Going Back Before I Go Forward

Before I start my journey on this blog I feel that I need to go back several steps and tell you my story from the beginning.  I will not be able to tell it all from my standpoint and will have to "fill in the blanks" with information from several other people.  I think this telling may take a couple of days, so if you can hang in there with me, you will get the big picture.

It all started on Friday, October 25th at around 4:45 pm.  I was getting ready to leave work to go to the store and buy some snacks for a girls movie night some friends and I were having.  I was sitting at my desk when suddenly my stomach started hurting and I felt as though I was going to vomit all over everything.  Lovely, huh? A few seconds later the pain went from my stomach to my chest, woosh… that fast.  It hurt so bad that my body started shaking and stiffened into a sort of plank.  I couldn't move or bend my body into my chair at all, I was holding my hands in front of my chest and crying out for help.  Chris, my co-worker, was at our front desk and he thought I was laughing since we had been watching this funny video just about 10 minutes earlier. Once he realized that I was in distress and that my cries were for help he rushed over and asked what was wrong.  I told him to call 911 and he went into action.

Meanwhile, several med students came over to try to help.  After asking several questions I told them to take me out of my chair since I couldn't move and I was stiff and shaking so bad.  I kept thinking I was going to break my neck on the chair if I kept hitting my head on it.  They were able to successfully get me out of my chair and onto the floor to try to make it easier for me.  The pain was absolutely excruciating.

Once Chris was able to get the ambulance on it's way he called my boss Suzi and she answered her phone, which was not expected since she was getting on a plane to Houston at the time.  Chris asked her what to do, should he send me to Parkland?  A resounding "No" was Suzi's answer.  Send her to St.Paul since it is a University Hospital (and I work for the University).

As all this was transpiring, Tracy, a woman who works in the office next to mine, was coming upstairs and noticed the ambulance.  When she came inside she asked who the ambulance was for and Chris told her it was for me.  She asked who was going to the Hospital with me and then told them that she was going.  She went next door and told her area that she was leaving for the Hospital with me and that she didn't care what had to be done to make it happen.  She then gathered my things so I would have what I needed at the Hospital, like my glasses, phone, purse, etc.

The paramedics loaded me on the stretcher, took me out and put me in the ambulance with Tracy and closed the door.  We went out of the parking lot, down the street and turned onto the street that St. Paul is on, went over one speed bump and that, my friends, is all I can remember of that day.

I will tell you tomorrow why all this happening the way it did is so very miraculous.

With Much Love,

Sonnie