the er floor

my sis karen texted last night at 9:30 that she was going to the er in a great deal of pain. this totally freaked me out because she's 3 months pregnant. she passed out in the er waiting room from pain, so they gave her a gurney to lie on in the waiting room until they could see her. after midnight she got into an exam room and they got some drugs in her to dull the pain. it appeared she had a kidney stone. the baby's heartbeat was fine, but they couldn't do the regular scan to see if it was a stone because of the baby. so they started her on iv fluids to help flush the stone out and gave her something for nausea, because with the pregnancy she has that problem all the time. i was so worried i didn't fall asleep until 4am and then justin called at 5:30 and asked me to met him at their house to get some things for karen and take them back to her, so he could get a few hours sleep and check on the dogs.

i found karen crying just before 7am. the nurse had yelled at her because she couldn't get up to use the bathroom on her own and then when karen asked for a bed pan she was rude about it. she also let her iv go empty for an hour, when she needs as much fluid as she can get so that stupid stone can pass. nursing is one of the very last things i would ever want to do as a career, but yelling at a pregnant, puking, girl in the worst pain of her life is just wrong. fortunately for the nurse, i had arrived at the shift change and she was gone. her new nurse was much nicer and even though the fratboy at the er desk was giving me bs, the nurse gave her pain meds and a new iv when she needed it.

for the next two hours, i got karen in pjs, kept her covered with her quilt, held her hair while she puked, emptied her bedpan, and let her know how much more time until she could get another dose of pain meds. i threw a blanket on the floor and stretched out in between. tile floors are cold. er's are noisy, mostly cause the nurses sit at the desk and yak it up. listening to the drunk girl in the next room was entertaining though. the only thing that got me to smile while there. after her 9am dose of drugs, i hooked up her cpap (breathing machine) in hopes she could sleep until justin came back at 11. then i went home, gave the fam an update and crashed until 1pm.

off to work at 1:30. holy crap the library has been busy! job security is great and all, but why the heck are so many people coming to see us. having to replace the return book bin 2-3 times an hour is just crazy. it was interesting trying to make coherent sentences and sound friendly, when all i wanted to do was curl up under my desk and sleep. at least i got done most of what i needed to and the rest will just have to wait until monday.

came home and got more updates. karen was admitted around lunchtime and has to stay until it passes, but they were able to locate it and it should be able to pass. her midwife came by too and said childbirth would be a walk in the park compared to this and that the baby looked fine. cat and kate's family visited her this afternoon and evening, sam brought justin dinner and then mom came at 9pm to spend the night with her so justin could get some sleep. hopefully they keep her on the meds at the right times and the pain doesn't get any worse. luckily my mom does bitch well, especially when one of her babies is hurt, so karen shouldn't have anymore nurse problems. i'll go see her tomorrow and know more. i complain a lot about my aches and pains, but at least, with the exception of the week before my back surgery, i've never had to deal with that kind of pain. and it only hurt if i tried to sit, it wasn't constant. my surgery was outpatient, so i've never had to spend the night in the hospital as a patient. for all these things, and that the baby is okay, i feel truly blessed.