the wrong direction. I explained that I was in a lot of pain and was heading home so that if I had to go to the doctor, I could go to my own.
Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way. The downtown A during rush hour is quite packed, and I squeezed myself into the very last empty seat I could find. I was in agony, and had to sit. There was no way I was going to be able to make the trip standing up. I basically sat there, doubled over, staring at the floor. Which was good, because I'm sure people were staring, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I was shaking, dripping with sweat, and mostly likely white as a sheet.
As we approached 59th St, I came to the horrible realization that I wasn't going to make it home to Brooklyn. It seemed to take forever to get to 59th St, and as soon as we did, I bolted off the train before I succumbed to the nausea. First of all, I didn't want to vomit on this woman's nice shoes (or myself), and second, I know how much I hate when a sick passenger delays the train. So the best thing was to just get off.
I'd always thought there were emergency call buttons on the platforms, but I guess not, because I didn't see anything. I had to stagger up to the booth looking like I don't even know what in order to cut in line and ask the clerk to please call me an ambulance. She ushered me back into the station so I could sit on one of the benches, and called the police. A very lovely woman wearing her nurses scrubs happened by at this moment, and tried to calm me down, and very kindly stayed with me until the policeman arrived. I hope karma does something nice for her very soon.
The cop took my info (as did the token booth clerk), and I endured the pain as I waited for the EMTs. At least the nausea was gone. I was very glad I hadn't eaten breakfast, as I only dry heaved into the garbage can. This was the point at which I found I had a light signal on my cell, so I called Frank to let him know what was going on, and which hospital I would be heading to. I guess I picked a pretty good station to get sick in, because St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital was only a few blocks away.
I liked my EMT because if I closed my eyes, he sounded like Chris Rock. He also took my information, and they drove me to the hospital. No siren, thank goodness. But hey, my first ride in an ambulance! At the hospital, they managed to get my information and get me a bed in the emergency room surprisingly quickly, but as my pain re-intensified, I really needed some help. I ended up doubled over in agony, and had to pull the curtains open to get some attention. Luckily a doctor saw me first and ordered me up an IV and some pain meds ASAP.
The morphine didn't really do too much, and they had to give me another dose. They weren't very good with the checking in on a regular basis to see how I was doing, I have to admit. Frankie arrived around here, and I was glad to have him there. Oh, and I had to remove the blood pressure cuff, because while I didn't mind it going off on a regular basis, at one point, it just tightened and wouldn't release. So Frankie helped me pull it off because I was losing circulation in my arm!
Turns out they weren't going to do any tests. They just wanted to stabilize my pain and send me home so I can see my regular urologist. So when a couple of interns arrived with a sonogram machine and asked if I would mind letting them practice scanning my kidney, I was all for it. They didn't see anything, though. At least nothing conclusive. No, for that, I had to go home and see my doctor. I called, and the earliest appointment was for tomorrow, but by the time I actually got home, I'd decided to just head over there and see if I could squeeze myself in. Luckily, he had just gotten out of the OR, so my doctor was able to see me, and send me for a CT scan that actually verified what the sonogram had shown, which was a 4-5 mm kidney stone wedged in my ureter. Lovely.
Now we're just hoping that the kidney stone passes on its own so I don't have to go back into the hospital to have anything done. Although my doctor says he'd like me to have the sonic wave thing where they crush the stone with sound waves. I've never had it before, and always wondered about it. But no, I hope it passes on its own. I just had probably one of the most insane days of my life. I don't need another one!
I went up to wait for the bus, and the pain continued to increase in intensity, so I went back downstairs to sit down in the waiting area. As I sat, it got worse instead of better, so I pulled out my phone to call work and leave a message that I wasn't coming in after all. As I walked back down to the subway, I passed my co-worker Kambra, who wondered why I was going in the wrong direction. I explained that I was in a lot of pain and was heading home so that if I had to go to the doctor, I could go to my own.
Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way. The downtown A during rush hour is quite packed, and I squeezed myself into the very last empty seat I could find. I was in agony, and had to sit. There was no way I was going to be able to make the trip standing up. I basically sat there, doubled over, staring at the floor. Which was good, because I'm sure people were staring, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I was shaking, dripping with sweat, and mostly likely white as a sheet.
As we approached 59th St, I came to the horrible realization that I wasn't going to make it home to Brooklyn. It seemed to take forever to get to 59th St, and as soon as we did, I bolted off the train before I succumbed to the nausea. First of all, I didn't want to vomit on this woman's nice shoes (or myself), and second, I know how much I hate when a sick passenger delays the train. So the best thing was to just get off.
I'd always thought there were emergency call buttons on the platforms, but I guess not, because I didn't see anything. I had to stagger up to the booth looking like I don't even know what in order to cut in line and ask the clerk to please call me an ambulance. She ushered me back into the station so I could sit on one of the benches, and called the police. A very lovely woman wearing her nurses scrubs happened by at this moment, and tried to calm me down, and very kindly stayed with me until the policeman arrived. I hope karma does something nice for her very soon.
The cop took my info (as did the token booth clerk), and I endured the pain as I waited for the EMTs. At least the nausea was gone. I was very glad I hadn't eaten breakfast, as I only dry heaved into the garbage can. This was the point at which I found I had a light signal on my cell, so I called Frank to let him know what was going on, and which hospital I would be heading to. I guess I picked a pretty good station to get sick in, because St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital was only a few blocks away.
I liked my EMT because if I closed my eyes, he sounded like Chris Rock. He also took my information, and they drove me to the hospital. No siren, thank goodness. But hey, my first ride in an ambulance! At the hospital, they managed to get my information and get me a bed in the emergency room surprisingly quickly, but as my pain re-intensified, I really needed some help. I ended up doubled over in agony, and had to pull the curtains open to get some attention. Luckily a doctor saw me first and ordered me up an IV and some pain meds ASAP.
The morphine didn't really do too much, and they had to give me another dose. They weren't very good with the checking in on a regular basis to see how I was doing, I have to admit. Frankie arrived around here, and I was glad to have him there. Oh, and I had to remove the blood pressure cuff, because while I didn't mind it going off on a regular basis, at one point, it just tightened and wouldn't release. So Frankie helped me pull it off because I was losing circulation in my arm!
Turns out they weren't going to do any tests. They just wanted to stabilize my pain and send me home so I can see my regular urologist. So when a couple of interns arrived with a sonogram machine and asked if I would mind letting them practice scanning my kidney, I was all for it. They didn't see anything, though. At least nothing conclusive. No, for that, I had to go home and see my doctor. I called, and the earliest appointment was for tomorrow, but by the time I actually got home, I'd decided to just head over there and see if I could squeeze myself in. Luckily, he had just gotten out of the OR, so my doctor was able to see me, and send me for a CT scan that actually verified what the sonogram had shown, which was a 4-5 mm kidney stone wedged in my ureter. Lovely.
Now we're just hoping that the kidney stone passes on its own so I don't have to go back into the hospital to have anything done. Although my doctor says he'd like me to have the sonic wave thing where they crush the stone with sound waves. I've never had it before, and always wondered about it. But no, I hope it passes on its own. I just had probably one of the most insane days of my life. I don't need another one!
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