Yesterday was a long day.
First, I drove the hour and a half out to Brewster for a district clergy workshop on clergy sexual malpractice. An informative if not completely fun time. Then, seeing how it ended in time to shoot to Watertown and pick Jan up, giving us some rare time together, even if it was just for a long ride back to Rhode Island, I did it.
Apparently I wasn’t thinking as deeply as I should. I had two cups of coffee in the morning, together with some yogurt. I later shared half my lunch sandwich with a colleague who arrived too late to place an order for her own sandwich and drank a bottle of water.
On the way back we stopped at a Whole Foods to get the makings for a Faux Pho soup for dinner.
As we stepped out of the car I felt an itch on my left shoulder blade. I reached around and, I don’t know, pulled a muscle, something like that. The pain was excruciating. And it was followed by a wave of nausea. Several waves.
I leaned into the car.
And the next thing I knew was a bunch of people were staring down at me, one professional looking woman speaking on her phone. Apparently I had fainted dead away. Jan tried to break my fall and did it nicely, although she ended up bruised. Me, not a scratch. Although it would be a while before that was known. There were various conversations going on, I found I wasn’t massively interested in the details, although I was forced to repeat what happened several times to different folk.
I turned my head in time to see the Fire truck.
I learned what that neck brace is like. I don’t recommend it unless you really, really need it.
And soon I was off to Newton Wellesley hospital.
One major thought that kept poking through the nausea was how that morning I’d selected the pair of underpants on the top of the pile, a pair that had many holes in it and how I had had a passing thought it was past time to throw them away. Next time, I thought. Not soiled, but should I be undressed, somehow, vaguely, somewhere floating out there, embarrassing.
Truth be told, mainly I was deeply uncomfortable and nauseated.
Turns out there’s a drug for that.
Much waiting, and more telling of the story.
An EKG and a trip down the hall for a Cat Scan.
And for me a nap and for Jan knitting and waiting…
The results, well, the doc said a unique episode. My heart was fine. And so was my head – something my friends should note the next time they suggest I should have my head examined – it has been…
Consensus I sat too long and didn’t have enough fluids in me.
Jan, however, pointed out that in addition to those truths, I am not only overweight (I heard the EMTs grunt tossing me around) but also out of shape.
I got a little fear of the Lord moment.
Sickness, old age & death are inevitable. The first one we have some modicum of input about…
And so…
After I write this its fifteen minutes on the stationary bike…
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