Night of a Thousand Pills

I was transferred to another room that night and, as a result, was assigned a new nurse. I`ll call her nurse Hatchet. She was all huff and a puff business, and on the first night managed to swiftly throw out three of my visitors, including my husband who, had it not been for the fact that he was leaving anyway to go watch a hockey game…would have given her a piece of his mind, yes sir. As soon as my guests were out the door, she went straight to business. She inserted a `fresh` IV, (gee thanks), did the blood pressure and temperature thing, shot me in the gut with heparin, and got me all tucked in, nice and tight. All the while she grumbled about too many visitors.. need rest... hospital, not a party... grumble, grumble, grumble. Of course, she meant well. She just wanted to be sure I got my rest…

Let me say right here that I am the type of person who normally thinks twice about taking two Tylenol instead of one. And if I take two, I am groggy and almost dysfunctional for a good part of the next morning.

While the nurse was tucking me in, I happened to mention I was feeling a wee bit nauseous, probably due to the events of the day. She quickly left the room. Seconds later she returned and injected me with a hefty dose of Gravol which may as well have been a sedative because it just about knocked me out right there and then. Good thing I was already horizontal. Unfortunately, Gravol does nothing for pain, so the nurse also gave me my usual dose of heavyweight painkiller. And, just to make extra sure we got all the pain, she gave me some Tylenol 3 as well. At this point, I didn`t know if it was night or day, nor did I care. She went away for a brief period, looking after the two other patients in my room. A short while later she came back asking if I would like an Ativan. “Ah, Shurrre, why not?” (It`s a bit like asking a drunk person if they are ok to drive, isn`t it?..). And she asked so nicely, I had to say yes. Ativan, for those who are unfamiliar, is an anti-anxiety drug used to treat, well, anxiety. It`s also used for insomnia. I swallowed the pill. I was feeling no pain at this point, but she wasn`t finished with me yet. Unbelievably, she returned soon after with a sleeping pill.

Somehow, a tiny sliver of apprehension managed to break through the fog in my head. I felt the need to ask her if it wasn't all a little too much. Nope, she said, all the medications were on my list of allowed drugs. But.. was I supposed to take them all at the same time? Amazingly, I managed to swallow the last pill. As I drifted into unconsciousness, I felt my entire body vibrate, not shake, not shiver, but vibrate, and seriously wondered if I was going to be able to breathe on my own through the night. I managed to do it, but I don`t know how.

Despite all the pills I was given I woke up a few hours later in terrible pain. I could feel every pin (screw), burning and digging into my skull. I received more pain medication and slept a few more hours until, once again, I awoke with my head on fire.