i am not in atlanta - or adventures in emergency rooms

[emchy]

so yesterday was a ... weird? day. got to work at 7am so that i could get about five hours in before i left to go with rooster to an appt and then anniversary dinner and then on a plane. so all went well, work was fine, and after i left the office found out that roosters appt got mixed up so i stopped by target to get a summer dress for southern summer and a real piece of travel luggage so i can stop throwing my back into pain as i haul a 40lb messaenger back around the airport. got home, packed up my bags, and then rooster and i drove down to the strawberry farm to see some ocean and eat a pecan scone. it was really roosters first time out of the house that wasn't a dr's appt in about 10 days and it was gorgeous. we were both still coughing monkeys - but mostly better. so we decided to take 92 back to 280 both b/c it's faster and b/c it's one of our favorite mountain drivey things. somewhere on the drive my left ear popped funny. i didn't really think about it. figured it would balance itself out.  30 minutes later getting to downtown sf it was getting uncomfortable but again - seemed like it would sort itself out and i wanted us to enjoy the cajun / southern dinner at farmer brown.

this is where we fast forward. i could barely eat the ear was getting so uncomfortable. driving home i started leaking tears from the pain and trying not to cry b/c it made the pressure in my head worse. home and hunting online for home remedies so i  could just pop the damn ear before i was supposed to get on my flight. at 930 i was in the worst pain of my life, convinced i was going to lose my hearing or rupture an eardrum and just freaked out. gordonzola drove rooster and i to the ER where we waited for a while. the nice nurse gave me vicodin. that helped a lot. the nice doctor told me the ear was 'severely bulging' and 'wanted to burst' and that i should not no how get on a plane for a few days at least. in my head and my drug haze i was all NOOOOOOOOOOOO i need to go to atlanta. somewhere else in my head i was thinking 'almost bursty means hasnt burst oh thank god.'

i took a cab home while rooster went to walgreens and got my drugs. a heavy cocktail of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, vicodin etc.

this morning the ear feels pressurey but not like i have an icepick in my head. i am afraid of even slight elevation changes and totally worn out from the drove me to my knees pain of last night so i don't forsee much in my day except the couch and maybe taking the dog to the park.

my excitement over this weekend tour was huge.  like been talking about it for over a year. finally going to see the people omg so excited huge. and my catholic guilt for not coming through on a gig - also huge. but the other piece. i was so close to being deaf as a child. had only 30% normal hearing capacity until they did some surgeries. i was so scared of losing my hearing - esp now as music is becoming so big in my life.

it was a freaky mixed up day.
i am still kinda reeling.

Comments

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

I was just going to call to see how you were doing. Glad your eardrum will be ok. xo

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

thank you so much for the ride. omg. it was such a lifesaver.

[nerak-g.livejournal.com]

Get better and come back later!
Love you so much.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

i am SO coming there later. thank you being so cool about it. and for still reading some of my stuff out there - that totally touched / moved me. omg words don't suffice. for realz.

[kampachi.livejournal.com]

Sending out love and hugs. I once flew with an infected ear and when the plane hit the ground I was literally writhing on the floor and I lost a chunk of hearing in that ear.

I'm so glad you went to the ER!

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

yea - my pain tolerance is really high and i was just like THIS IS NOT GETTING BETTER - ER NOW! i haven't gone to er for myself since i broke my foot when i was 8.

[smallstages.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad that your eardrum didn't burst, and so sorry that you didn't make it to Atlanta.

Like I said last night -- I'm here all day.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

WUV! i can't really do phone or else i woulda slurred at you so much already it would be ridiculous.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad your ear is OK! And bummed out that you had to miss your trip.

On another note, if you ever want to borrow travel luggage, I have a slight excess.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

thanks - yea it's a bummer but the consensus is starting to be - thank god this happened at home where i know how to find the ER and not on the plane

[wild-irises.livejournal.com]

What a FUCKING drag!

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

seriously!

[whittles.livejournal.com]

gah! That's scary and upsetting. i'm really glad you caught it before boarding a flight, but so bummed for you to not be going to atlanta.
I hope you recover quickly.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

thanks babe! i am glad i caught it pre flight too - Scary enough here at home. super scary when out of town.

[stopword.livejournal.com]

oh man, what a bummer. I'm glad the ear freaked before you were in the air, though. That's a bit of good luck, maybe.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

that's what i kinda wonder too... blessing in disguise?

[knowyermonkey.livejournal.com]

that is so bizarre..the way it just got so bad so fast.
glad you're on the mend though.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

totally weird - thanks though.

[glamtasm.livejournal.com]

You have my total sympathy! I lived through the 'splodey ear thing last month an it is excruciating, so very glad ou were able to get treatment and some relief swiftly.

For what it's worth, heat can also help. I am also getting acupressure to continue to help it not happen again, and that is amazing in the pain and pressure release department.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

thanks! so sorry you had to go through it too. last night i had heat on it a lot and it kinda helped.

[smmopah.livejournal.com]

I got strep throat when I was a teen on a trip to DC. I was pretty sick and leaky but no ear pain.

On the flight home I had the worst pain I had ever experienced...the feeling you get when both your eardrums rupture. I couldn't keep the tears back...it was a horrible, out of control pain that didn't make any sense. I couldn't hear after that except distant echoey sounds that seemed to be coming through a tube.

No airplane. No no no.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

that sounds horrible - did your hearing come back?

yea - no airplane. today i am even avoiding the hills in sf.

[smmopah.livejournal.com]

could you speak up?

[elusis.livejournal.com]

That is terrifying and painful. I got a bad ear infection right before flying to London in 2004 but I experienced it as a sore throat thanks to massive drainage into my lymph nodes; for some reason I didn't get pressure behind my eardrum. I felt ultra-lucky.

There will be another time for Atlanta, I bet. I am glad you chose to take care of yourself.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

yea - i was too scared of permanent damage to fly - esp after the Dr gave me a lecture about the actual risks.

[sagahar.livejournal.com]

That's... wow. The only time anything like that has happened to me was when I was but a wee lad. I was very ear-infection prone and was headed on a flight to New York. And for some reason nobody believed that the pain was as bad as it was. The flight was horrible.

[raychoo.livejournal.com]

ack! scary scary. very glad you are OK, and that this didn't happen at 30,000 feet.

[red-eyed-soul.livejournal.com]

you're in my thoughts, darlin'.

[katasutra.livejournal.com]

Oh lord -- ear stuff is the WORST! So glad for the good goodness around you and help getting to ER and being home and so sorry, too, that it meant your trip was postponed! :( love!

[repillager.livejournal.com]

holy cow
that had to be scary as hell

[crayonbeam.livejournal.com]

aieeee! and cry!!!!

[fightingwords.livejournal.com]

wow. that's awful, cindy. i'm so sorry--meh. let me know if you can do phones yet. i wanna give you a call.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

i can only kinda do it - i thought it was ok and tried and i get this funky echo...

i really want to talk to you though
feel really pulled in your direction via my heart for the last few days and am all chewing on my nails about the no phone thing...

[fightingwords.livejournal.com]

what are your plans for the evening? i don't have any, and i have a car. going to my mother's right now (sigh), but i'd love to see you and the rooster for a bit. let me know.

[cindymonkey.livejournal.com]

band practice - first in 2 months... if you find yrself in town ring up