We actually woke up a bit more refreshed. The kids slept well and I didn't have to wake every 2 hours. Al was due home from work in a few short hours, the sun was shining, it was going to be a great day. As I began to move around, I felt otherwise. My whole body was pins and needles and my neck was so stiff. I played with the kids the best I could. I made an appointment for a massage. Maybe I just needed a little relaxation. Maybe I had a pinched nerve and a good massage would loosen things up. Ahhhhh.... Then we could spend the rest of our week frolicking on the lawns of the mansions, playing in the sand and enjoying evenings on the back deck where my amazing husband proposed to me 3 short years before. The rest of the family headed out for adventure with the kids and I split for the spa. Great massage. As I laid on the table after, I felt back to normal, but as I stood up, not so much. My arms were so tingly and my fingers weren't working so well. I clumsily got dressed, dropping my phone on the floor. It burst in pieces and I could barely put it back together. I gathered my jewelry and put it in my pocket, knowing I would be unable to put it on.
I walked to the car with the feeling of pins and needles shooting up my legs as each foot hit the ground. I knew I needed to find Al.
Do I head straight for home? but if no one is there then what do I do? I drove to the nearest beach. Now, have you been to Newport? Its all beach. The chances that I pulled into the exact part of the parking lot at the exact beach my family was at was against all odds. I saw our car in the lot. Then, I saw my husband on the other side of the parking lot. He seemed a world away. I just fixed my eyes on him and made my body get there. When I did, I broke down in tears and told him something bad was happening and I couldn't take this any longer. He tried to hand me our daughter and she just slid down my side, I couldn't hold her up. My hands were getting worse by the hour. Now, I couldn't even use my outer 3 fingers. We packed the kids in the car and Al brought me to the nearest urgent care. The doc who saw me thought a Lyme Disease attack of some kind. He ran an EKG because I could barely breath at this point and he said my heart didn't like whatever was going on (damn that Stuart...he DID break it). So, off to the emergency room we went.
They did the usual tests and exams and waiting, waiting, waiting. My neurological exam now was getting further from normal. From my neck to my toes was pins and needles. My hands were numb and nearly useless and I couldn't even come close to touching my finger to my nose. Ivory waited patiently beside me the whole time. Finally, the ER doc consulted with a neurologist and advised me to stay the night for an MRI the next day.
Ive never spent the night away from Amelia since she was born. She was even nursing occasionally still. The kids were devastated, and I was alone. Al's Uncle is a retired medical doctor. He sat next to my bed most of the evening making sure the doctors and nurses were doing their jobs. At one point late in the evening he met with the doctor in charge of my case. They spoke of my MRI the next day and threw around terms such as "MS" and "brain tumor".
I did what everyone does when they don't know where to turn. I called my mom. She made plans to come to Newport in the morning to help with the kids. I spent the night there alone, hooked up to an IV, heart monitor, pulse ox meter and getting heparin shots in the belly.....just waiting to find out what could possibly be wrong.
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