Thankful
"This is my wife, Keely. She's pregnant and having trouble breathing."
These words came out of Daniel's mouth (quite calmly, I must say) at 1a.m. Sunday, in the ER near our house.
But let me back up a little:
Saturday night had been busy. We got to the theatre at six to eat an early dinner. Daniel's call time was 6:45 and we like to get to the theatre early so he can be relaxed before having to be on stage all night without a break. I gave the actors their photo CD's filled with the best 162 out of 300 photos I took during their dress rehearsals. I goofed around with my friends in the cast. I sat in the lobby talking with friends and blushing a little when they noticed that the preggo belly is starting to become visible. I was complimented on how healthy and happy I looked. I stocked up on snacks and drinks and headed up to the tech booth to watch the show. "Assassins" is a two-hour plus show with no intermission, so the tech booth became my favorite place in the house to sit. Being there gave me the freedom to stand and stretch, eat, and get up for potty breaks as often as need be. I averaged about 3-4 times in a two-hour span.
The closing night attendance was great and I was so proud of all the actors in the show. Every one of them is so talented and it was a pleasure to photograph them and see them bring their characters to life over and over again. I saw the show ten times and never grew bored. It was awesome.
After the meet and greet in the lobby, the cast and crew got to work on striking the set. I was in charge of the list. Basically that meant I got to tell people what to do and cross things off when they got done. I loved my job.
Strike took a couple hours and then we all headed over to a party one of the cast members was having. We were exhausted, but we felt like we needed to make an appearance just for a little while. We drank lemonade and ate cheese and crackers. We took funny pictures. We had a good time. Then, I started having a hard time breathing. They had a cat (which I'm even more allergic to now that I'm pregnant) locked in one of the bedrooms for the party, but my super human preggo senses still smelled it. And then someone got black paint (it was on the bottom of their shoes) on the white carpet. A very diligent friend got to work on the carpet with an old rag and some type of cleaner. I sat there for a bit watching him scrub and spray, scrub and spray, and then I started feeling light headed and sick. Daniel and I got up and walked in the kitchen to get away from the fumes, but the lovely hostess soon followed and then stood and talked to us with the offending spray and the now soaked rag in her hands. I stood there nodding and smiling for a few minutes and then told her and Daniel that I wasn't feeling well and needed to leave. We said our goodbyes, I joked with our friends a little and we walked out into the fresh night air.
Things slid downhill from there. My trouble breathing turned into me gasping for air. Daniel led me to our car, encouraging me to relax and take deep breaths. We started driving and every breath was harder to breathe. I was extremely distressed. I was scared. I was worried Zocon would be having trouble breathing if I was and I tried to gulp air in. All the time, Daniel was driving calmly and trying to make me feel better. He told me over and over again that everything would be all right. I started crying and eventually I could feel my throat closing up. I told Daniel and he asked me if I needed to go to the ER, I nodded and he got me there quickly and safely.
When we walked into the room, Daniel went straight to the security guard on duty.
"This is my wife, Keely. She's pregnant and having trouble breathing."
The man looked at me, asked how far along I was and sent us to the registration desk where Daniel repeated.
"This is my wife, Keely. She's pregnant and having trouble breathing."
If I hadn't been working so hard to breathe and stifle my tears, I would have laughed. I felt like I was in that scene from Bridget Jones' Diary. You know, the scene at the cocktail party where they're introducing their friends to one another.
"This is my wife, Keely. She takes photographs for the Spotlight and loves theatre."
A nurse came out to the waiting room and ushered me back to a bed. They took my vitals and nurses attached heart monitors to my chest and belly. A doctor was in to see me within moments. I was fine. I was having an allergic reaction, but my oxygen levels were still good and the baby wasn't in any danger. I think I stopped crying the moment those words came out of the doctors mouth. I was never scared for me, it was all about Zocon. I had been kicking myself for being so relieved that my first trimester was almost over. I was sure I had jinxed myself and that I was going to miscarry all because I had tried to be polite instead of leaving the party at the first sign of trouble breathing. They gave me a shot of Benedryl and told me to lie down and relax. I asked for my husband (who was still out in the waiting area registering me). The nurse asked me his name and I told him we didn't know yet.
"You don't know you're husbands name…yet?!"
"Oh! I thought you were asking the baby's name! It's Daniel, my husband is Daniel!"
The nurse left quickly and came back to tell me Daniel would be in shortly. He smiled and told me that Daniel was going to be a great dad. He said he was being very calm and patient and that I should be proud. I was. I was so glad that one of us had remained calm. They monitored my heart rate and oxygen levels for nearly two hours. Daniel held my hand and reassured me. I dozed off a little as he fought off sleep. It was nearly 3:30 in the morning when we finally got to go home and fall into our bed.
It's been two days since our ER drama, and it's all still fresh in my mind. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. It is even clearer to me now, how lucky I am. I am so thankful for Daniel and his strength and support. I am thankful for this baby we've been wanting for so long and nurtured for the past three months. I am thankful for Daniel. I am thankful for our friends and family who have been so kind to us and shared in our excitement. As I said in my last post, this is going to be a very special Thanksgiving for us this year.
Cheers!
These words came out of Daniel's mouth (quite calmly, I must say) at 1a.m. Sunday, in the ER near our house.
But let me back up a little:
Saturday night had been busy. We got to the theatre at six to eat an early dinner. Daniel's call time was 6:45 and we like to get to the theatre early so he can be relaxed before having to be on stage all night without a break. I gave the actors their photo CD's filled with the best 162 out of 300 photos I took during their dress rehearsals. I goofed around with my friends in the cast. I sat in the lobby talking with friends and blushing a little when they noticed that the preggo belly is starting to become visible. I was complimented on how healthy and happy I looked. I stocked up on snacks and drinks and headed up to the tech booth to watch the show. "Assassins" is a two-hour plus show with no intermission, so the tech booth became my favorite place in the house to sit. Being there gave me the freedom to stand and stretch, eat, and get up for potty breaks as often as need be. I averaged about 3-4 times in a two-hour span.
The closing night attendance was great and I was so proud of all the actors in the show. Every one of them is so talented and it was a pleasure to photograph them and see them bring their characters to life over and over again. I saw the show ten times and never grew bored. It was awesome.
After the meet and greet in the lobby, the cast and crew got to work on striking the set. I was in charge of the list. Basically that meant I got to tell people what to do and cross things off when they got done. I loved my job.
Strike took a couple hours and then we all headed over to a party one of the cast members was having. We were exhausted, but we felt like we needed to make an appearance just for a little while. We drank lemonade and ate cheese and crackers. We took funny pictures. We had a good time. Then, I started having a hard time breathing. They had a cat (which I'm even more allergic to now that I'm pregnant) locked in one of the bedrooms for the party, but my super human preggo senses still smelled it. And then someone got black paint (it was on the bottom of their shoes) on the white carpet. A very diligent friend got to work on the carpet with an old rag and some type of cleaner. I sat there for a bit watching him scrub and spray, scrub and spray, and then I started feeling light headed and sick. Daniel and I got up and walked in the kitchen to get away from the fumes, but the lovely hostess soon followed and then stood and talked to us with the offending spray and the now soaked rag in her hands. I stood there nodding and smiling for a few minutes and then told her and Daniel that I wasn't feeling well and needed to leave. We said our goodbyes, I joked with our friends a little and we walked out into the fresh night air.
Things slid downhill from there. My trouble breathing turned into me gasping for air. Daniel led me to our car, encouraging me to relax and take deep breaths. We started driving and every breath was harder to breathe. I was extremely distressed. I was scared. I was worried Zocon would be having trouble breathing if I was and I tried to gulp air in. All the time, Daniel was driving calmly and trying to make me feel better. He told me over and over again that everything would be all right. I started crying and eventually I could feel my throat closing up. I told Daniel and he asked me if I needed to go to the ER, I nodded and he got me there quickly and safely.
When we walked into the room, Daniel went straight to the security guard on duty.
"This is my wife, Keely. She's pregnant and having trouble breathing."
The man looked at me, asked how far along I was and sent us to the registration desk where Daniel repeated.
"This is my wife, Keely. She's pregnant and having trouble breathing."
If I hadn't been working so hard to breathe and stifle my tears, I would have laughed. I felt like I was in that scene from Bridget Jones' Diary. You know, the scene at the cocktail party where they're introducing their friends to one another.
"This is my wife, Keely. She takes photographs for the Spotlight and loves theatre."
A nurse came out to the waiting room and ushered me back to a bed. They took my vitals and nurses attached heart monitors to my chest and belly. A doctor was in to see me within moments. I was fine. I was having an allergic reaction, but my oxygen levels were still good and the baby wasn't in any danger. I think I stopped crying the moment those words came out of the doctors mouth. I was never scared for me, it was all about Zocon. I had been kicking myself for being so relieved that my first trimester was almost over. I was sure I had jinxed myself and that I was going to miscarry all because I had tried to be polite instead of leaving the party at the first sign of trouble breathing. They gave me a shot of Benedryl and told me to lie down and relax. I asked for my husband (who was still out in the waiting area registering me). The nurse asked me his name and I told him we didn't know yet.
"You don't know you're husbands name…yet?!"
"Oh! I thought you were asking the baby's name! It's Daniel, my husband is Daniel!"
The nurse left quickly and came back to tell me Daniel would be in shortly. He smiled and told me that Daniel was going to be a great dad. He said he was being very calm and patient and that I should be proud. I was. I was so glad that one of us had remained calm. They monitored my heart rate and oxygen levels for nearly two hours. Daniel held my hand and reassured me. I dozed off a little as he fought off sleep. It was nearly 3:30 in the morning when we finally got to go home and fall into our bed.
It's been two days since our ER drama, and it's all still fresh in my mind. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. It is even clearer to me now, how lucky I am. I am so thankful for Daniel and his strength and support. I am thankful for this baby we've been wanting for so long and nurtured for the past three months. I am thankful for Daniel. I am thankful for our friends and family who have been so kind to us and shared in our excitement. As I said in my last post, this is going to be a very special Thanksgiving for us this year.
Cheers!
Comments