A very eventful week

I promise I'll place a picture here. Right now though, since I'm stuck in the hospital I have to make do without one.

Technically, the only noteworthy days were Monday and Friday. The rest of the week was pretty normal. SO far. I still have two days to go.

Last Monday, I was still lying in bed when I heard a big boom. Then the electricity turned off. I wouldn't have stood up but another boom went out. I stood up and started getting all the electrical equipments unplugged. My sister rushed inside the door as well. Apparently a Meralco pole cause the explosion and it was the one nearest our house. We went down to check it out and to take the dogs out as well. They were right beside the gate, near the wires and I didn't want them electrocuted.

Now, I wasn't really worried, we've had around 4 fires in the street in the last couple of years. The wires between the poles near our street are so intertwined it's not even safe to look out the window and reach out your hand if you're on the second floor. However, most of the fires in our neighborhood are short, dangerous but not fatal. No one's ever been killed and the fires thankfully, never reach the homes. It's surprising to see how many people there have fire extinguishers and if you look at the houses in our neighborhood, they're not exactly the kind of people who will be prepared for fire.

So this particular fire wasn't really scary until we got down and heard the news. One of our neighbors was constructing additional levels to their house. They were in the third floor and a welder, was killed. Have you ever seen a man electrocuted by a main line? I didn't want to see his body as they carried him past our house.

We went up again and this time we turned off the main line to our house. Then my sister and I took the dogs out of the cage. We just got back to get our office bags and since our relatives advised us to go out and stay in my aunt's car wash, a couple of blocks away, we left the house with the dogs and ran out. There was smoke everywhere. Later we learned that a fire did break out but someone used a fire extinguisher on it. So after staying near all our other neighbors outside their houses checking the fire, the firemen, the police and our house, my sister and I walked the dogs the long way around to the car wash. Tammy, our oldest dog was clearly out of shape and we gave the dogs water when we got there. However, all the excitement had stopped on our street. The fire was out, the firemen didn't do anything ans since nothing else was happening, our neighbors all went home. So did we. When we got back home, Meralco was already there fixing the line. We got our electricity back around lunch time.

Fast forward to Friday. I woke up and my scalp was itchy. Since Neal was still taking a bath, I tried to go back to sleep again but suddenly every part of my body was itchy. I don't exaggerate. I was itchy everywhere, and my ears felt like cauliflower and when I looked in the mirror, well.. all I can say is, Manny Pacquiao looked better after the fight with Cotto. My face was read, my ears were big, my eyelids were partially covering my eyes. When you watch people getting allergies in the movies, like in Hitch, I always thought that was exaggerated, until that morning.

I was red everywhere. They looked like small insect bites so we did the rational thing and went to the hospital's emergency room after we took a bath. My first choice was St Luke's. It's the closest hospital and I know from previous experience that their emergency room had good doctors. It's a good thing I also had Neal's HMO card, I wouldn't be typing this in a private room if I didn't.

We actually stayed in the emergency room for 6 hours. We got there around 7 and had to wait for a room till 1. I could just imagine myself walking up to the office and saying in a hoarse voice "I think I'm having an allergy attack." My face and my voice was enough to get their attention and I had my diagnosis and medicine within 30 minutes. The doctor said it was Anaphylaxis, an acute systemic hypersensitivity reaction. I get allergies in one form or another every month. Even I was shocked at how intense it was. If you watch House, this happens a lot. Imagine a scene where the camera zooms in to the patient's throat, "tok" the throat clamps shut and the camera zooms out to the patient who can't breathe. That's Anaphylactic shock, the most severe reaction to Anaphylaxis and since my voice was already hoarse, it was already getting there according to the doctor.

I was asleep for a couple of hours because of the medicines they gave me, I slept because Neal told me to go to sleep and I woke up because Neal was already bored and wanted me to keep him company. They gave me diphenhydramine(Benadryl), ephinephrine (adrenalin) and Solu Cortef (I keep forgetting. I'm always dizzy after they give me the Benadryl). The first shots were given directly through the muscle which makes the medicine more effective as opposed to directly in the IV where the medicine can react faster. The muscle shot hurts a lot too. The doctors say the shots hurt but the pain is after they give you the shot.

They kept me in the hospital for more medicines and to keep me under observation. Neal wants to go home and I know this because he has been saying that since last night.

I'm being fed hypoallergenic food. I thought it was fun at first because hospital food amazes me. I really like it and this is the first time my food actually fell into a category different from normal. Apparently hypoallergenic food is not that great because I have to stay away from food I loved: chicken egg, all forms of dairy including milk and chocolate, mangoes, strawberries, watermelons, eggplants, seafood ... The list goes on. I ate almost all of that yesterday which explains my reaction today. Correction, according to Neal, I could have eaten all of that but now I can't for the next few weeks.

I now have an allergologist. Who I may have to see regularly from now on. Funny, my dad never had one and he has more allergies than I do. I'm still here, taking advantage of the WiFi here at the hospital. Neal and I still have tons to do for the house and I want to go back to reality. I still need to take pictures of the home improvements, buy bathroom stuff and hopefully, choose the paint for the rooms. We also need to get permission from Camella to start on the fence outside the house. Arrgh. Too may things to do!