Here's why I can't sleep...

Apparently I will do anything to have something to write about, even if I don't mean to.

Let me explain.

The day after my last Zumba class I had some pain in my back.  I didn't remember it hurting during the class, or even the same night, but I figured I must have pulled something.  Oh well, I thought, a little hot tub time and it will be fine.

On Friday the pain was still there, and in addition to the back pain it hurt when I breathed in.  It wasn't terrible by any means, and I am no doctor (clearly), so I just figured the back muscle is connected to the chest muscle (sing it!  You know you want to...), and I power Zumba-d with such amazing force that my body needed a little time to recover.  That's how powerful I am, I thought to myself.  Seriously.

Anyway, by Friday night the pain was so intense I had to sleep sitting up in bed surrounded by pillows so I wouldn't roll over.  

Come Saturday I learned that if I'm sitting perfectly straight or standing I'm ok - the pain is much less.  Good because I had a dear friend's birthday party to go to and I didn't want to miss it.  Priorities, people.  Anyway, the party was great, but the pain started to kick in around 10, so my dearest husband and I left early.

That night was horrible.  I have never been in so much pain in my life.  I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand, I couldn't lie down...nothing.  And every breath was so painful it made me cry.  Sean and I both figured I did a huge number on my back and I finally fell asleep sitting straight up sometime around 3:30 am.

There's more.

Now it's Sunday.  I'm supposed to go to a minor league baseball game with Sean and the boys, so I lie down and rest while the pain allowed me to do so.  We finally decided that sitting in a little metal chair was not the best idea for me, so Sean took the boys without me.

Just as they leave I have a minor coughing fit.  And there is blood in the tissue.

Not yet giving myself permission to freak out, at least not out loud, I call our doctor's office and the doc on call tells me to go immediately to the ER.  So off I go, texting Sean. 

Long story short (too late), I'm admitted with a pulmonary embolism.  A blood clot in the lung.

My experience with PE is only from the show ER, and Lucy died from a PE.  Althought she got stabbed too and had a boat load of other stuff going on, so that's hardly an appropriate comparison, but still.

So when I told my ER doctor (who had nice hair by the way) that Lucy died from a PE, he said "If this thing was going to kill you, you'd be dead already.  You would have died Thursday."

Well that just stunned me into silence.  And those of you who know me know that almost never happens.

Anyway, I got admitted into the hospital and they bring me water whenever I want it.  Isn't that nice?  They give me pain meds too, which helps a little, but I still can't sleep.

Oh, by the way, don't tell my mom!  I don't want to freak her out.  Thanks.