December 22, 2005
Well, it took eight years, but the combination of a hiatal hernia and my acid-reflux disease have finally come for me again.
I have a piece of low-quality TV dinner sitting at the very bottom of my esophagus, where it has no desire to either travel the last half-inch or make the return trip. This is only a problem if I plan on eating or drinking anything ever again.
At the moment, my body's producing quite a bit of post-nasal drip. I have no idea whether this is because it's trying to lube of that chunk of food or if it's in response to the irritation at the bottom of my throat. All I know is that I'm coughing up a serious loogie every couple minutes, which is making this entry a little annoying to type. It's also why I haven't driven myself to the emergency room yet, since I don't want to pull over every couple blocks to expectorate.
I also have a feeling that since they'll have to give me painkillers to go in and retrieve the bloackage they won't be too keen on letting me leave, and I still have to pack for the drive home tomorrow. Hopefully by the time I finish that, whatever decided to make me the Mucous King will have given up and I'll be able to drive the 1.3 miles in relative peace.
Updates as they occur, though they probably won't be good dinner conversation.
Update, 22 Dec, 8:31 AM: Well, I'm back. Since they gave me a little Valium to try to relax the throat muscles I wasn't allowed to drive myself home (big thanks to Evan for getting me on the way to work). This restriction lasts for 24 hours, which would be 2:00 tonight. Thus I'm calling a cab at noon to go over to the hospital and pick up my car so I can drive to Akron. Valium's a fast-acting drug; it's been out of my system for hours now. It's just a CYA overkill on the hospital's part.
And I have pictures from the endoscope this time. I'll scan them once I'm in Akron.
Update, 9:02 PM: I'll scan the pictures tomorrow if I have a chance -- I may have to fix my stepmother's computer -- but for now I'll just say that:
- Sleeping (or trying to sleep) in a hospital bed sucks
- Sleeping with an IV hookup stuck in your arm sucks, because you can't roll over
- That six-hour drive from Centreville to Akron is long when you only got four hours' sleep the night before.
More about my super-fun long weekend tomorrow.
