Sunday, May 14, 2006
After a glass of orange juice, I went running today again to the little nearby park. I decided to go a little past the park to see what was there and I suddenly got very dizzy. I sat down on the curb for a few minutes, then started walking back (since the road there was slightly downhill and I didn't want to ruin my knees). I picked up jogging again when the grade got easier, and I again got dizzy. I stopped for a minute or so and then started again. Did okay once I got to Chris and Nate's street, but when I turned the corner, I got dizzy once again. I stumbled forward and I recall hearing a neighbor ask from his window if I was okay. I said yes. I woke up in the back of an ambulance. Two EMTs, both female, were taking care of me, and one of them was asking me questions which I was able to answer. The ambulance was moving. My head, left knee, and right shoulder hurt. I was wheeled into an emergency ward. They lifted the board I was on and put me down on a gurney. A nurse operated a machine to take my blood pressure and pulse—the results seemed satisfactory. Next they needed a CT scan of my head to make sure it hadn't cracked open. I was wheeled to the special room and it felt very Star Trek having the scan done—especially the whirring machine noises. After that, they did an EKG which took about 10 seconds it seemed. Then it was a lot of waiting. The ER was nearly empty when I had arrived and completely full within about 60 minutes. We were told there was only one doctor on duty. I was not allowed to leave unless the CT scan results were okay. By this time, they had contacted Nate and Chris, and they both came over to see how I was doing. I got to chat with each of them for a while while waiting. A nurse had told me that my eye looked to be the worst thing that happened to me, and I didn't realize how true that was until I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My right eye had gone black, blue, and swollen, enough to cause Chris and Nate to gasp and cringe upon seeing it. The staff in the emergency room don't give anything away like that. A nurse cleaned up and bandaged the abrasion on my left knee, another brought a cup of water and a straw when I asked, and the results from the CT scan eventually arrived—all was well. I was told to expect the next 2 days to be worse (they weren't), to take over-the-counter pain medication for the pain, have someone stay with me for the next 24 hours, and no exertion. Chris left to go to brunch with his family—we had planned a morning brunch at the Ala Moana Sundowner for just before his graduation. Nate took a cab with me home. The emergency room people gave me a large blue polo shirt to wear home. Jen came to watch over me, but I mostly slept the afternoon, getting up once to drink some water and eat some yogurt. We both missed seeing Chris's graduation, which was the reason for my visit. In the evening, Chris and Nate had planned a small party at their place. Their neighbor Valerie helped out with an extra table and chairs, bringing ice, etc. Catered food arrived. I was so hungry that I ate a full plate of food in about 10 minutes. Many of Chris's friends and family came to celebrate, and though I was still groggy from the morning's incident, I enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone. Chris and Nate's neighbor John was there, so I thanked him for calling 911 so quickly, and he related what he saw of what had happened. I think Chris received more leis than he could wear! Marta gave many of us fuzzy yarn leis which she made herself—so sweet!