Noon brought lunch. Over breakfast, I had filled out the form they gave me to choose my meals. For lunch I picked a grilled chicken caesar salad with spinach and fruit cocktail, thinking that would be healthy to pick at. What arrived was a plate of beef ragout, rice, and banana cake. I hate wasting food but none of that appealed to my already low appetite. After much back and forth, I learned they had no more salad, never got my form, and all I could get was tuna salad or egg salad. Since I hate egg salad, I went with tuna salad and got this unexciting plate.
I tried to eat the sandwich but it was like trying to force myself to go through the motions of eating. I really had no appetite. On top of the fever, I was also battling my asthma all day, which was arising for some unknown reason. The nebulizer helped me feel a lot better, although it was only temporary, and we didn't know why I was reacting to begin with.
Awful picture of me, but it's how I'm feeling. Clearly still freezing - under my hospital gown, fleece sweatshirt, multiple blankets, down coat
For much of the afternoon, I alternated between being warm and being so cold that I huddled my entire body under the mountain of blankets, shaking to try to warm up. They kept telling me to take the blankets off but I felt so chilled to the bone without them, so why would I do that?
I tried to eat the sandwich but it was like trying to force myself to go through the motions of eating. I really had no appetite. On top of the fever, I was also battling my asthma all day, which was arising for some unknown reason. The nebulizer helped me feel a lot better, although it was only temporary, and we didn't know why I was reacting to begin with.
For much of the afternoon, I alternated between being warm and being so cold that I huddled my entire body under the mountain of blankets, shaking to try to warm up. They kept telling me to take the blankets off but I felt so chilled to the bone without them, so why would I do that?
After some time, the fever seemed to go down a little bit, enough that I could eat the fruit cocktail they managed to find.
I also managed to eat a little bit of real food at dinner, which was turkey with green beans and stuffing. Luckily that arrived during a break between fever bouts. And stuffing was the only thing that had seemed appetizing for days.
I had more asthma issues throughout the night, and then at 11:30 pm, after the nurse helped me off the nebulizer yet again, she told me they were moving me. What?! At 11:30 pm, after visiting hours, when I'm alone. Now you're going to move me? Can't this wait until the morning? Or couldn't you have done this earlier when A or my parents were there? Are you moving me because I happen to be awake? I was going from a solo room to a joint room and not very happy about having to share space. I was suffering enough from the fever (but I guess they decided I wasn't carrying some infectious disease) that all I wanted to do at 11:30 was try to sleep, especially since because of the ring debacle the night before, I had barely slept at all. I was about to get into bed! But no, right now it's time to move to a new room, get acclimated, figure out where all my stuff was going to go, etc. So considerate. My side of the joint room was tiny compared to what I had before and I was so frustrated that I kept moving all the furniture around (couldn't figure out how I wanted it) while hooked up to the IV. Guess my adrenaline still worked as I didn't even have the energy to stand earlier in the day. And I wasn't being a bad roommate. My roommate slept through the whole thing.
The joint room was in the middle of a long hallway filled with other patients, jabbering away, coughing, sneezing, and making other sick noises. I felt safer in the quarantine room! Here, with my fever, I had a better chance of picking up some other horrible disease and I was worried I was going to get even sicker or not recover at all thanks to the move. I couldn't sleep with all the noise (and my roommate, who seemed like a very nice lady, snored at a high decibel level) and asked the nurses if they had earplugs. They suggested Ambien. No thank you, I do not want drugs. I just wanted something to physically block out all the aggravating noises around me because I just came from a room that was silent other than the whirring white noise of the machines. I tossed and turned for hours and barely got any sleep. Thanks for helping me get better, hospital.
I also managed to eat a little bit of real food at dinner, which was turkey with green beans and stuffing. Luckily that arrived during a break between fever bouts. And stuffing was the only thing that had seemed appetizing for days.
I had more asthma issues throughout the night, and then at 11:30 pm, after the nurse helped me off the nebulizer yet again, she told me they were moving me. What?! At 11:30 pm, after visiting hours, when I'm alone. Now you're going to move me? Can't this wait until the morning? Or couldn't you have done this earlier when A or my parents were there? Are you moving me because I happen to be awake? I was going from a solo room to a joint room and not very happy about having to share space. I was suffering enough from the fever (but I guess they decided I wasn't carrying some infectious disease) that all I wanted to do at 11:30 was try to sleep, especially since because of the ring debacle the night before, I had barely slept at all. I was about to get into bed! But no, right now it's time to move to a new room, get acclimated, figure out where all my stuff was going to go, etc. So considerate. My side of the joint room was tiny compared to what I had before and I was so frustrated that I kept moving all the furniture around (couldn't figure out how I wanted it) while hooked up to the IV. Guess my adrenaline still worked as I didn't even have the energy to stand earlier in the day. And I wasn't being a bad roommate. My roommate slept through the whole thing.
The joint room was in the middle of a long hallway filled with other patients, jabbering away, coughing, sneezing, and making other sick noises. I felt safer in the quarantine room! Here, with my fever, I had a better chance of picking up some other horrible disease and I was worried I was going to get even sicker or not recover at all thanks to the move. I couldn't sleep with all the noise (and my roommate, who seemed like a very nice lady, snored at a high decibel level) and asked the nurses if they had earplugs. They suggested Ambien. No thank you, I do not want drugs. I just wanted something to physically block out all the aggravating noises around me because I just came from a room that was silent other than the whirring white noise of the machines. I tossed and turned for hours and barely got any sleep. Thanks for helping me get better, hospital.
Eventually I wore myself out from all the stress and frustration (and furniture moving) and managed to make it to sleep for at least a little while amidst all the racket outside. I really hoped they would figure out what was wrong with me so I could go home!
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