A Little Story

I was working the fireworks booth for work the other day when we finally got a customer. I was helping him pick out the giant Komodo firework when I stopped and said, “I know you”! He looked at me kind of funny so I proceeded to ask if he knew my husband. He then perked up and I continued to tell him that I was my husband’s wife and we met in the emergency room a couple of years ago. Then the people working the booth became interested and realized there had to be a great story there….well maybe not such a great story, but it is a story at that.

It all started with me working in the yard at my husband place, because that was the one place he agreed to let me start messing with before we were married so that his roommate wouldn’t feel pushed out. I began to gut the front yard of weeds and plants that I felt were ugly. It was summertime in Fresno, which if any of you don’t know what that’s like you are lucky, because it is crazy hot and dry and gross. I started to feel funny like my sugars were going low, I decided to stop what I was in the middle of and grab something to eat. I ate for a little bit and sprawled out on the couch for a breather. I looked at the clock and realized I had a couple of hours until date night with the hubs and rested for a little bit.

When I started to feel better I took a quick shower and changed my clothes. My stomach started to act up. I decided to check my blood sugars, which were high in the 200’s. I gave myself some insulin and waited patiently for my husband to arrive. When he got to the house we got in the car and went to a teppen-yaki restaurant. We sat down, my stomach was still bothering me, I checked my blood sugars again and they had gone even higher and were now in the 300’s, I thought maybe my body was still digesting lunch because it was mixed with protein fat and carbs. I gave myself a shot of insulin for the meal I was about to eat and for the high blood sugar.

As we began to eat, I realized I could not get enough water or diet Pepsi (yes I decided to have both) into my system and my stomach was killing me. It was hard to keep every bite I took down, but it was teppen-yaki the best thing ever! I didn’t want to tell my husband at the time because I was so excited about our date night. After the longest meal of my life I gave into the discomfort. We got into the car and I asked him if we could just go back to his house because my stomach was bothering me. When we got to the house, the only thing I could do was lay in the fetal position on the couch. I text my sister the situation and she kept telling me to go to the ER, but I refused, to me that felt like I was weak and being dramatic. I waited an hour with my husband looking more and more concerned, he was also telling me to go to the ER, I finally gave in.

We arrived at the ER, they got me in a bed right away. My sugars were now in the 500’s and refusing to go down, the doctors were afraid to give me any insulin because I had already administered the amount to help the high blood sugar. They hooked me up to an IV, which I hate because they flush your veins with cold water and hospitals are already as cold as they can be. I sat in the hospital bed while my husband called my parents, my sister, and our good friends. My stomach was still killing me and I couldn’t get comfortable to save my life. My parents were concerned, but we told them not to worry about coming and that I would probably be fine within the hour, but that we would call if that changed. My sister came to the hospital right away and was the most panicked I think I have ever seen her. She knew how I looked when my diabetes was acting up and her pale green sister was a scary sight. But she tried to not panic because she knows it drove me crazy when people fussed over me. Then my friend came in the room. I told her I felt silly but that my stomach was killing me more than anything. While we were talking I could feel the vomit ready to erupt out of my throat. I told her I was going to throw up and to get out of the room, which she did for a moment, but then came back in to hold my hair back. In case any of you were wondering Tempen yaki does not taste as good coming back up as it does going down. I thanked her feeling like a complete idiot; I hate looking/feeling vulnerable, but was happy that she was there to help me out.

The doctors came in to clean up my vomit and ask how I was doing I mentioned that my stomach was still killing me. They gave me a drug to help with the nausea, only to discover a few hours later that I was allergic to it. One of the signs that you are allergic is becoming a complete nutcase that can’t sit still to save their life. My poor husband must have thought I was possessed. The next step was to give me an injection of Benadryl that would help counter the effects of the other drug. By this time a gentlemen in an EMT uniform walked by and I heard my husband say “hey!” then start talking to the man in the uniform. He then proceeds to introduce me. I was feeling a little better still holding my vomit bucket just in case and tried to play it cool as if I wasn’t in a hospital gown/bed/ER. He was perfectly nice and we made a few jokes about the awkwardness of that moment. But I have to admit what a way to make a first impression I am pretty sure I will always remember this man.

So, there you have it. The story of how I recognized the man buying the Komodo firework. The story doesn’t really revolve around him, but it brought some comedy to a dramatic situation.