Fingers Working and Less Drunk

After reading my last post I feel quite embarrassed but cannot erase it because it definitely describes how I have felt the last few days. Today I am feeling better and am also able to type as you may notice. Now for the details. Here is my version of the ER story. Monday: 2:30PM on the phone with Uncle Todd-light headed and not feeling well. Dad overhears Todd asking me if I am okay and comes in the check on me. Dad stays with me through another dizzy spell then I tell him to leave because I have a lot to do. I am kinda pushy and really wanted to get things ready. Seriously 30 seconds later I call for my Dad because things are getting worse and I cannot see. Dad comes in and decides that we are going to go home early. Dad packs up in record time and my arm beings to go numb. I start to panic. We rush out of the office and my Dad tries to calm me. He is named Emotional Coach for the next rough hours. Tara and Dad get in car and begin to head home. Tara is feeling even more numb and gets more scared. Okay enough with the third person. Then out of no where, my hand hits me in the face. How rude, but seriously...my hand hit me in the face. My hand started convulsing and then my arm started flying. My Dad tried to hold it down and it kept hitting him. I refer to my hand during this period as an "it" because I had no control and do not want to recognize the fact that it was, my arm. My Dad called Terri and I texted her a few times with my burned right thumb. No answer. Then my face turns numb right before the 202, 101 intersection. I tell my Dad to head to the hospital and he happy heads in that direction. My arm is beginning to become very sore because I had been fighting my dad. My muscles were aching but I could not stop my hand from flying all over the place. When he did let my hand go it felt like there was a bat flying around in the car. My hand would smack the window and then hit me and then fly behind my head. We had to get my ring off because I was rubbing the other ringers raw with it edges. When I stop seizing I try to move my fingers and this is when I really start to freak out. Can you image the things that would run through your head if you could no longer move one of your arms? I was scared that it would never stop going crazy and that they would have to cut it off or tie it town because it would be a hazard...that was the extreme. I thought of all the years of piano I have practiced and all the future children I want to hold and how hard it would be without an arm. I now have more empathy for people missing a limb. Terri finally called us back and told us to head right to the ER. My dad picked up the pace and we soon made it to the ER. They quickly checked me in and stuck a nice IV in my arm. The bruise is amazing. I have never had an IV bruise like this and I find it sad that I have other IV experiences to compare it to! :) They could not use my port because the ER is too dirty I guess. After they stuck me with the IV they had to take blood from the same arm, practically in the same spot! They really need to learn to combine needle pokings! My arm continued to go crazy for about 10 minute sessions for about 3 hours. My mom came in after everyone else and saw it and about freaked out. She had no idea why we were there and she was so confused. She started saying that we need to tell the nurse and she started to go find a nurse when my dad reminded her that the nurse had seen it and that it had been happening for an hour and a half. I tried to control my arm so she would not see but I could not help it and she saw the crazy arm. It was the weirdest thing in the CT scan. I had to hold my arm down and it literally kept running away from me. I cannot reenact what happened but it is deeply en-grained in my memory. So I had the scan and then we waited 5 hours for a doctor. 5! They finally put me on an anti-seizure Dilantin. at first they had it set to run at 100 drops per hour or something like that and then I got really itchy so she said she was going to cut it in half. She left and I continued to itch. Josh looked at the monitor and it said 300. When she came back he said, " I'm no doctor but you said you were going to cut it in half and it is at 300 right now and half of 100 is 50." She quickly changed it back...scared out of her mind. I am glad that he caught it and said something. The medicine has been a complete pain. I feel like I am dunk and having a hangover and the same time apparently. I have no idea why people would want to get drunk...it was miserable and lasted for three days! I was dizzy and stomach sick and did not know what was going on! I hated it. I am much better now. So today I can move my left arm fine and we will not know more until next week. There are a number of things it could be. We got home at around 3 after our ER experience. It was my first time and I prefer to never go again...dreaded place. Happy November! I am so thankful for my beautiful under-appreciated left arm.

Night night for me. Study Study for Josh. He has a big test tomorrow...

Tara B.