Pukey McPukersly

I so proudly thought my vomiting days were over. After all those normal tests and scans, nothing could be found. So I decided (perhaps unwisely) to go ahead and fly down to Memphis as scheduled to tie up some loose ends in preparation for our move. It was just three days, I thought. So Day One was uneventful--I waded through the bureaucracy of the DMV to get a Tennessee driver's license, which I had to have in order to have my midwifery license processed for the state of Tennessee. I interviewed at a clinic for a potential part-time job to fill in for some extra dough before this third baby comes. All was accomplished on schedule. I was completely wiped out at the end of the day (which had started with a 5 am flight) but had kept all foods and liquids down.

So I awoke on Day Two after having spent all night back and forth to the bathroom and I couldn't stop throwing up for a few hours. Had to postpone my meetings in Jackson (which looks SO professional). Mom was my phone contact person, calling my worthless insurance company to find out which hospital I should go to for rehydration (none are covered, and the Home Health place wouldn't come out because of my crappy insurance either). Finally, Dad took me to the ER, waited a good long time to be shuffled up to the OB unit (if you're over 20 weeks, they are scared of you in the ER), waited a good long time to get assigned a room at the OB unit and waited another hour or so before they even attempted to find a vein in my dried-out arms, which are all bruised up from all the blood draws and IVs of the last week. Took three people and 8 sticks--finally the chief of the OB dept had to find it, which he did in one 5-second attempt. I had to refuse labs and ultrasounds, since I JUST had them and if they did them in Memphis, I'd be stuck with ALL the expense. I'm sure they rolled their eyes about me when I wasn't looking--"typical nurse," they probably said, "who thinks she knows better than everyone else." But after rehydration for the FOURTH time in 8 days, I felt better.

Managed to drive to Jackson on Wed for HR testing and a final staff interview at the clinic, loose ends to tie before we get down to the nitty-gritty credentialling process at the hospital. Barely made my flight home, which was fine plane-wise, but I was restless and nauseous and just ready to be home. Rolled in about 11 last night.

Now I have to decide what's next. If things spiral down again, I will likely get a PICC line, an in-dwelling IV site, so I can rehydrate at home and not be stuck over and over again. I have also been talking to my OB and staff (I am getting prenatal care where I work) about taking Family Medical Leave and just not returning for my final 3 weeks--or perhaps returning only half-days with no more call. The main issue here is money--we need it, with all the expenses coming up with moving, and if I am on Leave, I get none! Whatever this is, it does improve when I am not, well, being myself (rushing around to do everything all the time).

On a more positive note, we found a sweet lady to watch M and R, a solution to our childcare dilemma. The other two kids she has are both girls, same ages as ours, so everyone is happy. Today is their first day with her, so I hope all goes well. That will be one more thing I can check off the list.