The Hospital Adventure

I fought the wall and the wall won.

Badum-bum.

*crickets chirp*

Yes, well. My day was interesting. Shortly before 11:30, I was putting a book on a shelf that was against a wall. I stood up. I walked forward. I forgot to turn. My nose hit the wall. My nose hit the wall hard. My nose smashed into the wall with enough force to make me stumble back, seeing stars. I didn't even think, didn't even register pain. I hurried down to the cafeteria, got ice and wrapped it in paper towels. Two of my coworkers were there and asked if I was okay. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out how, when a person walks into a wall, only the nose hits. I still wasn't registering pain. I went back upstairs, holding the makeshift ice pack to my nose. The pain was registering. My nose was throbbing violently. I was slightly dizzy. A few minutes passed, with me sitting quietly at my computer, holding ice on the bridge of my nose. After about twenty minutes, I realized something was wrong. I felt like hell. The world was spinning. My entire face, head, and neck throbbed and ached and pulsed. My neck was feeling oddly stiff. I could barely keep my eyes open. I wanted very badly to sleep. My boss walked back into the library area from his errand. I told him, in a small voice, that something was wrong and I might need to go to a hospital. I explained what had happened, and he called the office manager. She came up, looked at me, and asked if I wanted an ambulance. I said yes. She called for one. They came up and got me, two young men in EMT jackets, strapping me onto a stretcher. I told the manager to call my husband, who was actually working in DC at the moment, so he would be able to meet me. I rode in am ambulance for thr first time in my life. The EMT who sat with me was named Jason. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he kept me awake and talking as the ambulance drove to George Washington University Hospital.
They took me to a large room with several beds, and put me on the bed against the wall nearest to the door. I waited and waited. The first person who came to my bed, though, was my husband. He sat down in the chair and held my hand, and informed me that he had walked here from the Marriot hotel on 23rd and M, four blocks away. He had called his boss, gotten some replacement techs, and came right here. I was sort of drifting in and out by this point, but coherent and amused. A doctor arrived, very cute, looked a little like Masi Oka (I kept expected him to say "Yatta!" every so often). He performed some basic tests, told me I had a mild concussion, and suggested that I get an MRI to make sure my brain was okay. He said my nose was pretty swollen and bruised, but probably not broken. I told him that my brain already had some abnormalities, and he said he'd keep that in mind. I was taken in for the MRI. It went quickly. I was wheeled back. I also went to the bathroom about six times; my bladder had decided to shrink. Another doctor came by, looked at my nose, and declared it not broken but very bruised. I was given Tylenol. The first doctor came back and mentioned my original abnormalities, and I think I surprised him by saying, "Yeah, that's the periventricular leukomalacia, don't worry about that." He seemed impressed that I knew so much about my own brain. Duh, really.
A nurse finally gave me my discharge papers. Official diagnosis was mild concussion, headache, bruised nose with swelling. Adam and I walked to the Marriott and he got his car, and we went home. I had been at the hospital for four hours, most of it spent waiting. That was average, I guess.
I finally had breakfast around five-thirty tonight, dinner just a few minutes ago. The swelling has gone down but my nose is still throbbing like mad.
I don't know if my insurance will cover the ambulance ride. Adam says it should. Or maybe it depends on the injury. How much does an ambulance ride usually cost?

And yes, I'm okay. I can't sleep for another couple of hours, doctor's orders. But I can rest, and rest is good enough. I'll go back to work tomorrow. I hope I didn't worry anyone at the office.

The Hospital Adventure

I fought the wall and the wall won.

Badum-bum.

*crickets chirp*

Yes, well. My day was interesting. Shortly before 11:30, I was putting a book on a shelf that was against a wall. I stood up. I walked forward. I forgot to turn. My nose hit the wall. My nose hit the wall hard. My nose smashed into the wall with enough force to make me stumble back, seeing stars. I didn't even think, didn't even register pain. I hurried down to the cafeteria, got ice and wrapped it in paper towels. Two of my coworkers were there and asked if I was okay. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out how, when a person walks into a wall, only the nose hits. I still wasn't registering pain. I went back upstairs, holding the makeshift ice pack to my nose. The pain was registering. My nose was throbbing violently. I was slightly dizzy. A few minutes passed, with me sitting quietly at my computer, holding ice on the bridge of my nose. After about twenty minutes, I realized something was wrong. I felt like hell. The world was spinning. My entire face, head, and neck throbbed and ached and pulsed. My neck was feeling oddly stiff. I could barely keep my eyes open. I wanted very badly to sleep. My boss walked back into the library area from his errand. I told him, in a small voice, that something was wrong and I might need to go to a hospital. I explained what had happened, and he called the office manager. She came up, looked at me, and asked if I wanted an ambulance. I said yes. She called for one. They came up and got me, two young men in EMT jackets, strapping me onto a stretcher. I told the manager to call my husband, who was actually working in DC at the moment, so he would be able to meet me. I rode in am ambulance for thr first time in my life. The EMT who sat with me was named Jason. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he kept me awake and talking as the ambulance drove to George Washington University Hospital.
They took me to a large room with several beds, and put me on the bed against the wall nearest to the door. I waited and waited. The first person who came to my bed, though, was my husband. He sat down in the chair and held my hand, and informed me that he had walked here from the Marriot hotel on 23rd and M, four blocks away. He had called his boss, gotten some replacement techs, and came right here. I was sort of drifting in and out by this point, but coherent and amused. A doctor arrived, very cute, looked a little like Masi Oka (I kept expected him to say "Yatta!" every so often). He performed some basic tests, told me I had a mild concussion, and suggested that I get an MRI to make sure my brain was okay. He said my nose was pretty swollen and bruised, but probably not broken. I told him that my brain already had some abnormalities, and he said he'd keep that in mind. I was taken in for the MRI. It went quickly. I was wheeled back. I also went to the bathroom about six times; my bladder had decided to shrink. Another doctor came by, looked at my nose, and declared it not broken but very bruised. I was given Tylenol. The first doctor came back and mentioned my original abnormalities, and I think I surprised him by saying, "Yeah, that's the periventricular leukomalacia, don't worry about that." He seemed impressed that I knew so much about my own brain. Duh, really.
A nurse finally gave me my discharge papers. Official diagnosis was mild concussion, headache, bruised nose with swelling. Adam and I walked to the Marriott and he got his car, and we went home. I had been at the hospital for four hours, most of it spent waiting. That was average, I guess.
I finally had breakfast around five-thirty tonight, dinner just a few minutes ago. The swelling has gone down but my nose is still throbbing like mad.
I don't know if my insurance will cover the ambulance ride. Adam says it should. Or maybe it depends on the injury. How much does an ambulance ride usually cost?

And yes, I'm okay. I can't sleep for another couple of hours, doctor's orders. But I can rest, and rest is good enough. I'll go back to work tomorrow. I hope I didn't worry anyone at the office.

The Hospital Adventure

I fought the wall and the wall won.

Badum-bum.

*crickets chirp*

Yes, well. My day was interesting. Shortly before 11:30, I was putting a book on a shelf that was against a wall. I stood up. I walked forward. I forgot to turn. My nose hit the wall. My nose hit the wall hard. My nose smashed into the wall with enough force to make me stumble back, seeing stars. I didn't even think, didn't even register pain. I hurried down to the cafeteria, got ice and wrapped it in paper towels. Two of my coworkers were there and asked if I was okay. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out how, when a person walks into a wall, only the nose hits. I still wasn't registering pain. I went back upstairs, holding the makeshift ice pack to my nose. The pain was registering. My nose was throbbing violently. I was slightly dizzy. A few minutes passed, with me sitting quietly at my computer, holding ice on the bridge of my nose. After about twenty minutes, I realized something was wrong. I felt like hell. The world was spinning. My entire face, head, and neck throbbed and ached and pulsed. My neck was feeling oddly stiff. I could barely keep my eyes open. I wanted very badly to sleep. My boss walked back into the library area from his errand. I told him, in a small voice, that something was wrong and I might need to go to a hospital. I explained what had happened, and he called the office manager. She came up, looked at me, and asked if I wanted an ambulance. I said yes. She called for one. They came up and got me, two young men in EMT jackets, strapping me onto a stretcher. I told the manager to call my husband, who was actually working in DC at the moment, so he would be able to meet me. I rode in am ambulance for thr first time in my life. The EMT who sat with me was named Jason. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he kept me awake and talking as the ambulance drove to George Washington University Hospital.
They took me to a large room with several beds, and put me on the bed against the wall nearest to the door. I waited and waited. The first person who came to my bed, though, was my husband. He sat down in the chair and held my hand, and informed me that he had walked here from the Marriot hotel on 23rd and M, four blocks away. He had called his boss, gotten some replacement techs, and came right here. I was sort of drifting in and out by this point, but coherent and amused. A doctor arrived, very cute, looked a little like Masi Oka (I kept expected him to say "Yatta!" every so often). He performed some basic tests, told me I had a mild concussion, and suggested that I get an MRI to make sure my brain was okay. He said my nose was pretty swollen and bruised, but probably not broken. I told him that my brain already had some abnormalities, and he said he'd keep that in mind. I was taken in for the MRI. It went quickly. I was wheeled back. I also went to the bathroom about six times; my bladder had decided to shrink. Another doctor came by, looked at my nose, and declared it not broken but very bruised. I was given Tylenol. The first doctor came back and mentioned my original abnormalities, and I think I surprised him by saying, "Yeah, that's the periventricular leukomalacia, don't worry about that." He seemed impressed that I knew so much about my own brain. Duh, really.
A nurse finally gave me my discharge papers. Official diagnosis was mild concussion, headache, bruised nose with swelling. Adam and I walked to the Marriott and he got his car, and we went home. I had been at the hospital for four hours, most of it spent waiting. That was average, I guess.
I finally had breakfast around five-thirty tonight, dinner just a few minutes ago. The swelling has gone down but my nose is still throbbing like mad.
I don't know if my insurance will cover the ambulance ride. Adam says it should. Or maybe it depends on the injury. How much does an ambulance ride usually cost?

And yes, I'm okay. I can't sleep for another couple of hours, doctor's orders. But I can rest, and rest is good enough. I'll go back to work tomorrow. I hope I didn't worry anyone at the office.