Word to the Wise

Last Wednesday, my roommate Jess and I went to go visit one of our girls we visit teach. We hadn't been in her apartment before, because she either wasn't home or we would talk to her really quickly outside of our apartment. We have had a hard time getting a hold of her but now we have her correct phone number so it's easier to contact her! Anyways, this girl lives by herself and has cats... and not just any cats... cats that have taken over her apartment! Well, in my opinion they have anyways. The furniture is all scratched and her apartment has an unpleasant smell, as if her cats took over. I'm just trying to describe the environment... it will come into play later on I promise.

Jess and I left her place and right away, Jess's throat started hurting. We thought it was weird, but didn't think much of it. We went to deliver soup to Jess's friend who was sick with a cold. About an hour had passed since going to the girl we visit teach's house.

Once we were on our way home, Jess was driving and said she was having problems breathing. It freaked me out and I told her to pull over so I could take over and drive so she could just focus on breathing normally again. After calling her dad, we decided it's better to be safe than sorry and go to the emergency room so Jess wouldn't die during the night! (don't you love it when I'm sarcastic?)

What made us decide to go to the emergency room was that even though we were pretty sure Jess was having an allergic reaction to the cats, she's not allergic to cats. So it was weird she now all of the sudden is. I told her how I developed my allergies my freshman year of college, so it's possible to get them later on in life.

We were in the ER for around 5 hours! But that was expected when you go in the middle of the night. But all they did was give her Benedryl then check her heart rate for a couple of hours. The rest of the time was sitting and waiting and trying not to fall completely asleep. Poor Jess saw all sides of me that come out when I'm tired. First I laugh over anything out of the ordinary. Then I do weird things (I may or may not have taken rubber gloves and blown them up and made inappropriate noises with them. So not like me...) Then I am grumpy and complain, and sometimes I even get emotional and start crying but I held that in for Jess's sake. And throughout all this, Jess is basically asleep because the doctor gave her 2 Benedryl pills, which she has never had before! The first time I took 2 Benedryl pills, I was out for a solid 9 hours. But sadly, she still remembers me being weird and now I have to live with that embarrassment for a while.

I may be preaching to the choir here who have had to go to the ER in the middle of the night with their children and whatnot... But word to the wise: Do not... I repeat DO NOT go to the ER at night unless you are on your death bed. And if you do happen to go, plan ahead. Bring a book, or a movie, or make sure your phone is charged (mine and Jess's phones both died... so lame), or heck take a foam pad and pillow if you are going to be drugged with Benedryl and are expected to stay awake for two hours. I'm sure the doctors will understand!

I took a photo of my roommate's wrist to remember this crazy night since she won't allow me to take normal pictures of her.

Wow. I live such an exciting life.

On a happy note, I found a story idea to write for Deseret News and it has turned out to be a hit! I saw a video many of my friends shared on Facebook about a boy with a developmental disability who played in the last basketball game of the season because he loves basketball and so the coach wanted to give him a chance to play. He went in during the last minutes of the game but after many attempts, didn't make a basket. With only a few seconds left, a player from the opposing team tossed him the ball and he finally made a basket! I was touched by the player from the other team serving that boy like that. We need more people like him in this world! And the coach who cared for the boy enough to let him play no matter the score. You can read the article I wrote here, but here's the video as well because it's definitely a must-watch!