Oh, My Aching Head

For almost 2 weeks, I had the worst run of headaches I've had in along time. It began with a migraine that came on quickly and then just continued to linger. I took my first day sick off in about 5 years. As usual, I just tried to push through it and took medication when I needed to to stay on my feet. This past weekend however, it got the best of me. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, I was 9, pushing 10. We have what here in Alberta is called an Acute Care Centre right across the street frrom us. It is in essence, a small town emergency department that is open from 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM (for new intakes) for anyone with minor ailments and injuries (after 10:00 PM you have to go to the hospital in the next town over). At 8:00 PM Sunday night, Bruce took one look at me and said it was time to go to the hospital. I hate going to the hospital. The last time I went was over 2 years ago, but it was that bad, so I went. We left prepared to be away from the house for several hours (ER waits here average 4 hrs in Calgary). We left the house at 8:05 and arrived at the Acute Care Centre 2 minutes later. They took one look at me, took my info, did a quick triage, then put me in a dark, quiet room. Within 5 minutes, the Dr came to see me, and 5 minutes later I was given a shot. We were back home by 8:30PM. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! To top it all off, the bedside manner of the nurses and the Dr were absolutely wonderful. They were empathetic and compassionate, and took everything Bruce had to say seriously. So to all those Dr's and nurses who have to deal with the different personalities that come through ER's everywhere, and who must learn how to determine what must be done for who and how and how quickly, I say THANK YOU, for your commitment, for your compassion and for your willingness to give back to others day in and day out.

PS: With some therapeutic massage, and with the shot from Sunday, things are improving.