6 days of confinement

So I just got out of jail the hospital today after spending 6 days at St. Paul's.

I started feeling a bit under the weather around the second week of May, but I mistook it for just allergies and colds, so I self-medicated. And the symptoms cleared after several days so I thought that was it.

I even went to Cebu to attend my high school bestie's wedding, and I felt great during the 4 days I was there.

2 days after I came home, my throat started to itch. Then came the coughing. Then came the aches and pains. And I thought, "Hey, I got the flu." Which led to another round of self-medication. 2 days later, I felt better, but I was still coughing quite a bit.

And later that night, I was rushed to the ER. For chest pains.

Being brought to the ER looks more exciting in movies than in reality. There's the rush driving, running through the red lights, parking haphazardly outside the ER, running inside, screaming for a doctor.. In my case? It was quite a leisurely drive, no rushing. We parked at the back of the hospital and I walked inside the emergency room and calmly asked for a nurse.

>What sucked about that night was that though the ER was kind of quiet, there were quite a few patients and only one resident physician. So there I was, lying on a bench, with chest pains and labored breathing, waiting for the doctor to finally check up on me.

The BF was getting agitated, and when he saw me crying silent tears, that was when he stood up and demanded the nurse to have someone see me already. So after one hour of waiting, the doctor came.. Then he sent me to get a blood work up and chest x-rays. Which led to another hour of waiting for the results to get back. X-ray was clear, but the blood test came up with viral results, so I was given a round of medications for 5 days before I was cleared to go home.

And 5 days later, I thought I'd be feeling better.

I was still coughing and having random chest pains despite the antibiotics I was prescribed, so I finally decided to go see a pulmonologist, especially after finding out I lost quite a few pounds.

Monday morning I went for a check up at the OPD, by afternoon I was back at the ER with a needle in my vein, waiting for me to be transferred to a room.

Being in bed for 6 days may sound like a vacation.. And in the beginning, it sure felt that way. I spend my time reading novels and re-watching the first 2 seasons of my fave show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. And sleep. I did get a lot of sleeping time. But it gets boring after a while.

What sucked the most was that I wasn't able to wash my hair for days, because I am tethered to an IV line. And it also sucked that one of my meds gave me a gastric complication that made me bloat like a fat pig.

The nurses were great, but I think they'll understand if I don't want to see them again. Well, maybe in different circumstances. ;)