I've made casual comments about my recent concussion in FB posts, emails, etc. for over a month now. Some of you have been like 'Good Golly, when did you get a concussion?' (Well, none of you probably said that. That's the way I talk . . . and 1940s school children.) Well, there was a catch with letting you all in on the story: when you have a concussion, you're supposed to rest your brain and body so you can heal. This means, no computer. Also, you don't think very straight, so it's hard to write. So, I've been waiting until I am now feeling much more myself and can share it with you without getting a splitting headache and blurry eyes. So, here goes: my concussion.
It was about 4:30 AM and the inverter was beeping. An inverter is the machine that makes some of our electricity work even when the power is out. It charges these big batteries so we can still use a few lights and fans. Well, it was beeping and I needed to go downstairs and change a few plugs around so it would stop beeping and start charging those batteries so we'd have power during the day. Also, I can't sleep through beeping like my champion sleeper of a husband. So, I got out of bed and figured I could manage finding the plugs without a flashlight. Mistake number 1: I went downstairs and it's really dark under the marble staircase where the inverter and batteries are. I couldn't see a thing, but felt around in the dark where the plugs should be. There they were. Mistake number 2: I reached for the plugs and the outlets with my fingers and ended up electrocuting myself. Dang, that hurt! Mistake number 3: I didn't stop the procedure altogether and find a flashlight. I tried again. Well, I electrocuted myself again. Dang, that really hurt! Mistake number 4: I got mad and stood up fast. BAM!!! Under our marble steps, right into a bolt that holds the railing in place. Dang, that really, really, really hurt!!! Mistake number 5: I started walking around trying to figure out what to do, and feeling my head. There was only a little blood, but it was then that I did the first smart thing. I stumbled my way back upstairs to Chris and asked for help.
Well, if anyone has ever met Chris at 4:30 in the morning, they will understand how comical that scene would have been for anyone who hadn't just been electrocuted and concussed. He's waking up all groggy and trying to be helpful but has no idea what's going on except that I got electrocuted and I'm bleeding from my head. About this time, I realize how much pain I'm in and sit down to have a good cry. That woke him up and soon, he was trying to figure out how he could help. I already had a washcloth for my head and was sitting on the bed and there wasn't much else for him to do, so he laid back down and went to sleep again. I wasn't sure if I should lay down since the bump was on my head and you're supposed to keep bumps elevated. So, I rested my head on my knees and prayed and waited for the kids to show up. It didn't take long. 5 AM is a great wake-up time, apparently.
I snuggled the kids and they prayed all sorts of cute prayers for my healing and, after a while, they went down with Chris for breakfast. Well, I decided it was time to stop being a sissy and start my day. I had been reading in my Bible and writing in my journal every morning before starting homeschool. I sat down to do this and, after a while, realized that it wasn't working. I made a lot of stupid spelling and grammar errors and my head hurt. That's when I knew. I was concussed.
I stood up and felt dizzy. I knew very little about taking care of a myself after a concussion except that I shouldn't do too much. So, what did I do? I sat around on my computer for a while and then went down to have breakfast and start homeschool. I had the kids' tutor do most of the hands-on things with the kids, but I read a lot to them, since I wasn't supposed to be doing to much. Later on, I laid down for a time and then I let the kids watch TV in the afternoon while I sat and watched with them and then Chris and I watched a movie that night. I mean, what else do you do if you're supposed to rest and you're dizzy when you stand up?
Well, the next day, we had guests from overseas arriving and I didn't run around and clean everything from top to bottom like I wanted. I didn't get up and make a bunch of delicious food from scratch. I sat and did homeschool again and then did just a few little things around the house. Later, when the guests arrived, I heard from another friend how I should be resting. Well, I thought I was resting pretty well since I hadn't done much and spent so much time sitting and reading or watching TV. I just sat and chatted while Chris ran around. We even ordered out so I wouldn't have to cook!
The next day, my friend who is a surgeon came to visit and I found out I'd done everything wrong. She told me that I should stay off . . . get ready for it . . .: TV, cell phone, computer (reading or typing), radio, reading, writing, or any task that takes intense concentration. I also couldn't do anything that was physically strenuous. Well, that didn't leave much. I could no longer read aloud to my kids or email my friends or Skype my Mom or read for myself or listen to the radio or crochet or write in my journal or drive or hike or play games on my phone or . . . like I said, it didn't leave much.
Have you ever tried to "rest" with 3 young and intense children in your house? Well, it doesn't work too well. Also, do you know what the name Emily means? Industrious. Well, sometimes I can be lazy, but usually I like to try to live up to my name. It took a lot of God's reminders and Chris' reminders and my own body's reminders to make me rest instead of trying to do too much.
After our house guests left, Chris insisted that I spend 2 days in bed, not doing anything. Wow, that was hard. As I said, there was an enormous list of leisure activities I wasn't allowed, so all I did during that time was lay on the bed and think and sleep and sit up to eat. It was weird. About a month earlier, I might have told you how fun it would be to have just a few days to do this. I mean, my life gets tiring. I would have been wrong. It is not fun. My heart goes out to anyone who really does have to do this -- with no entertainment -- for long times. So many people say it, but it's true. It's easy to take your health for granted until something happens. Then, you realize how ungrateful and blessed you've been.
About a week and a half passed and I was still having trouble, so I decided it was time to see a neurologist. My doctor friends and the internet told me that if I didn't pass out or throw up and could recall what happened, I probably didn't have a serious problem up there. But, since I was still getting headaches and such, I decided to go to get checked out. We got in touch with a friend of a friend of a friend who happened to be the top neurosurgeon at the trauma hospital in town.
We called ahead and made an appointment. Then, we asked a local friend to go with Chris and I while some other friends watched our kids for a few hours. So, here's how it goes if you make your way to the trauma hospital. You find a place to park your car in the dirt parking lot and hope they don't park other cars in front of you, blocking you in -- they do. You walk in to whatever door is closest and look around for the line to stand in to get a green card to be seen by a doctor. This green card costs about 20 cents. There are two lines, one for men and one for women. You get into the line of women (unless you're a man) -- you're about 30 people back. Unless you're a man. There's at least 60 of them waiting. You make your slow way to the counter, but every once in a while someone cuts in line, shoving their papers in front of the person who has been waiting patiently for 20 minutes. Finally, it's your turn and the man has to ask you a few extra questions since it's so strange to see someone with your complexion -- unless you're South Asian. So, after the third degree, you take your green card and follow your local guide around the ground floor. You're told that the office you're looking for is on the first floor. Here, the first floor is not the ground floor. It's what we would call the second floor. So, you need an elevator or stairs. The line for the only elevator you see is at least 10 people deep and the elevator might hold 3 people. You kept looking for the stairs -- unless you're in a wheelchair.
Now, here's the highlight of my trip. There was a guard near the stairs that asked to see our information and started talking to us in the local language. Well, that made me happy. Later, he apologized for mistaking us for locals and spoke to us in English. PLEASE DON'T APOLOGIZE! That is the first time ever that this has happened to me!
We finally found the office we needed -- a miracle since the number we were given had two numbers mixed up from the actual office number. As we walked in, we got scolded for arriving late. Well, if you had to make it through that line, find a hidden staircase, survive the 3rd degree, and decipher a secret code of an office number, you might be late too . . . Anyway, we sat down and he examined my head. He squeezed it where I said it hurt and pushed where I had hit it. He had me do a few exercises -- kind of like a drunk driving test -- and then told me I was fine. I could go hiking if I wanted to. He gave me some prescriptions and sent me away. I was feeling kind of silly for having bothered him, but kind of relieved that it only cost me 20 cents. I also felt much better after leaving the doctor, thinking things were going to be fine . . . until I started taking the medicine he recommended. I started getting worse dizzy spells and feeling a bit sick to my stomach. Well, I looked up the meds on the internet and stuff that was supposed to help my dizziness also might cause dizziness and the stuff that was supposed to help my pain might cause drowsiness and so I quit taking them. If the side effects are worse than the initial problem . . . well, then we’ve got to do something different.
So, for the next week or so, I continued to stay off computer, phone, reading, writing, etc. and the headaches started to get worse. Well, everyone told me that if I got worse headaches, to go back into the doctor. I didn’t really want to see a doctor that had jiggled my head around and told me to go hiking. So, I asked around and we found a new neurosurgeon to visit. He was a friend of a friend, too, but this time it was great. We came in and he saw us right away, asked me lots of questions, and told me he thought the headaches were stress related. He have me 3 new medications to take -- just until my body calmed down so that I could heal. Then proceeded to tell Chris all the things I should and shouldn’t do to heal more quickly. Including, but not limited to, eating more meat, not standing near open windows, sitting on the edge of the bed for a few minutes before standing, leaving gardening and housework to someone else, drinking more water, and not brushing my hair too forcefully. He also told us he wanted us to get an MRI to make sure there wasn’t anything more serious. Well, that sounded good to me. It had been 3 weeks and I still wasn’t fine.
We went and got 2 MRIs. One for my head and one for my neck and shoulders. So, what does a doctor visit with a top neurosurgeon, 3 kinds of medication, and 2 MRIs cost us? You may be getting worried about our food supply this month. We came home having spent less than $50. And didn’t use our insurance.
A few days later we returned with the results and it turns out that my neck bones are straight instead of curved and that can add pressure and tension and increase headaches -- especially after a traumatic or stressful event. So, he also recommended some strengthening exercises so that my neck would curve again. So, after another few weeks, I am much better. I can be on the computer sometimes, read to my kids, get around without being dizzy, drive, pretty much do everything I had done before.
Well, that's the whole story. Now, I get to get moving. Literally. (Notice this is a correct usage of the word literally.) We are moving back to our pre-flood house in a little over a week. So, packing, cleaning, trying to fit 2 weeks of homeschool into one week. Life doesn't ever slow down -- unless I do. Maybe God had to bump my head so I could stop a minute . . .
And here's a picture of my hero during concussion time. He took care of so much that I wasn't supposed to do and even made me take those 2 days lying down while he had the stomach flu. What an amazing guy I married! And we got a pretty goofy kid out of the whole business, too!
It was about 4:30 AM and the inverter was beeping. An inverter is the machine that makes some of our electricity work even when the power is out. It charges these big batteries so we can still use a few lights and fans. Well, it was beeping and I needed to go downstairs and change a few plugs around so it would stop beeping and start charging those batteries so we'd have power during the day. Also, I can't sleep through beeping like my champion sleeper of a husband. So, I got out of bed and figured I could manage finding the plugs without a flashlight. Mistake number 1: I went downstairs and it's really dark under the marble staircase where the inverter and batteries are. I couldn't see a thing, but felt around in the dark where the plugs should be. There they were. Mistake number 2: I reached for the plugs and the outlets with my fingers and ended up electrocuting myself. Dang, that hurt! Mistake number 3: I didn't stop the procedure altogether and find a flashlight. I tried again. Well, I electrocuted myself again. Dang, that really hurt! Mistake number 4: I got mad and stood up fast. BAM!!! Under our marble steps, right into a bolt that holds the railing in place. Dang, that really, really, really hurt!!! Mistake number 5: I started walking around trying to figure out what to do, and feeling my head. There was only a little blood, but it was then that I did the first smart thing. I stumbled my way back upstairs to Chris and asked for help.
Well, if anyone has ever met Chris at 4:30 in the morning, they will understand how comical that scene would have been for anyone who hadn't just been electrocuted and concussed. He's waking up all groggy and trying to be helpful but has no idea what's going on except that I got electrocuted and I'm bleeding from my head. About this time, I realize how much pain I'm in and sit down to have a good cry. That woke him up and soon, he was trying to figure out how he could help. I already had a washcloth for my head and was sitting on the bed and there wasn't much else for him to do, so he laid back down and went to sleep again. I wasn't sure if I should lay down since the bump was on my head and you're supposed to keep bumps elevated. So, I rested my head on my knees and prayed and waited for the kids to show up. It didn't take long. 5 AM is a great wake-up time, apparently.
I snuggled the kids and they prayed all sorts of cute prayers for my healing and, after a while, they went down with Chris for breakfast. Well, I decided it was time to stop being a sissy and start my day. I had been reading in my Bible and writing in my journal every morning before starting homeschool. I sat down to do this and, after a while, realized that it wasn't working. I made a lot of stupid spelling and grammar errors and my head hurt. That's when I knew. I was concussed.
I stood up and felt dizzy. I knew very little about taking care of a myself after a concussion except that I shouldn't do too much. So, what did I do? I sat around on my computer for a while and then went down to have breakfast and start homeschool. I had the kids' tutor do most of the hands-on things with the kids, but I read a lot to them, since I wasn't supposed to be doing to much. Later on, I laid down for a time and then I let the kids watch TV in the afternoon while I sat and watched with them and then Chris and I watched a movie that night. I mean, what else do you do if you're supposed to rest and you're dizzy when you stand up?
Well, the next day, we had guests from overseas arriving and I didn't run around and clean everything from top to bottom like I wanted. I didn't get up and make a bunch of delicious food from scratch. I sat and did homeschool again and then did just a few little things around the house. Later, when the guests arrived, I heard from another friend how I should be resting. Well, I thought I was resting pretty well since I hadn't done much and spent so much time sitting and reading or watching TV. I just sat and chatted while Chris ran around. We even ordered out so I wouldn't have to cook!
The next day, my friend who is a surgeon came to visit and I found out I'd done everything wrong. She told me that I should stay off . . . get ready for it . . .: TV, cell phone, computer (reading or typing), radio, reading, writing, or any task that takes intense concentration. I also couldn't do anything that was physically strenuous. Well, that didn't leave much. I could no longer read aloud to my kids or email my friends or Skype my Mom or read for myself or listen to the radio or crochet or write in my journal or drive or hike or play games on my phone or . . . like I said, it didn't leave much.
Have you ever tried to "rest" with 3 young and intense children in your house? Well, it doesn't work too well. Also, do you know what the name Emily means? Industrious. Well, sometimes I can be lazy, but usually I like to try to live up to my name. It took a lot of God's reminders and Chris' reminders and my own body's reminders to make me rest instead of trying to do too much.
After our house guests left, Chris insisted that I spend 2 days in bed, not doing anything. Wow, that was hard. As I said, there was an enormous list of leisure activities I wasn't allowed, so all I did during that time was lay on the bed and think and sleep and sit up to eat. It was weird. About a month earlier, I might have told you how fun it would be to have just a few days to do this. I mean, my life gets tiring. I would have been wrong. It is not fun. My heart goes out to anyone who really does have to do this -- with no entertainment -- for long times. So many people say it, but it's true. It's easy to take your health for granted until something happens. Then, you realize how ungrateful and blessed you've been.
About a week and a half passed and I was still having trouble, so I decided it was time to see a neurologist. My doctor friends and the internet told me that if I didn't pass out or throw up and could recall what happened, I probably didn't have a serious problem up there. But, since I was still getting headaches and such, I decided to go to get checked out. We got in touch with a friend of a friend of a friend who happened to be the top neurosurgeon at the trauma hospital in town.
We called ahead and made an appointment. Then, we asked a local friend to go with Chris and I while some other friends watched our kids for a few hours. So, here's how it goes if you make your way to the trauma hospital. You find a place to park your car in the dirt parking lot and hope they don't park other cars in front of you, blocking you in -- they do. You walk in to whatever door is closest and look around for the line to stand in to get a green card to be seen by a doctor. This green card costs about 20 cents. There are two lines, one for men and one for women. You get into the line of women (unless you're a man) -- you're about 30 people back. Unless you're a man. There's at least 60 of them waiting. You make your slow way to the counter, but every once in a while someone cuts in line, shoving their papers in front of the person who has been waiting patiently for 20 minutes. Finally, it's your turn and the man has to ask you a few extra questions since it's so strange to see someone with your complexion -- unless you're South Asian. So, after the third degree, you take your green card and follow your local guide around the ground floor. You're told that the office you're looking for is on the first floor. Here, the first floor is not the ground floor. It's what we would call the second floor. So, you need an elevator or stairs. The line for the only elevator you see is at least 10 people deep and the elevator might hold 3 people. You kept looking for the stairs -- unless you're in a wheelchair.
Now, here's the highlight of my trip. There was a guard near the stairs that asked to see our information and started talking to us in the local language. Well, that made me happy. Later, he apologized for mistaking us for locals and spoke to us in English. PLEASE DON'T APOLOGIZE! That is the first time ever that this has happened to me!
We finally found the office we needed -- a miracle since the number we were given had two numbers mixed up from the actual office number. As we walked in, we got scolded for arriving late. Well, if you had to make it through that line, find a hidden staircase, survive the 3rd degree, and decipher a secret code of an office number, you might be late too . . . Anyway, we sat down and he examined my head. He squeezed it where I said it hurt and pushed where I had hit it. He had me do a few exercises -- kind of like a drunk driving test -- and then told me I was fine. I could go hiking if I wanted to. He gave me some prescriptions and sent me away. I was feeling kind of silly for having bothered him, but kind of relieved that it only cost me 20 cents. I also felt much better after leaving the doctor, thinking things were going to be fine . . . until I started taking the medicine he recommended. I started getting worse dizzy spells and feeling a bit sick to my stomach. Well, I looked up the meds on the internet and stuff that was supposed to help my dizziness also might cause dizziness and the stuff that was supposed to help my pain might cause drowsiness and so I quit taking them. If the side effects are worse than the initial problem . . . well, then we’ve got to do something different.
So, for the next week or so, I continued to stay off computer, phone, reading, writing, etc. and the headaches started to get worse. Well, everyone told me that if I got worse headaches, to go back into the doctor. I didn’t really want to see a doctor that had jiggled my head around and told me to go hiking. So, I asked around and we found a new neurosurgeon to visit. He was a friend of a friend, too, but this time it was great. We came in and he saw us right away, asked me lots of questions, and told me he thought the headaches were stress related. He have me 3 new medications to take -- just until my body calmed down so that I could heal. Then proceeded to tell Chris all the things I should and shouldn’t do to heal more quickly. Including, but not limited to, eating more meat, not standing near open windows, sitting on the edge of the bed for a few minutes before standing, leaving gardening and housework to someone else, drinking more water, and not brushing my hair too forcefully. He also told us he wanted us to get an MRI to make sure there wasn’t anything more serious. Well, that sounded good to me. It had been 3 weeks and I still wasn’t fine.
We went and got 2 MRIs. One for my head and one for my neck and shoulders. So, what does a doctor visit with a top neurosurgeon, 3 kinds of medication, and 2 MRIs cost us? You may be getting worried about our food supply this month. We came home having spent less than $50. And didn’t use our insurance.
A few days later we returned with the results and it turns out that my neck bones are straight instead of curved and that can add pressure and tension and increase headaches -- especially after a traumatic or stressful event. So, he also recommended some strengthening exercises so that my neck would curve again. So, after another few weeks, I am much better. I can be on the computer sometimes, read to my kids, get around without being dizzy, drive, pretty much do everything I had done before.
Well, that's the whole story. Now, I get to get moving. Literally. (Notice this is a correct usage of the word literally.) We are moving back to our pre-flood house in a little over a week. So, packing, cleaning, trying to fit 2 weeks of homeschool into one week. Life doesn't ever slow down -- unless I do. Maybe God had to bump my head so I could stop a minute . . .
And here's a picture of my hero during concussion time. He took care of so much that I wasn't supposed to do and even made me take those 2 days lying down while he had the stomach flu. What an amazing guy I married! And we got a pretty goofy kid out of the whole business, too!
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