ER - Not so joyful

Apparently there was a full moon on November 19 because the ER at Centerpoint was full. I had been to the ER on October 20 for the same issue (only not as severe) and saw a Nurse Practitioner right away. I told Toph that we needed to go somewhere else. In his voice of reason, he said by the time we got to another hospital, we would have been admitted there. Plus, Dr. Ash's practice is connected to the hospital.

My Mom showed up and took Bippy home to sleep. During what seemed like hours, more like forty minutes, I could not sit upright in the waiting room chairs. The pain came in waves and I remembered my labor breathing to get me through it. As soon as I was taken to the admitting room, I was immediately taken back to get blood and other specimens. By then the pain, dehydration from my wine, and exhaustion led me to vomiting. In the middle of it all, I heard a nurse ask, "would you call the pain a 10 now?" I couldn't help but laugh with her because I am tough. I yelled back, "oh you know it!"

I can't remember much of the whirlwind after the pain medication started. I know I had a sonogram and CT scan and sharing fart jokes with the CT technician. Back in the ER room at some point around 3am, I met Dr. Clark who inquired about my sexual health at length. I was confused, this was about my gallbladder, how did my sexual health relate to a gastrointestinal issue? Next thing I knew he was performing a pelvic exam and asked if I felt pain - which I did. He then told me that I had a cyst possibly on my fallopian tube. I didn't think twice about it - cysts are common. I was told then that I was to be admitted to the hospital.

My primary attending nurse on the women's health floor told me after I was situated that I would be seen by Dr. Moreno in the morning and an oncologist.

Oncologist? What? A cancer doctor? Why? What?

Fortunately, the pain medicine and exhaustion knocked me out until the doctor showed up.