My Achey Breaky Heart

Earlier this week, I re-caught my cold that I had a little while back , but something new had been added this time around: I started getting these mild yet unsettling chest pains. After a few days of discomfort, I took a little trip over to the nearest hospital, thinking that they'd check my blood pressure & my temperature, give me a few pills, tell me to rest up & send me on my way. Two, maybe three hours, tops.

Instead, I was told to put on a hospital gown & lay on a bed in the Emergency Room with about 35 screaming, crying, coughing, vomiting, bleeding, panicking & other unsettling people. I sat in bed for 10 hours, getting blood tests, EKG's & ECHO's (heart sonograms). After keeping me for a night & giving me non-straightforward answers, I finally found out what was wrong.

Due to some weird strain of the cold virus I caught, the protective sac surrounding my heart became inflamed (aka Pericarditis). In turn, the pericardium started to rub against my heart muscles, causing Myocarditis. That, along with the cold, was slowly tearing apart my insides. If I decided not to go to the hospital in the first place, my symptoms could've worsened I probably would have gone into cardiac arrest, heart failure & finally death. Sounds comforting, doesn't it.

My 2-3 hour tour of the ER ended up being a 4 day layover in the cardiovascular floor of the hospital. Pills & IV's out the wazoo, daytime television, interrupted sleep & sheer boredom were on my schedule for the next 72 hours. If I knew I was going to be stuck in a hospital for half a week, I would've brought books, my iPod, my laptop, whatever.... but no. All I had was a full clipboard, a few short pencils & the clothes on my back. & all the while, my stay kept getting extended, more pills were added to my daily regiment, indian-giver doctors & symptom scares were abound & my patience (which is something I usually have an insane amount of) was definitely wearing thin.

Over the course of those few days, I felt really miserable, depressed & lonely. I felt that I had failed my body & that I should've taken a lot better care of myself. I missed my friends, my family & my work. Drawing didn't even cheer me up. I had so much planned. So many things that needed to be done. So much I was looking forward to, all completely kiboshed. A big freaking SNAFU, all because of a sickness playing a wolf in sheep's clothing. Oh well, a wolf in sheep's clothing sounds a lot better in the long run than me playing possum... permanently. 

But it wasn't all bad, really. Overall, the doctors, nurses & assistants were really nice & kind to me. They even brought me some paper to draw on every once in a while. I caught up on some of my favorite TV shows I haven't had time to see. My parents got in touch with my class advisor, so my teachers know what's going on. I learned to text message a bit faster. I got three meals a day, plenty of well-needed sleep & when my body let me draw, I drew.

They finally let me go this morning, but I ain't out of the woods yet. I'll be missing a few days of school (which is a real shame because I always look forward to going to my classes) & I'll be taking 5 different pills for the next few months. 

I'll be taking it easy for the next week or so, then I'll be back on my feet in no time. But no too fast, my heart probably can't take it. Cheers!