H1N1 (Swine Flu) Has Struck!

All this talk about the Swine Flu really never had me worried. I figured I was washing my hands enough, using hand sanitizer *more* than enough, and just generally staying away from sick people. Well, reality has hit me. Regardless of my hygienic practices, I ended up contracting it somewhere... where? I have a fairly good idea, but I won't name names here. :) Someone at work, though. I'll leave it at that.

Tuesday morning I woke up all congested and coughing phlegm up like crazy! I was also sneezing, which is normal for me during pregnancy, but not like this. The sneezes were constant, and they felt like I was sneezing gunk up from my toes! They were such deep, painful sneezes, I dreaded every one of them, and I'm a big fan of sneezing!

I went to work thinking I could just push through it, but at 1130 hrs when George picked me up to take him to work, I decided enough was enough. I came home for the day and just relaxed and got some rest.

Wednesday morning I awoke and I was in so much pain I could hardly tolerate it. Now, mind you, I have a very, very high tolerance for pain. So, when something knocks me down, it's serious. My muscles were so sore, it felt like I had a ton of steel sitting on me, pinning me down. I couldn't sit, stand, lay down, or walk without being in excruciating pain! On top of that, the cough was worse, the sneezing was so hard it made my eyes water painfully, I was having a difficult time breathing, and I had a fever. I tried to just get through the day, but the more it went on, the more pain I was in, the more I couldn't breathe... something, I knew, was definitely wrong.

I tried to call George a couple times, but got no answer. Then I tried to call Jon and Maryanne, both not answering. In desperation, I called Maryanne again, and she answered! Turns out, she was on another call trying to get off it. Glad I could help! :) I asked her if she could take Madeleine for me, she asked what was going on, and I managed to tell her I couldn't breathe. I think she was here in 3 seconds flat! She took Madeleine to her house with Jon, then took me to the ER up at Holy Family. I was triaged, then had to go sit and wait. At one point I was so hot I felt like I was going to pass out. So, I did what any logical person would do... yeah, I went outside and layed down on a bench wearing just a sweatshirt, sweat pants, and a pair of flip-flops. I was loving it! That was ruined, though, when a family came out to smoke. And where did they sit?? On the bench right next to me! Dang! Time to go in!

Sitting in the ER on the chairs was difficult, at best, because I couldn't breathe, couldn't get a big breath for anything. Maryanne asked if there was a place I could lay down until they had a bed available, so they took us to the family room just off the ER lobby. Within about 20 minutes, George showed up. It was at that time that Maryanne was ready to go, so she was on her way. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have friends like that who will drop everything to help a friend that looks (and feels!) like they've just been through a tornado! I was so thankful to her and Jon for helping out in a moment's notice.

George gave me a blessing while we were in the family room, which helped. I love the Priesthood authority he has, and that he willingly asks me if I need blessings randomly. He's such a good, loving husband and father.

After what seemed like forever, George asked the people at the desk if my turn was coming soon, and they told him they were calling my name about 10 minutes prior and figured I'd just left! Ugh!! He reminded them that we were in the family room so I could lay down. They told him it might be a bit since there were more people ahead of me and no beds available. But, as luck would have it, the lady that originally took us to the family room came to get me, was very apologetic, and took me to an empty bed. I told her I was okay and that I was thankful they had the family room available. :) I wasn't mad, so it was all good. And she was super sweet about it. No harm done.

After we got to the room, a whole slough of people started coming and going from our room. Oh, I might also mention that my first temp was 101.6, the second was 99.6, then the third was 99.1. It was going down on its own... could have something to do with the fact that I took off my sweatshirt and put on the hospital gown. Who knows. Anyway, I had an x-ray (vest covering baby, btw) of my chest, and it was fairly clear. I had swabs done of my nasal passage, which felt like little tiny bee stingers stinging me waaaaaay up in the farthest corner of my nose (not pleasant), and my blood pressure was taken several times. One of the nurses listened for the baby's heartbeat and found it to be at a healthy 146 beats per minute. It was 142 in Dr. Maughan's office a couple weeks ago, so it's good. :) The Dr. came in and checked me out, asked if I wanted any saline bags for hydration (negative, I wanted to get home at that point...), or if I wanted anything else. I simply told him I wanted something for the pain because it was excruciating, and hopefully I could get some sleep, seeing how I couldn't with the pain. They gave me a shot of some pain med, which really did nothing. *sigh* They also gave me a dose of Tamiflu, which is the antibiotic for the flu and H1N1. The swab was positive for flu, though they don't have the ability to narrow it straight down to H1N1. But with all the symptoms I was having, their best guess is that that's what I have.

About 15 minutes after the dose of Tamiflu, I started coughing, then I felt like I had to spit. Now, this is a normal thing for me while pregnant, spitting incessantly because my mouth over-produces saliva and it makes me feel like I need to vomit. No fun, but I'll take it over morning sickness any day! So, I went to the sink, ran the water, and just kept spitting and spitting and spitting. But wouldn't you know it? I had to throw up. Not pleasant for those around me, I'm sure. Especially George... poor George... the Dr. came in and assessed me, asked if I wanted an anti-nausea med, I said yes, so he sent one of the nurses back with 2 pills. I took those and was good as new; er, as good as I could possibly feel at that moment.

Later on the Dr. came back and asked if I wanted a prescription cough medicine. I turned that down because I don't want too much going into my system, possibly affecting the baby. So, with a prescription for Tamiflu and the ok to take ibuprofen for just a couple days, we were on our way out the door. Finally! Six hours later...

When we got home, we both went straight to bed. I slept with my mask on and faced away from George. :) I really don't want him or Madeleine to get sick. Luckily, Madeleine had her first ever sleepover at Auntie Min's (Maryanne's) house, and she didn't even know it! Not sure how she did through the night, but I'll have to call them later. She's now up at daycare with Grandma Pooh, who told George just to get her tonight when he gets off work so I can rest. We have such amazing friends and family! Oh, and I should also mention that when Mike and Paula brought Madeleine to me last night around 1930 hrs, they stopped at the store and got me some soup and chicken broth. That was so sweet of them because I couldn't even imagine having to leave the house to go shopping!

My mom just called a few minutes ago and told me that my brother Brandon was experiencing the same symptoms over the last couple of days, and that he wanted me to call him. So I did. He just wanted to check up on me and make sure we were all doing okay. Brandon's not the sentimental, over-the-top kinda guy, but he's always been my protector. Through school, he was right there if anyone ever messed with me. I guess he still holds that role. :) He made sure he told me he loves me, and to take care of myself. And he said that he's feeling better and is too stubborn to go to the dr. himself or admit he's sick. He's now in the clear. :) Thankfully.

When I got up this morning, I was still feeling rather blah and run down. My face is covered in spots from the broken blood vessels from the force of puking early this morning. My muscles were sore. I was still coughing like crazy. But, all in all, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing to discourage me. I think it'll be good. I'm on quarantine, though, until Saturday, as I'm still contagious. So, I've not been to work since I left on Tues morning. I just hope Linda's doing okay. :)

Now, to go eat some soup, drink some Gatorade, and go back to bed. I'm still pretty worn out, so rest is a good thing.