Hello. It’s certainly been too long since I’ve added an update. What better time than now, during the middle of a boring emergency room visit?

Thank goodness this place (UC Davis) has free wifi. I have no phone signal here, but I AM online at least. And this is a nice way to not be bored out of my skull. So… why am I here right now? I’ll fill you in:

This morning, I suddenly woke up feeling acid/throwup in my throat, rising quickly. I must have inhaled some of that sickening, burning fluid, because I immediately felt like I was choking and gasping. This was followed by 15 minutes of harsh coughing and slight puking, leaving my ribs spent. Then I went back to sleep.

Maybe an hour later, I wake up again, this time shaking the bed. I had the shivers bad. And felt frozen. I knew in the next room, I had Motrin. I also knew I had a dog to care for. But the next room seemed to be an eternity away, and my bones were clacking away. I couldn’t imagine getting up from under the covers. I felt I would fall over, like a lump of frozen ice.

Instead, I reached for my cell phone, and called my wife (chattering my teeth as I explained the situation). “Honey, I need help. I can’t take care of the dog, and I can’t even get out of bed. I’m freezing.”

Telly called my sister, Jessica, and a few other people (just to see who could get over to me as quickly as possible). I ended the phone call, and then felt a strong urge to throw up. Luckily, there was a large, empty cup on my nightstand. I filled it with my stomach contents. And the fever/shakes continued. Then the runs came. “Uh oh,” I thought. Because now I HAD to get up. I wasn’t about to crap my pants in my own bed.

So in one terrible, shaking motion, I rose from the bed, and shivered and sweated my way to the bathroom. Now I had emptied myself completely, from both ends. I walked carefully back to bed, under the covers, and waited.

Pretty soon after, my wife showed up, got me a glass of diluted juice, and a Motrin for the fever. She also was able to take the dog out for his morning poop. The poor pooch had waited about an hour longer than usual.

Then my sister showed up, and helped call for an ambulance. Now, normally, if you wake up shivering and puking, you might dismiss it as an ol’ stomach flu. But I’m not you, and this morning scared me. When you’re 40 pounds underweight, everything has a way of knocking you down and feeling much more powerful.

Paramedics showed up soon after the ladies did, and I was hauled off to the UC Davis ER. Now my fever is gone, they’re pumping me with antibiotics, and saline (to recoup lost fluids). I’m feeling weak, but much better than the fever/shakes I had this morning.

So, what happened? Well… for the past 2-3 weeks, I had what I thought was a simple cold with a cough. I seemed to be on the mend, but this morning flattened me out. So here I am. ER visit #1,579. Okay, I MIGHT be exaggerating with that one. It’s just how it feels.

So far they’ve taken blood tests and chest xrays. They found 2 cloudy areas in my right lung (possible pneumonia, possible stomach contents). Since I am feeling so drained, and too weak to make productive coughs, I will be admitted to the hospital for 24 hour observation.

Oh, joy! What fun! A night in a hospital! Again! Just fucking awesome. My life is complete! Hooray!

All I know is thank goodness for technology. This would be so much more boring without the entertainment provided by this phone. I’ve always wanted to blog WHILE stuff was happening, and now I can. THAT rocks.

Wish me luck. Sleeping overnight in a hospital is never quite restful. But for me, tonight, it is needed. I’m laying on a gurney right now. Waiting to be moved upstairs, where I will spend the rest of the night.

Holy crap, I just noticed the time. Almost 6 pm. And we got here around 11:30 am! Ah… the familiar, crawling pace of the ER. Snails move more quickly. Gotta love it.

See you tonight, with perhaps another update. To quote a captain friend of mine: “I’m doing good. My health? Not so much. But I’M good.”