Friday, July 15, 2011

The Emergency Room Saga- College Part 1

If you have ever met me -especially if our acquaintance occurred at Texas A&M University- then you know where I spent most of my Friday evenings during my college years: Simpson Drill Field chasing a frisbee. (No, not playing fetch!)

Ultimate frisbee was introduced to me in college. Having been a major fan of soccer and having grown up on beaches where frisbee is a required sport, I LOVED that someone had combined the two! I was usually one of the first to show up and the last to leave- on several occasions I even played in the dark with a light-up or glow-in-the-dark frisbee...I was a huge fan.
One of my best friends, after my second trip to the ER due to a frisbee injury said, "Hannah, you have an addiction and it's killing you!"

Today I will discuss the first one: Good Friday, April 2008.
Classes were canceled for the day and students were heading home to enjoy their 3-day weekend.
I had gone and picked my sister up from her college (SHSU) the night before so that we could take just the one car home after an hour or so of frisbee and a lunch with our friends. The game was going well...my team was winning, always proof of the "going well" statement. It was a bit warm and we were going to stop soon- just a few more points!


That is a dangerous word: ALMOST. Almost done with the game. Almost caught the frisbee. Almost made it. Almost.

Now, because I was not conscious for part of this next part of the story, I am going to be switching between my sister's version and my own.
Abby:
"Here came the frisbee- Hannah was so focused on it that she didn't notice her teammate. Both were coming from opposite sides of the field and were aiming for the same spot -without realizing it. My best description: imagine a car wrapping around a telephone pole- Hannah and the guy collided...only he managed to stay standing and she crumpled to the ground."

Hannah:
I remember colliding with the guy and not being able to breathe. I was suddenly on the ground and I didn't know how I'd gotten there- unable to get any oxygen I passed out. I remember the sound of panicked voices and was concerned because I subconsciously knew something was wrong and wanted to help. I remember feeling someone holding my hand and saying my name. It was black, I couldn't see. Then I remember waking suddenly to friends standing around me with the thought "What are they doing in my room? What day is it? Why are they looking at me? What happened?"
Some of the guys were standing to one side cracking jokes, a girl was on her phone looking desperate and talking about someone "...she's awake now, I don't know..." It didn't occur to me that she might be talking about me.

I felt so sick, as if I wanted to throw up. I thought that I had just had the wind knocked out of me and my desire to keep playing frisbee was so strong that I stood up with my sister's help. That was a mistake because I felt very dizzy and weak. I made it over to the brick steps on the field and just sat down staring at the brick. My friends were very busy talking to each other and occasionally they glanced my way. "She just needs to eat something!" one of my friends drawled in his East Texas accent. "No" I thought, "I don't want any food right now. Sleep. That sounds good. Why did they wake me up? Why am I here?"
My sister was on the phone with my mom...she wouldn't talk to her within earshot of me.

Now, I love my friends- but I wish someone had told me to just go straight to the hospital!
Frisbee was kind of canceled a group of friends decided upon Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. We waited two hours for their food (I had declined eating anything- to this day I don't care for BW's, simply because they had poor service). I just remember one guy watching me intently and not letting me sleep, the one who'd collided with me looking very worried, and a third teasing my sister (who was furious because she was trying to text my mom).

At last my sister's food came and the check so that we could begin our drive home.
I didn't put up a fight when my sister declared that she was driving. Thankfully we had packed the car before the frisbee game and could leave directly from the restaurant. It wasn't until we were on the highway that I asked her, "What happened?"
As she told me, I began to cry- stress, exhaustion, and pain were eating me up.

Abby:
You wrapped around the guy like a car would a telephone pole! Then when you sat up, you suddenly fell limp. As we came over to check on you, you had a seizure! Your eyes opened and rolled back...it was really scary, Hannah! The guys told me not to let you fall asleep because you probably have a concussion and I didn't make you go to the hospital because I know how much you hate them! But we are going to the Memorial Hermann hospital right now and mom will meet us there!

Hannah:
Truthfully, I DON'T like going to the doctor- but I would have gladly gone. I called my mom -who was very upset that we were taking so long to get to the doctor- and her irritated tone only made me cry some more!
At last we reached the ER and I was admitted. After a couple of hours it was determined that I had enough internal damage to equal that of a very bad car wreck (it made sense- I felt like I was going to implode every time my mom or sister hit the brakes for the next week!). I had a CTscan and was hooked up to a heart monitor, was given pain killer, etc. I cannot remember if I had a broken rib or not. A neurologist had to see me as well as my regular doctor...I pretty much missed classes for the first half of that next week due to doctors appointments and tests. I wasn't allowed to drive for a couple of weeks either. It was a mess!

That was my first ER trip do to ultimate frisbee. :) The second will be featured another time.

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