In Sickness and…with Crackers in the Bed
these past few days have made me extra grateful for my health. generally my body wards of illness like a champ and i don’t have any chronic pain/illness. however, this past week my body couldn’t hasn’t been able to fight some sort of virus.
i eventually ended up in urgent care on tuesday night because of such extreme pain in my stomach/intestines that it lead me to 77% pass out. my vision tunneled and my suddenly i couldn’t hear. it was super weird and scary. thankfully my husband was home as i made some sort of ridiculous moan and collapsed to the floor.
he said my face was stark white and it looked like i had put on white lipstick. i don’t own white lipstick so he knew something must be wrong. i was suddenly dripping sweat…like soaking through my shirt like i was hiking in the desert.
he put socks on my freezing feet and helped me to the chair as he gathered up my insurance info and my ID. i remember mumbling something about wanting to bring water with me so he filled up a cup. i said “no, water bottle” and he filled up a water bottle. then i said “no, the other water bottle.” apparently my desire for a specific water bottle gets amped up when i’m sick.
after sitting in stop and go rush hour traffic (that was the worse and i moaned the entire time), we got to urgent care. i doubled over in a chair while my husband checked me in. then i waited for the nurse to call my name after the guy with the slashed open hand, the kid with a potentially broken bone and a woman in a brightly floral dress, crying, to go before me.
i had a sexy hospital gown under the pile of jackets.
they ran a few tests, could see i was dehydrated and determined i have some sort of intestinal virus. part of being a blogger is that it conditions those around you to capture certain things, even when you are out of it. good work husband! ha.
it should also be noted that my husband was playing with the ear canal checker as the doctor walked in. instead of the doctor shaming my husband, he encouraged him and invited him to look in my ear. how kind (read: sarcasm).
he prescribed me some anti-nausea medication and something to help with the spasms/pain in my intestines and said it should hopefully clear up in a few days. it’s been going on since sunday so any day now would be great. i have a 5k race to run with my friend beki on saturday and it finishes with a mashed potato bar! i must be well.
i shared this on instagram but one of my husband’s biggest annoyances is having crumbs in the bed. i can sort of see that…but i also really love snacking. the only time this is allowed is when you are sick so i’m taking full advantage of this loophole.
upon rehydration and reflection of this experience, i started thinking how grateful i am not only for my health but also a built-in-buddy to help me through sickness. of course my husband is more than just my ‘buddy’ but i am so grateful that we are together most of the time and he’s there to help when my body can’t get it together.
i felt sad for the crying woman who had to be in the waiting room alone. no idea what her story was but i do know that having my husband gently rubbing the back of hand while we waited helped me relax.
it also made me more conscious to check in with friends and family who are living alone and pay extra attention to them if they are sick or injured.
i am thankful my husband was still in town to get me to urgent care because he left for florida yesterday morning and won’t be back until monday. he has done a good job checking up on me, with the aid of harry potter.
let’s appreciate the health we have in this moment. if you have a spouse that helps take care of you when you’re not feeling well, express gratitude to him/her. pay special attention to your friends and family who may not have someone built-in to take care of them and bring over trashy magazines, soup and crackers.
be well and wash your hands!
Lauren @ Oh Hey I Like That!
March 12, 2015 at 12:19 pm
Oh you poor thing! I think I had the same thing a couple of weeks ago! The pain is the worst! I’m glad that you’re on the mend though!
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chelsea
March 12, 2015 at 4:31 pm
so sorry you had the same thing, lauren! hope you’re all healed up. the pain is so weird and bad, like nothing i’ve felt before-ugh. it shall pass soon so focusing on that 🙂
Ashley @ Saving Money in your Twenties
March 12, 2015 at 12:49 pm
ah that is so scary! I’m glad that you’re on the mend, keep resting and getting better! Mashed potato bar must be eaten!! Also that’s really funny that you wanted a specific water bottle hahaha
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chelsea
March 12, 2015 at 4:32 pm
i am glad you can appreciate the need for the mashed potato bar needs to happen, ashley! (what is even worse about the water bottle…i never even took a sip!)
Vivien
March 12, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Get better soon chelsea! I can relate to the gratefulness of having someone to keep an eye on you when you are sick. The last time my parents went out of town, I was sick the entire time. Barely made it through work and just went home and slept sort of a deal. I don’t think I had a proper dinner the entire time they were gone.
PS too funny with Ryan playing with the ear canal checker thing!
Vivien recently posted…Letting Go, The Only Way
chelsea
March 12, 2015 at 4:34 pm
thanks vivien! so sorry to hear you were sick when your parents were out of town last-so bad! at least i have some supplies and friends offering to get me things if need be but i bet i won’t have a proper dinner the whole time either!
Ashlen
March 12, 2015 at 1:32 pm
Stomach viruses are the worst. I would much rather have almost anything else than gastrointestinal problems! Hope they gave you a prescription for ondansetron – that stuff’s the best (and as a pharmacist I kind of know what really is the best!). Take it easy, and I hope you feel better soon!
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chelsea
March 12, 2015 at 4:35 pm
i didn’t know you were a pharmacist, ashlen!! the friend i’m running the race with (hopefully) on saturday is also a pharmacist-yay! and that is the medication they gave me…you are GOOD! excited to watch your vlog 🙂
Amberly
March 12, 2015 at 6:25 pm
I’m so sorry you’ve been sick!!! 🙁 That’s never fun at all!!! Being dehydrated is the worst, I was there a few months ago. My favorite thing was little apple juice popsicles. Joe just poured apple juice in ice cube trays, covered them in foil and poked toothpicks in and then we froze them. Best thing ever!
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chelsea
March 13, 2015 at 8:30 am
ohhhh i hadn’t thought of apple juice popsicles, amberly! genius! i am totally going to grab apple juice next time i’m out. ugh dehydration is totally the worst. hope you’ve been healthy since your sickness.
Audrey
March 13, 2015 at 5:59 am
Ugh, feeling under the weather is the worst! I’m glad your hubs was around to make the experience slightly less lonely, scary, & stressful! Feel better soon!!
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chelsea
March 13, 2015 at 8:30 am
thanks audrey! thankfully i’m feeling a bit better each day otherwise 🙂 stay healthy!
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Courtney! @ Redefining Athlete
March 13, 2015 at 9:00 am
Glad you are feeling better! i think having a husband has made me a bigger baby when I’m sick because I know he will take good care of me, haha… but I like it 🙂
Courtney! @ Redefining Athlete recently posted…Tying the Knot Trot 5k: Planning a 5k on Your Wedding Day
chelsea
March 13, 2015 at 10:04 am
thanks courtney! haha i think i might have done the same thing you’ve done in regards to being a bigger baby since he’ll take care of me ha! however, now that he’s out of town and no one is here to listen to me whine…i am slightly less of a baby.
Karen
March 13, 2015 at 12:44 pm
I hope you’re feeling better!
I’m in school for audiology, so I might have to rally to change the name of the otoscope to “ear canal checker”
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chelsea
March 16, 2015 at 10:21 am
ohhhh interesting that you’re in school for audiology, karen! please do a take a poll in one of your classes to see if they will change the otoscope to ‘ear canal checker’ or something of better wit 🙂
Amanda Wood
March 14, 2015 at 6:06 pm
So Scary!! I’m glad you are feeling a bit better now and I hope you were able to make your race! If you did, how was the mashed potato bar??????
Amanda Wood recently posted…Silver Linings
chelsea
March 16, 2015 at 10:22 am
ugh it’s been a week i don’t need to repeat in terms of health or of financing trips to urgent care but thanks for your kind words amanda! i did make it to the race but i sat…and ate my potato so all was well 🙂
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