I'm Home!

I am over whelmed with the show of love from you guys!  Joe was so kind to let you guys know and he kept reading to me each and every comment that you sent me!  I am truly humbled and just know that all the love and prayers you sent me didn't go unnoticed!  I think Joe also enjoyed reading them...especially when his name was mentioned!

So whew...what a couple of days...let me start from the beginning.

On Wednesday I had a doctor appointment.  We changed family doctors and so this was my first appointment there.  I also went because I was having ear problems.  The doctor said that I had some fluid behind my ear and probably some blockage and she prescribed antibiotics, a nasal spray and a decongestant and said to let her know if it didn't get any better.

Thursday I went to work and my new employee, Lisa started which I was very excited to be finally getting some help!  We were talking and getting to know each other and I mentioned that my ear was really bothering me....she asked what was wrong and I told her that my right ear was clogged and that it had been like this for 2 weeks.  She asked me if I ever tried "ear candling"...I said that no but I knew what it was because my Aunt does it in her salon.  She said that it works wonders for unclogging ears!  I said that I should try it and she suggested I go across the street to a Health and Nature store to buy some and she would do it for me!  I was all excited because my ear had been bothering me so much that I thought it sure couldn't hurt to try! (wrong!)

I quickly go over and buy 4 candles because the girl at the store told me that it usually takes 2 candles to work effectively.  I get back to work and we quickly set up everything.  She does one candle which takes about 20 minutes...boy is that every weird...not sure if you've ever had that before but the crackling sound that it makes and everything is the strangest thing.  If you don't know what ear candling is....google it!
After it was done, you are supposed to cut the bottom open to see what the candle was able to pull out of the ear...we cut it open and there was hardly anything in it!  Darn I thought....guess I didn't have much in there!
Buy then it was about 12:30pm.  I got up and thought, "wow...I can actually hear better!"......I was all excited and thought that it did work!  About 1:00pm I went home for lunch....I had nacho's and cheese and chocolate chip cookies....very healthy right?  hehe.....I was feeling great.  Joe had just gotten up (he works nights) and I told him about it...he said he never heard of it.  He was glad that my ear felt better!

I got back to work a little after 2:00pm.  Around 3:15pm I was putting something up on a shelf and I was like...."whoa....I am really dizzy"......I sat down in the chair and called Lisa over and said that I didn't feel good.  She said, "oh no...I hope it wasn't the candling".....at that point I was VERY dizzy and couldn't even stand up and my ear was making this weird piercing noise!  I called my doctor and told them what was going on and they said that Dr. Waters would call me back.....by then it was about 3:30pm and every minute that went by I was feeling worse and worse.  I told Lisa that I wanted to go back to the office area which was closer to the bathroom because I wasn't feeling very well.  She helped me walked back and I sat down...the whole room was spinning.  I called the doctor back because she still didn't call me and said that I needed to come over asap because I was getting worse....they said to come right over and the Physician's Assistant would see me.  I called Joe and asked him to come and get me.  Luckily Vera was there from one of our other stores or I wouldn't have been able to leave because it was Lisa's first day and she didn't know how to work the computer!
Next thing I knew I felt like I was going to vomit.  I grabbed on to the desk and held on till I got to the bathroom.  I just made it and got sick in the bathroom.  I stayed in there till Joe got there.

The doctor's office was only about 10 minutes away.  When we got there, I got out of the car and got sick in the parking lot (I will never eat Nacho's again....sorry....TMI).....Joe somehow got me into the waiting room and only sat for a couple of minutes.  They took me back and the doctor asked what was going on.  I told him about my ear and the ear candling....he said, "Ummmm".....he took my blood pressure and apparently didn't like what he was seeing and asked me to lie back on the table....well that wasn't good because as soon as I laid down, the whole room was spinning...I sat up and said I was going to be sick....he grabbed the trash can and I got sick....several time....blah!!   He opens the door and yells, "I need a basin in here!".....finally one shows up...just in time and I get sick again.  He looks in my ear and says that he need to go talk to Dr. Walters on what to do.
Dr. Walters comes in the room and almost with an attitude says that I need to go over to the ER immediately.  At this point I didn't care because I was feeling BAD!   They grab a wheelchair and rush me out to the car.  He said he would call the hospital to let them know we were coming!!

Thankfully the hospital is like 2 minutes from the doctor's office.  Joe misses the turn which sends my head spinning and luckily I had the basin with me!
We get to the hospital and Joe runs in for a wheelchair.  He pushed me in where they say they will be right with me....just what I wanted to do...sit in the ER with a basin full of.....okay I'll spare you those details!
After I sat there about 5 minutes I told Joe to go tell them to hurry because at this point I didn't think I could sit there much longer without passing out!  He goes and tells them and about 2 minutes later they call me back....but just to the registration!  I no sooner got up to the registration and got sick again!  The nurse acted like she didn't even notice!  Joe told her all the details and she started to hurry up and quickly got me registered.
I was wheeled back immediately and about 6 doctors and nurses came running over.  I could hardly get out of the wheelchair and onto the bed.  They start asking questions and poking around at me....my left arm is pulled over and an IV is shoved into my hand.  I see needles going in and feel things poking in my ear!  I heard the one doctor say that you should never do ear candling......then I hear a nurse saying that her Pediatrician told her to give her son an ear candling...so they are all going back and forth about this ear candling while I'm laying there still vomiting and feeling about the worse I've ever felt.
20 minutes later and several meds shot into me...my arm with the IV feels like its going to fall off because it was so cold (I later find out that they were trying to get the fluids in me fast so that's why my arm felt so cold).....I started to feel like I didn't have to vomit anymore and the room wasn't spinning as much.
They then told me that I have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo...or BPPV....from Wikipedia:

Within the labyrinth of the inner ear lie collections of calcium crystals known as otoconia. In patients with BPPV, the otoconia are dislodged from their usual position within the utricle and they migrate over time into one of the semicircular canals (the posterior canal is most commonly affected due to its anatomical position). When the head is reoriented relative to gravity, the gravity-dependent movement of the heavier otoconial debris (colloquially "ear rocks") within the affected semicircular canal causes abnormal (pathological) fluid endolymph displacement and a resultant sensation of vertigo. This more common condition is known as canalithiasis.

Hmmmmm....so apparently the ear candling did something to my "crystals" and it brought on severe vertigo which caused the dizziness and vomiting.

I had to stay overnight in the hospital...was released with an anti-nausea medicine, an anti-vertigo medicine, more antibiotics....plus continue with the a nasal spray and the decongestant.....all from a candle!!!!!!

Here is a lovely picture (not!) of me (thanks Joe):

Yes I looked as awful as I felt!

When it was time for me to be discharged, the nurse hands me a note for work.  It says that I can return the 10th!! 

What!?? 

That must be a mistake a said! 

Ummm...no.....it will take about 2 weeks for the symptoms to subside!

I can't be off work that long! 

You will be too dizzy to work...the "crystals" need to settle down and it takes rest.

Yikes!  All I could think about was how will the store run without me?  Poor Lisa just started and now I won't be there!  My boss works out of our main office which is over an hour away and she would have to drive there very day!
I thought I would get sick all over again!

I leave the hospital and Joe gets me all settled at home.  He runs out to fill my prescriptions and decided I better call my boss to give her the news.

I called her and she asked how I was doing and what had happened.  I filled her in and she said I could take off whatever time I needed.  I told her that the doctor wrote the note for me to be off until the 10th but that I would work Saturday since we are only open 4 hours and thought I could do it.  She said that if the note said the 10th, then I couldn't come back until the 10th!  She said that I had enough sick days so I wouldn't miss any pay.  She said that she would take care of everything including the ordering and that I should just concentrate on getting better! 

Whew!  What a relief.  I was so worried that they would be upset that I was taking that much time off but they weren't!  Poor Lisa...she texted me several times and was so worried about me.  She blames herself and I told her not too because it wasn't her fault!  She feels really bad and I don't want her to.  Plus I feel bad for not being there with her while she is learning!

So that's my story.  I am so sorry I wasn't able to put up the Follow Friday post!  I have never missed a week and kept thinking about all of you!  I hope you guys will still come back next Friday!

Thank you all for thinking of me and sending prayers my way.  I am feeling slightly better and the meds do help alot.  I haven't gotten sick since the hospital but I am still dizzy and my ear is still clogged and ringing!  I am going to an ENT next week for further evaluating.

If anyone has had anything happen like this, please let me know!

I'll be resting for the next 7 days...or at least trying to!  My laptop will be burning hard and I'll get to catch up and my favorite thing to do....blog!  :)

See you tomorrow for Meet Me On Monday!

Hugs to you all!