Viral Meningitis

Its been a while since I posted.... things have been a little crazy over here to say the least. In November I started coaching JV girls basketball and since then everything pretty much goes to the wayside. :)

I also got sick, hence the title of this post. About 2 weeks ago on a Sunday I started to get these crazy headaches. Like when I would stand up my head would just POUND. It started off happening everyone once and a while but by Tuesday, I tried to go school to teach and I didn't make it more than 2 classes. My head was pounding, my neck hurt, I felt like I was going to puke at any second. So I called my doctor, of course I couldn't get into him, so I saw another guy. Tension headaches he said. I was like, ok, give me some meds. So he gave me a muscle relaxor and some ibuprofen type stuff.

I had a game that night, so I took what I needed and got ready to coach my first game of the season. So I coached in the game and we won. Then I had to stay for varsity. Well by the middle of the varsity game I thought I was going to cry. It was horrible. I couldn't move much, my head killed and I felt awful. So I am trying not to cry in front of the Varsity coach and I then I had to ride the bus home. Horrible. I finally get home and start crying to Tim. He give my muscle relaxor and another ibuprofen thing and i go to bed. Mind you it is hard to sleep even though I am so tired because every position just hurts my head. Around midnight, I finally throw up, feel better and go to sleep.

Wednesday I feel surprisingly better. The boys are home with me today. Tyson and I watch videos while Alex naps. Then i have practice. I come home from practice and it still wasn't sooo bad. So we go to church for Wednesday night dinner. I think, oh I will eat a little and my stomach will calm down. So I eat and proceed to puke in the church parking lot. And then right when we get home in front of the new neighbor and then again in the house. By then i want to cut my head off. It hurt SO bad. Imagine someone trying to crush your head with a hammer. It would pound so hard that I would have to stop, close my eyes and not move at all until it stopped. And there was always this dull pain. So finally I can't take it anymore, I was like, Tim take me to the hospital. So we have no idea where to go, so we went to this hospital called Mercy. I am puking in the car with Tyson and Alex in there. Tyson keeps saying i am scared mom, and I while I am puking I say, i am ok tyson -- meanwhile retching my guts out. We get there and I was like oh gross, don't let the kids touch anything. There were tons of ppl and I am puking as I walk in. I am puking as they take my vitals. They put me on a bed give me and IV with morphine but it only brings my headache down to a 6 out of 10. They give me a catscan while tim is taking the boys back to the house to meet my mom and dad. Then they pretty much tell me i am not\
dying... no blood clot, no tumer -- go home. I was like really? I feel this awful and your telling me to go home. I puke as I leave the hospital. We get home and I proceed to puke for the next 30 hours or so about every hour to two hours. My parents come back thursday and take the kids. We go back to the ER on Thursday night -- I was very dehydrated. The headache is still there about a 7 plus the puking. I was like WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!! But apparently, people don't like to give answers. So we went to Grand Haven this time. And same thing, give me an IV and this time a steriod, which actually DID help with the headache. Nothing was really working for the puking. So they send me home again.

I try calling my regular doc and he just throws more meds at me... maybe it is a sinus infection... really??? I have never of people hurting that bad with a sinus infection. Well I felt a little better for a while and really tried to make it through Friday night. But back to the ER we went at 5am Saturday morning. FINALLY this nice doctor said, has anyone tested you for meningitis??? I was like no. So they did a lovely lumbar puncture (not really so lovely, just like a epidural except they go in farther, gives me the shivers thinking about it) and YES I did have meningitis.

It took so long to get an answer. So frustrating. This was the sickest I have ever been in my life. It was awful. My parents ended up taking the boys for 4 nights, which stunk but there is no way Tim or I could have done it if my parents hadn't come. My sister also came and took care of me for a day. :)

So now it has been a week and a half since my diagnosis and about 2 weeks since the beginning. I am still tired, I still get headaches but it is getting better. Tomorrow will be my first day back at school. What an ordeal! I am just extremely grateful that it was not the bacterial kind, cause that is more deadly and has a lot more side affects. This sickness also made me SO thankful to God for my awesome husband and my family! Can't imagine getting this sick and not having family around. Tim was so great, he was like setting his alarm and bringing me meds and making me drink and so on. I am not the best patient... i get a little crabby... but he was very patient with me. :)
The doctor did say it could take up to 2 months to feel totally 100% again, which stinks but like I said, I am so thankful that it wasn't any worse.
So that is what has been going on in the Annema house! I hope the rest of you are staying healthy this holiday season!!!