When I went to the emergency room with gallbladder pain, it was just me I had to worry about. It was me who felt pain, there was something wrong with me, me, me, me.
I've gone to the emergency room twice since finding out that I'm pregnant and it has been the opposite. The first time, I was bleeding slightly, a few drops at a time. Although the blood was bright red and I was worried, I had learned that as long as there's no pain, there's no problem. This I learned from one friend, the internet, and a book I was currently reading.
My boyfriend, Daniel, told me to call one of his friends and she said that any blood was a bad sign. I decided to wait for a bit. I visited Daniel at work, ate some Chipotle, and went to the bathroom to check on the pad that I was using. This time is was more blood and it scared me. I decided to head to the ER.
Daniel's friend took me and stayed with me. We waited, I believe, about 2 hours, and I ended up leaving five hours later. What was wrong?
Nothing.
They put me on pelvic rest for a few days and told me I was fine. All that waiting...
The next ER visit was really scary for me.
There's an Asian Festival every summer at a park downtown and I had been waiting to go since last year. I was so excited I woke up at five and just laid in bed until it was the appropriate time to wake Daniel up so we could go. Did I mention that I had been looking foreward to going for a year?
So, after eating breakfast (scrambled eggs with ham, side of beans, tortillas, and pineapple), Daniel, his friend, his friend's wife, their baby girl, and I climbed into their car (I don't remember what it was, maybe Escalade?). Daniel drove as I gave directions and we circled the festival area until we found a parking spot. It was a ten to fifteen minute walk to the park and then a five minute walk to the stage area. It was awesome!
We saw about five minutes of the performances when we decided to get the little one a cute "asian" umbrella. We stood up, I pointed in the general direction, and Daniel took the lead. I don't remember why I ended up being the tail end of the group but we hadn't taken three steps when I felt something warm trickle down my leg.
"Shit, I just peed myself," I thought as I took another step, "Maybe if I keep walking it'll dry off and I can clean myself up in a porto-potty." I looked down as I took two more steps. My pee has never been thick and bright red.
I called to Daniel who didn't hear but his friend's wife did. She turns around, looks at what I'm looking at, and shouts for the guys. In my head, I start freaking out. On the outside, I probably look like the other hot and sweaty people holding cameras with the exception of fear on my face.
Daniel rushes over and they make me sit down on the cement that's been heated by the sun for hours. I try to shift so that the step I'm sitting on is at the edge of my bum as I feel a kind of like a bubble filled with warm, thick water just came out of me.
Meanwhile it was decided that Daniel's friend would go get the car and drive on the main street along the side of the park and we would wave him down when he got near us. Since my boyfriend was only wearing one of those thin undershirts (it was like 90 degrees) his friend handed me his shirt and left wearing his undershirt. We used this to cover up my legs. I got up, felt another bubble, and looked at Daniel as he said he was going to carry me.
Now, this would have been fine if he was in the same shape when we met and don't get me wrong, he's still hot in my book, but he's definitely lost a bit of abs and arms since he stopped working out because of his job.
But he didn't want me to walk so he carried me, stopped to rest, carried me again, stopped, and finally we made it to the side of the road. Up until this point I was only bleeding, an alarming amount compared to before, but there was no pain and I was okay, although embarrassed by the looks I got from people.
We stood at the edge waiting for the friend when I felt dizzy, then more dizzy, then nauseous, then I tried to sit on the ground and I think Daniel saw this and helped me sit because I would have just laid my head on the ground since I had no strength. The rest is kind of a blur but here is what I remember with what people told me:
They flagged down the friend. Daniel and some sweet Asian guy helped me in and onto the front passanger seat. I was buckled in and just as they were closing the door I stuck my hand out and threw up a little aiming for away from the car (it landed on that step that tall vehicles have). Someone shoved an undershirt into my hands and closed the door. I threw up into the shirt and then the car started moving. Someone gave me a plastic bag that I used to place the now dirty shirt in and found out that Daniel was driving without a shirt on. I felt better after throwing up but when the vehicle started moving the dizziness came back. I was offered water. I refused. I threw up the remainder of my breakfast, choking on some of it before coughing it out. I somehow gave directions to the nearest hospital. Passed out. Came to. Didn't know where I was. Passed out. Came to when we arrived at the ER.
Daniel carried me in. I was put in a wheelchair and taken into a room and left there. A guy came in and asked me questions. Daniel came in and held my head. I tried to answer the guy's questions but I guess when they asked me in how much pain I was in, and even though I responded three times, nobody heard me.
I actually wasn't in any pain, just felt dirty, hot, and scared with blurred vision and occasional blanking out. They took me to another room where they made me lay down on a bed. Someone tried to clean my legs. More questions. Daniel came in with a black leather jacket (I later learned that it was the only thing his friend had in the car) and I was more awake now.
During my stay, I had blood drawn, more blood drawn, and then an IV, and then more blood drawn. (Apparently I was dehydrated or something.) I was made to take off my underwear and saw all kinds of things, not just blood, so I started freaking out even more. Pelvic exam. Ultrasound. All this, of course, was stretched out in six hours.
I learned that the baby was fine, untouched, and possibly just wondering what the heck it's mother was doing. They mentioned that it was a blood clot and that it could happen again. By this time I had stopped bleeding though and they said that there really wasn't a lot of blood. (What?!) If I soak a pad in about an hour and/or have pain then I definitely have to worry.
Since then, no blood, no pain, and same appetite as before. And those have been my ER visits since I found out I was pregnant.
