I've always had a pretty dysfunctional digestive system. I had colic when I was an infant and cried basically 24/7 according to my relatives (maybe I was emo back then too?). I remember being like 4 or 5 and having stomach aches at least two times a week that would cause me to lay on the couch and cry. In fact, my tum tum was so sensitive, that I lived in sweat pants and leggings from the ages of 4-8 because I said that denim jeans hurt my belly; I was clearly not very fashion conscious back then... Anyhow, these days my stomach becomes upset very easily. Any foods with too much butter, olive oil, rich sauces, or fried foods and I'm usually in the throes of agonizing stomach cramps approximately 45 minutes after said meal. Let's just say it's not exactly conducive to a good time, when I don't have access to my own private facilities afterwards. My stomach occasionally hurts for no reason at all too. I will randomly have stomach aches with no foreseeable means to an end, aside from sleeping it off at night. However, this past Tuesday took the cake, when I made my very first trip to the E.R.
I woke up on Tuesday morning and felt a bit off; I rarely become hot or sweaty in my sleep, but I woke up pretty sweaty and with a weird pain in my lower back. I thought maybe it was my kidney and it really hurt when I was sitting up straight, but I thought that perhaps it would go away. By 11am, the pain had moved to my upper stomach, right below my sternum/above my diaphragm area. It was an intense, stabbing pain that literally made it hard for me to function or move when it came. I felt unusually hot and knew that I probably had a fever. At that point, I started to feel extremely nauseous. I went to work, as I really have no choice as a manager, and every associate basically told me I looked white/green/or like shit. I felt like shit, so it's not hard to imagine I looked it as well. Every time the stabbing pain came back, I felt more and more nauseous. After I closed the store down at 9pm, I made a trip to the bathroom where I proceeded to throw up. And then I threw up 3 more times within the hour. I NEVER throw up due to illness unless I'm drunk or hung-over as all hell, so I knew that something was wrong. I still had a stabbing pain, but felt a little less nauseous. I went home thinking that I was in the clear, but completely exhausted and with the stabbing pain as intense as ever. I thought I could lay down and fall asleep, but the pain was too much, and I started to feel too nauseous to even roll over or drink water. I was hot one minute, and cold and sweating the next, and I started to cry because it really felt like someone punching me in the stomach, over and over and over. My brother and boyfriend both said that maybe I should just go to the E.R. in case it was my appendix or some shit- apparently if your appendix explodes you only have a short time to live before the toxins kill you. To be honest, I though maybe I had some flesh-eating bacteria devouring my stomach (it always comes back to the flesh eating bacteria...lmao). I couldn't stop crying at that point and really felt delirious as shit, consumed with a gnawing pain, so i crawled out of bed and went to the E.R. with my brother. I was wearing sweats and a tshirt, for heaven's sake!- so you know I must have been ill. LOL. The last time I left the house in sweats, I was high on morning glory seeds, if that gives you any indication of the state of delirious pain I was in at that point in time.
I'm not sure if any of you have seen the SNL skit "Appalachian Emergency Room," but as my brother was pulling up to the E.R., another man and his mother pulled up in run-down pick up trucks, screaming to each other in the parking lot, and I knew the shit I was about to see first hand would rival the ridiculousness of SNL's "Appalachian Emergency Room." Because the man in the truck beat me to the front desk, he was admitted before me. He was a fully grown man of like, 28 probably, but his mom who drove there to meet him in a separate vehicle (Please note: This man was well-enough to drive himself, whereas I walked in crying and hunched over), strode into the waiting room shouting "my boy needs to be seen!" LMAO... even in my pain, I laughed in my head because this obese bitch was like Darlene Grape (the mother in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape.") After 3 minutes of waiting for this obese family to get the fuck away from the receptionist's desk, I was brought into a room where I was put into a hospital gown, summoned to take a urine test, and told to lay down in bed. I had a blood test done and they determined my red blood cell count to be abnormal. After describing my symptoms and crying the entire time, the nurse hooked me up to my very first IV. I was given not one, but two bags of IV fluid, and on top of that a narcotic drip to help ease the pain. That was pretty sweet to be honest. I could only feel my pain if I thought about it, but the painkiller shooting into my veins made it much easier for my mind to drift off into nothingness land. haha. The IV made my arm feel like a block of ice, and I noticed that all of my nails had turned blue. My teeth started chattering and I started physically shivering and then the nurse brought me a heated blanket and a heavy quilt. Aaaaah. The good life! lol. The doctor was really nice, and after poking my stomach all over, seeing the results of my blood work and listening to my symptoms determined I had gastritis (an inflammatory infection of the stomach lining/GI tract). She gave me a prescription for an antibiotic, hydrocodone painkillers, nausea medicine, and good ol' antacids. As I lay in the hospital bed in a state of mindless euphoria, I overheard the doctor speaking with the other patient who had come into the ER at the same time I had. Apparently this man had a stomach ache too; only his was caused from eating Chinese food, on top of being obese, and having been diagnosed with a fatty liver, and told to not eat Chinese food. I laid in bed thinking about my pain, and this asshole who treated his body like shit and was in the E.R. for a pussy reason like eating too much Chinese and getting a tummy ache and I felt slightly angry. Meanwhile, his mom kept referring to him as 'my boy' and I could have sworn it was Mrs. Grape talking about Arnie in the other room, lol. I was dismissed from the hospital at 4 am, and had a dr.'s note to miss work the next day.
I woke up the next day and my nausea was completely gone, but the stabbing pain was still there, albeit not nearly as agonizing. I wanted to call into work, and knew I probably should so that I could rest and make a full recovery, but I didn't want my co-worker to come in on her only day off or have my other coworker work a 14 hour shift. I sucked it up and went into work later in the afternoon anyhow. Today, I am almost 100% better. My stomach only hurts if I move in certain ways, but it's really nice to not feel like death. I always appreciate my health so much more after being sick.
Anyhooter,
now that I've told that story.....
I finally did some drawing this week, for the first time in forever and a day. I also worked on my book and am now moving on to my third journal! Whooo hooo! I will leave you with some sketches and random pictures just because I can.
A painting I did last year, that I ruined when I threw red paint on it in a fit of emo-rage.
She was so beautiful.... sigh. haha
This one-eyed bitch looks HONGRAY! hahahahahahahaha
eh.
My precious poussoir, Monsieur Bijou- my delicate, fairy princess. hahaha. I'm sick, I know.
The lipstick color I wish I could wear everyday. My sister donated (yes, I'm like a charity case) this Nars lipstick to me.. score.
