Wednesday, April 6, 2011

We'll need some smelling salts, ice, juice, and a chair please!

So last night Tim and I went on our tour of the hospital I will be delivering at. I was a bit nervous before hand just because the reality of things is really starting to sink it and it was a bit surreal. The entire evening was quite the adventure. We can say once again that nothing Tim and I do together is mediocre or average... it is always an adventure.
Before I go too much further I should tell you that Tim has always had an aversion to hospitals or any procedures. He simply does not like the atmosphere and has warned me about this several times. I noticed when Tim had his MRI and other scans for his headaches that he definitely was not a big fan but I think that is pretty normal when undergoing anything new that could reveal unwanted results. He has had a history of passing out and waking up with people surrounding him on the floor when he is in certain medical situations but I had never experienced this extreme with him before.  Last evening on our 45 minute drive down to the hospital and even as we waited, Tim didn't express any level of discomfort. As a matter of fact I was the one probably showing more nerves than Tim which is extremely unusual for me since hospitals and me have a long history and really don't phase me much.
We began our tour by visiting the neonatal intensive care unit. I pray that I never have to cross the threshold into that wing of the hospital. We then followed our guide upstairs to the triage area. They showed us the awkward little jacuzzi that could be used for comfort that really made me feel uncomfortable just thinking about it.  They then moved us on the the actual triage rooms and explained how these tiny little rooms would be where I will stay until 4cm and then be moved into a labor, delivery and recovery room. All was going great... Tim and I were getting a feel of what will happen and kind of getting a sense of ease about this upcoming adventure. We then moved to the labor, delivery and recovery room and things suddenly took a quick shift. Crammed in the room with about 10 other couples and our tour guide, Tim suddenly showed some discomfort. He began shedding his coat and whispered in my ear "i am getting really hot". The room was very warm and the body heat probably didnt help. Not two minutes after entering the room he again leans over and whispers in my ear "i need to go out in the hallway and get some fresh air". I kind of looked at him and thought "really?!?!?" but didn't react much to it. After standing their for another 10 minutes or so and not hearing or seeing my husband I began to wonder if he was alright but I didn't want to disturb the whole room by pushing my way out to find him. Suddenly a nurse came running into the room, pushed her way in front of the tour guide and grabbed the smelling salts right on the counter next to me. I still feel a bit bad about my reaction because I had this gut instinct that was telling me to go check on Tim. I had a feeling those smelling salts could have been for him but I tried to push the thought out of my mind and focus on what the guide was sharing with us. A few minutes later as we began to exit the room I saw Tim standing in the hallway looking a quite unusual. His face was pale, his eyes were glazed over, and he was dripping sweat. If I didn't know better I would have thought he had just ran a marathon by the amount of sweat dripping from his face. At that point I needed to question no more, I knew the smelling salts were definitely for him.
Apparently, the warmth of the room was just too much for him. He said he knew when he left he was getting ready to pass out but didn't want to make a scene so decided to leave. After finding a chair and sitting outside of the room things just got worse and he began to get tunnel vision so he decided to make his way to the nurses station on that floor and request some water. A nurse met him in the hallway and probably took one look and knew something wasn't quite right. He tried to tell her he needed a drink but apparently the words didn't come out and he just mumbled at her. She immediately sat him down with his head between his legs and got him some juice and an ice pack. She never actually had to use the smelling salts but grabbed them just in case. It is possible that he simply overheated but it is my opinion that he had a bit of a anxiety attack. We had only been in the room for about 2 maybe 3 minutes when he left and the nurse had just started pulling out equipment that we may see when we go to the hospital. She showed us the belly monitors to measure the babys heartbeat and contractions and I guess that was just too much for Tim. I totally understand this anxiety and discomfort and I am glad Tim knows when it is coming but now I just have to hope he will actually say something if it pops up during the real deal. We have determined that it will be in writing for the nurses on delivery day that Tim will need some smelling salts, ice, juice (which he really liked), and a chair handy at all times. Many would think, doesn't that make you uncomfortable knowing he could pass out when you're in the middle of this big ordeal but honestly it doesn't. I am glad I now know what to look for and will never take his warnings about not liking hospitals as a joke ever again but I honestly feel that Tim's nature to push through when he absolutely has to will kick in on delivery day. He is always strong no matter how uncomfortable when he has no other choice. When it comes time to have this baby, he will have no choice but to push aside the feelings and if he doesn't so be it.
Our night didn't end with Tim's close call. We finished the tour despite Tim still not feeling his finest and went to pay for our parking. When you go into the garage you get a ticket and then have to pay at one of the machines before leaving. When we went to pay, the machine decided quarters didn't sound yummy so we tried to pay with Tim's card. Sounds simple enough right... NO. The stupid machine ate his card and our parking ticket. It would have been no great deal if there hadn't have been a line behind us but thats never the way it works. Finally, we found someone to help us get Tims card out. We waited for him to go all the way upstairs, get the key, unlock the machine, and dig through the box inside to find our ticket and our card. There was one perk to the whole card eating machine though... we got free parking for having to wait.
Like I said, nothing we do comes without adventure. We aren't satisfied without some form of craziness whether it be big or small. Let's just hope the real deal doesn't go as crazy as the practice run but if it does guess it will make for a good story right?!?!

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