Some things you just can't control
I woke up yesterday completely terrified. Part of my face was swollen, my mouth was shut close and convulsing, I couldn't breethe as I was choking on my own saliva. I was sleeping with my sister Annie, and my jerky movements probably woke her up as she started screaming for my brother to come over. After that, I passed out.
I woke up a minute later, very confused, with two strange men looking at me and asking questions. Annie said I was funny, everytime they asked me to do something I kept on answering 'no!' Finally, it bacame clear who they were, they were the ambulance technicians coming to take me to the hospital. Fortunately, they were both really patient and friendly, reassuring in a time of panic and confusion.
We rode the ambulance to Royal Vic Emergency, mainly because that's the hospital in Montreal with the best neurosurgeons in town. I'll avoid boring you with the details of lying down in a hospital emergency room filled with patients and with barely enough room for the orderlies to navigate the gurneys around. I had a bunch of tests done (blood, pressure, temperature, then a battery of neurologic tests), as well as a head CT scan. Nothing came back abnormal. However, since this is not the first time I have such an episode (I had one about six years ago, pretty much the same thing), now the doctors are taking the situation seriously and sending me back to Vancouver with a bunch of tests to do. They also gave me medication to help prevent any further episodes. They are not talking about epilepsy yet, only about a second seizure.
Thinking back, I'm wondering if maybe I had an episode when I was alone, but never realized it. Both documented episodes happened when someone else was around, but I sleep alone most of the time. That's what really worries me...
We came back home around 4 p.m. yesterday, after spending the better part of the day at the hospital. I was starving, I wasn't allowed to eat until they released me (in case they found something catastrophic with the CT scan and had to operate immediately). I was also exhausted, my muscles were tired and stiff, so were my neck and my jaw.
I feel better today, but we're taking it easy. My parents were initially hosting a brunch with some of my dad's family. With all the unknowns yesterday, they decided to cancel the brunch and focus on letting me rest. You can't say I don't have a supportive family!
I'm sorry this had to happen during Christmas, but I'm happy I was home and in good company. My sister and brother reacted promptly, called 911, called my parents, and took good care of me until the ambulance technicians showed up. Poor Annie, she thought I was choking on something and stuck a finger in my mouth. Needless to say, she almost lost that finger, only her quick reaction saved her from loosing a chunk to my clenched jaws.
I woke up a minute later, very confused, with two strange men looking at me and asking questions. Annie said I was funny, everytime they asked me to do something I kept on answering 'no!' Finally, it bacame clear who they were, they were the ambulance technicians coming to take me to the hospital. Fortunately, they were both really patient and friendly, reassuring in a time of panic and confusion.
We rode the ambulance to Royal Vic Emergency, mainly because that's the hospital in Montreal with the best neurosurgeons in town. I'll avoid boring you with the details of lying down in a hospital emergency room filled with patients and with barely enough room for the orderlies to navigate the gurneys around. I had a bunch of tests done (blood, pressure, temperature, then a battery of neurologic tests), as well as a head CT scan. Nothing came back abnormal. However, since this is not the first time I have such an episode (I had one about six years ago, pretty much the same thing), now the doctors are taking the situation seriously and sending me back to Vancouver with a bunch of tests to do. They also gave me medication to help prevent any further episodes. They are not talking about epilepsy yet, only about a second seizure.
Thinking back, I'm wondering if maybe I had an episode when I was alone, but never realized it. Both documented episodes happened when someone else was around, but I sleep alone most of the time. That's what really worries me...
We came back home around 4 p.m. yesterday, after spending the better part of the day at the hospital. I was starving, I wasn't allowed to eat until they released me (in case they found something catastrophic with the CT scan and had to operate immediately). I was also exhausted, my muscles were tired and stiff, so were my neck and my jaw.
I feel better today, but we're taking it easy. My parents were initially hosting a brunch with some of my dad's family. With all the unknowns yesterday, they decided to cancel the brunch and focus on letting me rest. You can't say I don't have a supportive family!
I'm sorry this had to happen during Christmas, but I'm happy I was home and in good company. My sister and brother reacted promptly, called 911, called my parents, and took good care of me until the ambulance technicians showed up. Poor Annie, she thought I was choking on something and stuck a finger in my mouth. Needless to say, she almost lost that finger, only her quick reaction saved her from loosing a chunk to my clenched jaws.
1 Comments:
At 12:42 PM,
Anonymous said…
Dear
Melissa, You gave us quite a fright, even if we were kept informed by phone. Thankfully, Annie and Marc-Antoine were there to call the ambulance. After what seemed like very long hours, we had news that you were back home and resting.
Nous avons manqué le brunch familial qui aurait été l'occasion de te revoir, mais l'important était d'apprendre que tu ne sembles pas trop mal en point. Anne-Marie et Luc se chargent de livrer les cadeaux, le tien a été acheté à Prague, comme la plupart des cadeaux de Noël cette année. Nous espérons qu'il te plaira.
On te souhaite que la nouvelle année te soit propice en tout, et que tu retrouves l'excellente condition physique qui te permettait de courir pour la cause du cancer du sein.
De gros câlins virtuels pour remplacer ceux qu'on aurait aimé te donner en personne.
Prend bien soin de toi,
les grand-parents Saumier
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