Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Trip to the ER

Sunday night we took a little trip to the ER. Not for me, though. Ryan was having really bad neck pain. They diagnosed a muscle spasm that was pinching a nerve. They gave him some really good pain relievers and muscle relaxers. The problem could bother him for a few weeks. I asked if he'd be any help in labor, and the nurse told me that I better call a friend! My mom and doula will be there to help out with massage and pressure point duty. While we were waiting for Ryan to be treated, he used lamaze breathing and relaxation techniques to deal with the pain! The hardest part of the whole ordeal was getting checked in...

We signed in and gave Ryan's name and "chief complaint". (I overhead a subsequent patient sign in and ask what they wanted for "chief compliant"!) About 10 minutes later the woman working at the front desk called out, "RON!" No one in the packed waiting room budged. Several minutes passed, and she called out again, "RON!" Again, no response. Ryan and I looked at each other and shrugged. I approached the receptionist and noticed that Ryan's paperwork was right in front of her.

"Oh, I thought you had said 'Ron', " I told her.

She looked at me quizzically. "How do you say his name?"

"Ry-an," I enunciated.

Puzzled, she just looked at me. She could not hear the difference. So, we've learned that in the midwest, Ryan's name has two vowel sounds, hence two syllables. However, in Texas it has just one. Funny.

On the baby front, the due date is tomorrow. I feel great but hope that the baby comes soon so Ryan's first week of school isn't so hectic next week! I'm praying a lot for him! He has so much on his plate. Please pray for him to trust God and not be overwhelmed. I'm praying that he'll have a lot of time to enjoy his new role as a dad!

1 comment:

Susan McCaffrey said...

Heh heh....reminds me of the time I broke a bone in my foot while down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Now, this is a teeny-tiny village called Avon, which is about 1 hour down a 2-lane highway from Kitty Hawk, so it's remote! Luckily, there is a pretty well-equipped mini-hospital staffed by (as the McCaffreys all call him, having needed his expertise now and then while various family members vacation there) the "beach doctor" who is an authentic local named (and I'm not kidding) Seaborne T. Blair IV! I imagine that the first Seaborne was probably actually born at sea. Remember that, Emily, if labor gets hard....it could be on a ship!

Well, anyway, the nurse takes one look at my ugly foot and pronounces it "broke." Another medical-type person confirms this diagnosis, indicating that it looks "good and broke." Finally, Seaborne himself, possessor of much-advanced education and actual degrees, gives the final diagnosis, "why, that foot's pretty broke now, ain't it?"

And, Emily, I just remembered that Susan, the special education teacher at Haslett from Tennessee (remember her? She had run a few marathons and had her posters in the special ed office...) used to call Lynn Bartley something that sounded like "Lee Ann." It took me several times hearing it to figure out who she was talking about!

We're praying hard for you, Ryan, and Molly! Megan thought for sure that Molly would come while she was at camp last week! Now, she is threatening to call you up and ask you to "put Molly on the phone" so she can encourage her to come out and play!

Much love,
Susan