The Vacation that Suddenly .... Wasn't

Well, the wedding I posted about earlier took up the entire day Saturday. Our our plan (Gary and I) was to drop Ryan off at the airport on Sunday morning at 5:00am (7:00 am flight) and then drive into Yellowstone to take photos. Gary was kind enough to take Ryan the 1/2 hour to Idaho Falls airport from Rexburg while I got a bit more sleep and started packing - I was not feeling very well (I know - I sound like a broken record ...). We headed to Yellowstone and were gifted with a beautiful day:

Took a ton of photos, but my all time favorite was this gal (a guy told me it was a female 2 year old bald eagle and that as early in the morning that is was, she was not going anywhere if I walked up close to the perch she was on - so while everyone used there telephoto lenses and glared at me, I walked right on up to this pretty lady and snapped away):

In keeping with annoying the other visitors in the park an old gentleman in a car yelled at me that I "was getting too close" which was probably also true - but buffalo seem so serene ... until you piss them off:

We were both beat and it was too early to check into our hotel in West Yellowstone so we did the unthinkable - we drove to a picnic spot - pulled over, lay down and napped! A clue things were not going very well at all ... I suppose.

On the way out of the part to check into our hotel, we stumbled onto a herd of Elk - the male was very spectacular looking and fierce - this is with my telephoto lens:

Soooo ... I am not feeling well, we head off to bed. At 3:00am I wake up unable to breathe and was convinced that I was having a heart attack. I decided that if I lay still enough that it felt kind of ok and that I would go back to sleep and see if I was alive in the morning - I don't know why I was not as panicked then as I was later - probably lack of oxygen.

Morning came and I was a bit worse. We had a flight at 3:00pm and we were in the podunk town of West Yellowstone - not really a town, just a jumble of hotels and snow mobile rentals. Gary packed everything up while I panted - literally shallow quick breaths since I could not take a deep breath. I felt EXACTLY like when I was in High School and was diagnosed with Pleurisy (an infection around the lining of your lungs). Gary came back and got me and got me in the back seat of the car ... and we started to drive.

We hit Rexburg and he asked me if I wanted to find the hospital, I said no. We hit Idaho Falls and he asked again - again I said no. We then had all the way to Ogden, Utah before we hit anything of a big city. Gary's brother and sister-in-law live there and we called his sister-in-law, Jill, and asked her to set up a doctors appointment for me. Arrived at their home, got the address and away we went - while cancelling our flight and rescheduling for the next morning.

Got to the doctors and in the understatement of the year the nurse said "So you are not feeling very well, huh?". I couldn't even answer her because I had not enough air to get words out. The doctor came in and put on a pulse oxcipitor on my finger to determine the percent I was saturating oxygen - she thought it was broken and got another. Must have not been all that well since the next thing I know she is calling an ambulance and and asking what hospital we want to go to? We had no idea and picked. She then got me on oxygen with those annoying cannula's stuck up my nose blowing - lovely, wonderful, 100% oxygen into me. Next thing I hear is sirens which lead me to believe that not much in the way of excitement happens in Ogden, Utah. Two, yes, two vehicles show up - as in it might be an anthrax scare and not just one very sick lady.

The cutest crew of .. what are they called? Got me on the gurney, tried to start an IV in the moving vehicle which I knew was going to be the funnest part of this whole ride. He apologized profusely when it didn't work (after I had told him it was not going to work - the vein was going to roll ...) but he was so adorable, I had to forgive him. The other cutie got one started, but it was not working well and infiltrated. So much for both the backs of my hand and we were not even to the hospital yet.

Side note: as Gary followed the ambulance to the hospital he got a very strong sense of Dejavu and called Jill and asked if that was the hospital where his mother had died. She said no, it was where Jessie was born - 21 years ago and had been called St. Benedict's at the time not Ogden Regional Hospital. So - this was my second ride in an ambulance to this hospital - once from the doctors office and once, very pregnant and very scared from Logan, Utah where they explained that they did not have a Level 3 ICU for babies - the sickest of babies and we needed to go somewhere where they did. For the life of me, I did not recognize it - even as we were driving away ...

Got to the hospital and they started to do the funnest things! As is what they do in the ER. I was scared, still concerned that I was having a heart attack and hoping it was pleurisy - that seemed at least non-life threatening. The were concerned with the air travel and high altitude that I had a blood clot in my lung. The very excellent nurse found a deep vein at my elbow on the side of my arm and, although it hurt like no other IV or drawn blood I have ever had (very deep) she hit it on the first dig and took vials and vials of blood before inserting the IV line so it provided a dual purpose. I thanked her profusely for being so good - I couldn't even see the vein she shot for, it was that deep under the skin.

The lab results started coming back. Clotting was within normal range but not in the good normal range. The enzyme they check for for large muscle damage (heart attack) was the same. The sent me to have a CAT scan with contrast (they take photos, then insert stuff that feels like fire into your IV and makes you, incredibly and completely makes you feel like you peed your pants - they have to tell you in advance that you actually will feel like this, but will not have peed your pants. It is also uncomfortable everywhere else it is coursing through your body, but peeing you pants is the end all of humiliation so they warn you). I was then supposed to hold my breath for about 30 seconds while they scanned my lungs and I could not do it - having not enough oxygen stores to get away with that.

Told them I was sorry and back to my ER room. They drew more blood. Last of the elbows ... And we waited for the results. They came back and took me to another CAT machine that was much faster and I got to feel fire in my veins and feel liked I peed my pants yet again - but just for a 5 second scan. Why they didn't take me there the first time is beyond me - they knew I couldn't breathe.

So the doctor comes in. The enzyme test has to be taken twice (thus the second blood draw) and it looked good. I was overwhelmed with relief that I had not had a heart attack - since it felt like someone was sitting on my chest and more painful than anything I have ever experienced - I was very nervous that it was going to be it. He said that they had ruled out pleurisy out since there was no infection around the lining of my lungs - based on the CAT scan ... but - the CAT scan did show I had pneumonia. WHAT? I have had pneumonia before - it generally involves a cold (OK, I had a tiny one) and coughing - lots of painful coughing - nary a cough in sight? What gives? They said that I just had crap in my lungs and that was causing the painful breathing (the lungs were sticking together (eeeew) and maybe the high altitudes had caused it - it all seemed confusing - but OK, pneumonia - painful pneumonia and they started me on antibiotics and said I needed to stay over night because even on oxygen I was not saturating as well as they liked.

I told them no - I wanted to go home, and anyway - home was at sea level and I would be getting more oxygen. The doctor said if I could keep my sats above 90 he would let me leave that night ... so painful huffing and puffing ensued for a few hours while they watched...

Took a few pictures while we waited for the IV antibiotics to finish up and breathe, breathe, breathe:

Lookie!!! I am at 94 (Gary took this photo and if you look close you can see me in the bed and my doctor discussing things with me reflected in the monitor):

Got to leave that night with the promise I would come back if things went south.

All I wanted to do was get on a plane and come home. That next morning Gary (who was such a wonderful guy through all this) asked me if I needed to go back. I was not breathing well and the broncho dialiator they sent me home with was not helping - but I told him - going back to the ER and have them play pin cushion with me vs home to sea level? Just get me on that plane ...

So we are home. I collapsed in bed for 24 hours while Gary took care of everything (he is even off shopping now and getting lunch) and thought I would get up - blog about my super fun time in Utah and then go collapse in bed again.

The breathing is coming along - I can get deeper breaths before the pain starts so not panting and I can speak without stopping for a breath with every word - so improvement!

Later ...