I hope you aren't thinking, "It's about time!" It seems that maybe old age is creeping up on me a little more than I thought and Christmas must have worn me out. The night of the day after Christmas, I had some sort of episode in my sleep and scared Howard enough to call Kristy(DIL), who lives close by and is a PA. I ended up taking my first (and last, I hope) ambulance ride to the ER in Dickinson. There I was very well checked over, from head to toe. Had a CT Scan, a bunch of lab tests, and some sort of heart monitor was strapped onto me before I was sent home and told to see my regular physician in 48 hours. I obeyed their instructions, and dutifully went in to the clinic to see Michelle (my NP). I turned over my harness device to her for analysis and she checked me over and ordered more tests: a sleep study, an EEG and an MRI.
I was not very happy about doing any of this because I felt fine, but I realized that I had probably better be a good girl and get checked out, and I did want to make sure I didn't have something that needed attention. If you know me at all, you know that I am pretty healthy and have kind of a fear of doctors and doctoring, so this was a pretty big deal in my mind, to be so cooperative! I feel I should get some sort of award!
The first test was a sleep study at the hospital to determine my sleep patterns and if I needed a CPAP machine. If you have had one, you know what I went thru. If you haven't, I found out that it was not fun, but not as bad as I imagined. I was going to take a picture of myself all hooked up for the test, but it would have been even worse than the picture above. They attach a lot of wires to your head and body, stick something up your nose, and tell you just to sleep normal. Hah! Not so much! But I guess I did manage to sleep some, and I seem to have passed that test and milestone without any need for CPAP, etc.
The next test was a couple of days later, and it was a sleep deprived EEG. For that one, I was instructed not to sleep at all the night before and to come in at 9 AM for this test, where they put a cap on your head with holes in it where they kind of scratch your scalp with some sort of sharp thing to make the glue stick better, and then attach many wires to your head. Then I got to sit back, close my eyes and "relax!" The technician then observed my brain activity (I suppose), and did some flashing lights, asked some questions, and then turned me loose looking like an escapee from some torture chamber! Turns out I have a brain and it seems to be functioning normally, or at least whatever "normal" is.
Finally, I had an MRI. This was totally painless and relatively brief (20 minutes) where they run you through this big, noisy tube thing, while you lay perfectly still, and they take pictures of your insides. Again, nothing unusual was found. All my results have been sent to a neurologist for review and I should hear something in a few more days, if they found any need for more tests or anything.
So, since Christmas, I have probably doctored more that I ever have, except for when I was pregnant, I am very happy, though, that I did what I was told and am relieved that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with me. It is kind of scary, to wake up like I did, and wonder if I would have woken up without help. Guess I will have to try not to get too tired!
Yesterday was my 74th birthday and we are starting a new year. This will be my first full year of retirement, so I am hoping to make the most of it. I am looking forward to more photography, more time with family and friends, more reading, more sewing, more writing, more outdoors and a lot less Covid!
Just ending with a picture of something to look forward to, and it's coming! TTFN!