Late night Emergency Room visit

Last night around 9:30 pm, Helena began to complain that she didn't feel well. She said she had a huge headache and felt like she needed to throw up, but couldn't. She told me she had taken Excedrin Migraine meds about an hour ago (Bill and I had been out on a date until 9:30). She decided to take a shower and go to bed.

At 10:30, she came back upstairs in tears and told me that she didn't feel good and then collapsed onto the couch, sliding down onto the floor. She was crying and telling me that she hurt all over and couldn't get up. She started hyperventilating and said that her left side was numb. Then she would calm down, relax, and say that the pain was gone and her left side was tingling like it had fallen asleep. Especially the extremities of her hand and foot.

After several episodes that seemed to cycle, Bill asked me to call the doctor. We reached a nurse and described Helena's symptoms to her. She recommended that we take her in right away to be checked. Unfortunately, it was so late that even the after-hour clinic was closed. The only option was the emergency room.

Will didn't want to be left behind, so we all piled into the car and drove to the hospital. There were a lot of people waiting in the lobby and a woman sat behind the glass. When we told her we wanted our daughter checked and described her symptoms, she ushered us into the emergency room. I was supporting Helena, Bill had the clipboard of paper work she handed him, Will was behind us. I didn't realize until we were in an examining room that Will had been prevented from following us through the door and had been told by a nurse to wait in the lobby.

They hooked her up to a blood pressure cuff and finger pulse monitor. Her blood oxygen was at 100%. That is not normal. Then they had her put on a hospital gown and got her 'branded' with an id bracelet (she wanted to know if she got to keep it). After initial questions and exams, the doctor ordered a CAT scan to make sure is wasn't stroke related. Oh, and apparently the CAT scan tech also asked Helena if there was a chance she could be pregnant. I wasn't with her for that question. Maybe they thought it would be better to ask that one away from my presence. She told me all about it, though, since she thought it was a funny because she hasn't even been on a single date yet and doesn't even like people to touch her face, let alone yuckier stuff like sex!

The CAT scan came back clear. He ruled out Meningitis, too, since she didn't have a fever. He concluded the the symptoms were a cascade effect from her hyperventilating. He didn't know why she had such a severe headache, but that it was the cause of the entire episode.

Meanwhile, back in the lobby, Will was worried and upset. Bill went out to sit with him while I stayed with Helena during the CAT scan and waiting for results. However, before Bill rejoined him, Will had sent a text to several family members to tell them we had taken Helena to the hospital! Oops.

So there you have it. Our midnight adventure at the hospital on a Friday night. This morning I got to call all the family members Will had contacted and explain the situation. Helena has spent most of today sleeping. She is still exhausted, but doesn't have a headache anymore.

She spent a lot of time in the hospital apologizing to us for being such a bother and (I assume) for the cost of the emergency room visit. All our reassurances couldn't get her to stop apologizing. I am glad that it turned out to be nothing serious, but I don't regret taking her in. Her symptoms were too serious to ignore and could have been indicators of something really severe.