On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s your pain level? (Um, huh?)

I’ve never been in an ambulance before.

Even as they were loading me in I was already starting to feel better.

The morphine was taking effect.

before the paramedics arrived I lay on the floor wondering what was wrong with me, wishing it would all go away. (Who likes pain?)

“It feels like I’m in labor again,” I told my husband. “The worst part.”

Sharp pains in my side followed by vomitting and numb fingers and arms before the pain wrapped around to my back as well.

Wha??

I was so glad that Levi was napping and couldn’t see the fuss.

As much as I knew I needed help I also felt weird and uncomfortable that we needed to call the ambulance.

Wasn’t hte ambulance for really injured people – like car wreck victims? And dying people?

I was neither.

I was in pain though, perhaps the worst pain I’ve ever experienced apart from birthing Judah. Or maybe it was worse. (Pain is hard to compare, isn’t it?)

Side note: I always think it’s funny when they ask you what your pain level is on a scale of 1 to 10. I mean, it’s all so relative, right? What’s a 10?? Having your body crushed under a bulldozer? What’s a 1? A bee sting? *sigh*

All I could think about on the way to the hospital was that I was glad it was me strapped into that bed, and not one of my babies.

it all felt so dramatic. (Really? We really need an ambulance? Debatable. Maybe I should have been tougher…?)

And yet it didn’t feel dramatic like I’d expect an ambulance ride to feel. (Hello, too much television.) As the meds kicked in I felt very aware of most of what was happening.

The ambos were nice and funny and gentle adn reasonable.

Turns out I may have passed a kidney stone. Or I may not have.

THe morphine made it hard to tell.

(But they did rule out a burst appendix, so that’s the good news.)

Now all we have to do is wait and see if it happens again. (To know whether or not it actually passed.) If it deos, my instructions are to call the ambulance and ask for morphine, STAT.

The doctor told us not to bother trying to drive to the hospital. Get the ambulance there immediately to start the pain relief. Apparently it’s “worse than labor”. I’ve yet to google and check it all out for myself. (Yes, I’m one of those – self-diagnosers… I don’t like going to the doctor unless I really, really need to.)

After a few hours of waiting around Emergency adn seeing a couple of doctors, I was home and feeling perfectly fine as if nothing had ever happened.

Strange day.

All was back to normal… though I was a little more vulnerable on the inside. I may have lingered with my boys a little longer int eh back yard before calling everyone in for baths and dinner. And I may have held my baby for 30 minutes after he was already asleep before putting him to bed.

But other than that, life goes on as it always does.

Not hte way I had planned on spending my Saturday afternoon.

But an interesting one, nonetheless.

STOP.

 

Q for you: When’s the last time you had a big change of plans for your day? Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?

 

Love,
A

p.s. Mom, I know you read my blog without fail, even if no one else does. Rest assured I’m totally fine. Totally. If I wasn’t, we would’ve called. Really. 🙂 And for my own records, I went two minutes over time today.

 

Click Clink Five | Five minutes a day, unedited.
Adriel also writes (using spell check!) on motherhood and parenting at The Mommyhood Memos.