Where to take your Date on a Saturday Night

As Dennis and I were driving home at 2 a.m. Sunday morning I had to joke with him that I would've much rather spent the evening with him at the temple and dinner like we had been planning all week than what we had been doing all Saturday... Taking turns kneeling over the toilet.

What? Too graphic?
There's no getting around it. It was just one of those days.

Dennis woke up early with a sour stomach. I woke up about 7 with similar symptoms. Clara and Maylee woke up at about 10 and I didn't know how we would be able to keep Clara occupied with both of us bedridden. Thank goodness G-pop came over and picked her up for a weekend at their house. I have since found out that they went out for ice cream, saw the big fish ponds, planted Strawberries (she loves playing in the dirt), and irrigated (she loves playing in the mud even more...) She didn't want to come home!

Anyway, we spent the afternoon napping and hurling and all those things that accompany the flu. Dennis was feeling a bit better in the afternoon and I finally started to not feel so nauseous at about 7 that evening. I decided I should probably try to eat something since It had been 24 hours and all I had managed to choke down was three saltine crackers, some ice water and a popsicle. Dennis warmed me up some soup, but I had a hard time even walking to the kitchen table to eat it. I had to put my head down for a few minutes and catch my breath before I even attempted to slurp down some broth. I drank 2 and a half spoonfuls and then felt horribly wrong. I knew I had to get to the bathroom, but I couldn't make myself move. My extremities were tingly and numb. I finally made myself get up and move, but it was difficult. I made it to the bathroom door but hardly could even try to get past the child doorknob cover before I collapsed in a pile of dirty laundry in the hallway. I held back the nausea for about thirty seconds before it almost completely went away and was replaced with the most horrible pain in my hands and feet. They had completely locked up with the worst cramps I had ever felt. My hands looked gnarled and arthritic and I couldn't bend any of my joints. I was so cold, yet so feverish and dripping with sweat. My face was numb too. All I could do was cry and lay there for a half an hour, unable to move my fingers. It's a little freaky to be so completely out of control of your own body. I kept thinking and trying to figure out what on earth was wrong with me that would make me cramp up so badly. Does dehydration do that to you? Maybe I had botulism? Food poisoning? 

John and Teri came and picked up Maylee, then John & Dennis gave me a blessing. Dennis drove me to the hospital. Of course by this point I was already feeling much better, reminiscent of my hospital trip last November. We were in the waiting room for an hour and a half listening to trashy TV. At one particularily crude point I asked Dennis "Do we have to watch this crap?!" and I think I said it a little too loudly because the lady at the desk immediately went and turned down the TV to a barely audible level. I felt kind of bad that she heard me, but was also very relieved. I guess the ER was really busy with Saturday night three-day-weekend party crowds. The longer we waited the more I just wanted to go home so I could sleep and get warm. I was freezing. I wish they had a bench without armrests in the waiting room so I could just lay down. That's all I wanted to do. They did bring me a toasty warm blanket, which was nice.

When I got back to the room they ran some tests, gave me an IV and some nausea medicine and pain killers for my achy body (imagine having a cramp for over a half an hour... My hands are still sore three days later). Nothing came back extreme. The doctor told me I was slightly dehydrated and was lacking electrolytes (salt). He explained that when we get sick the water and electrolytes get pulled out of our blood to help flush everything out of our system... Which explained the killer headache, numbness and hand and feet cramps. I had never heard of the flu causing such pain and cramping (and my face was numb! I have never experienced such a weird feeling!) but now I know that it is a possibility.

As the doctor was leaving I just had to ask, "so if this were to happen again?..."
He replied, "Eat some chips and drink some gatorade."

Awesome.

For pennies worth of salt I probably could've been just fine.

I feel like I'm the little girl "crying wolf" with all these trips to the ER.

I am grateful to have medical care at my fingertips... And grateful to have insurance so this bill will be much more bearable...

But holy cow I'm too cheap for this!