Well I landed myself in the hospital

Saturday started off okay. I was able to keep some bacon and Orangina down. And two doses of my medication for a bladder infection. But it just wasn't enough. I was starving and dehydrated and, by Saturday afternoon, I had some back aches.

Fearing a kidney infection, I called my doctor. He was worried about the same thing and had me go to the hospital.

So Brian and Marion dropped me off and I found my way to the check in desk. Luckily, the person there spoke a little English. But the forms were in German. I still haven't learned all of the official stuff so I was a little stuck. She was very nice though and helped walk me through it. Once I was checked in, she handed me my paperwork and told me where to go.

I followed her instructions but was still confused. No nurses station to direct me and everything was still in German. And I only had a doctor's name to go on. So I tracked down a nurse holding a crying baby in the hallway and asked her where to go. She sent me down a different hallway and I was able to find the doctor.

First thing on the list to do was get some pee and blood samples to check my infection. They checked my ketone level and then turned to me asking, "You are hungry, yes?"

I guess it was pretty obvious. I was starving. But couldn't find anything I wanted to eat or that I could keep down. It's a vicious cycle, this morning sickness. You should stay hydrated and full to avoid getting sick. Food aversions make that tougher. So if you don't eat, you get sick. Then of course you don't want to eat anything else and it all goes downhill from there.

Next, the doctor hit my back to check for a kidney infection. It didn't hurt so she was pretty confident that they were okay. But my ketone level concerned them so they started me on an IV right away.

My doctor arrived about an hour later to see my bloodwork results. They confirmed I didn't have a kidney infection (thank god, because the result would have been a three day stay in the hospital). However, he was also concerned about my morning sickness so he admitted me to see if they couldn't get it under control.

They got my medical background and then a nurse came by to take me to my room. I was told I'd be sharing a room with a woman who is 30 weeks pregnant and on bedrest. There's that lack of patient privacy again. It's going to take me awhile to get used to that considering our doctor's office back home wouldn't even release test results about Brian to me.

Anyway, as we were walking to my room, the nurse mentioned that she did acupuncture and asked if I would like to try it to alleviate the pain?

I said sure. I mean, why not? I'm in Switzerland, might as well do as the Swiss do.

Then she mentioned one of my medications was only available as a suppository.

And I immediately thought, "Acupuncture? Suppositories? Where the hell am I?"

So that's about as far as I'll go with this story. I've given more than enough information I think.

The acupuncture went well. It definitely helped although I had an ohmygod, i'mgoingtopassout moment while she was putting the needles in.

By 5 pm on Sunday I felt better and was ready to leave. The hospital was clean and nice but I felt nasty (hospital showers with an IV in your hand just aren't the same) and was worried about who was going to take care of Marion this week.

The doctor released me. But with the warning that if I don't keep my medicine down he's shipping my butt back to the hospital. So far so good today. And we are taking things slowly this morning at our household. Marion's at a friend's house getting some playtime in. Brian's at the grocery store stocking up on some food for me and then he'll go in to the office. And I'm trying to get some rest.

So that was my weekend. Aren't you jealous?

Happy Labor Day to all of you back in the States!