Midnight at the Medical City E.R.

ok game! kwento na!

a.k.a., "the mysterious case of the midnight higad"

okay. for the past three weeks, i've been getting these weird pantal (is there an english translation that adequately conveys the ickiness of pantal?) on my tummy. they were especially weird because they would appear only at the office past 11 p.m. (apparently, i'm allergic to overtime.) and since i had no time to see a doctor, there was there was no choice but to itch and bear it...

until last wednesday. i was relieving my mounting work- and tour-related anxieties with the boyf over brownie a la mode at jack's loft. i had the itchies as usual, and was even talking to marlon about finding time to go to an allergy specialist before my trip. all of a sudden my face went numb and hot at the same time and within seconds, the entire left side of my face had puffed up like some freakish pink souffle.

so he drove me to the nearest e.r. while i entertained wild fantasies of rolling around on a very large sheet of sandpaper. at medical city, we spent a lot of time being disoriented by the sheer size of the place and sitting in the wrong room before we finally found the e.r.. we took pictures (of course) while waiting for a doctor. when we did get to see one, the first thing he said to me was: "you look familiar." my reply: "do you know anyone who looks this lumpy?"

since he couldn't determine the cause of my lumpiness (i'm allergic to virtually nothing -- i highly suspect it's stress-induced), he prescribed momentary relief via a shot of benadryl. no, not the cough syrup, but some kind of mega anti-inflammatory thing with a sedative effect. i didn't realize just how much of "sedative effect" the shot carried until i tried to get up to go to the toilet and found myself being pursued by two male nurses with a wheelchair. "i can go to the bathroom by myself. i'm not sleepy!" i protested. but the nurses wouldn't budge -- apparently i could just lose consciousness and crumple into a lumpy heap on the floor at any given moment! and so i got to take my first wheelchair ride, thoughtfully documented here by my paparazzi boyfriend.

i stayed at the e.r. until about 2am to sleep off most of the sedative, but the world remained a soupy fog for the rest of the day. i went to work literally stoned -- my vacant, unblinking stare unnerving my boss, who shouted "hoy! uminom ka nga ng tubig, nakakatakot ka!" at me during a meeting.

the sedatives were nice. last week was so hectic, i was almost sorry they wore off.

i did go to an allergologist for a follow up, though. much observation is needed for the cause of the whole blowup to be determined. unfortunately, i won't be here for the crucial observation period -- i'll be off gallivanting (and hopefully not itching) all over spain and france. but she did agree with my offhand hypothesis that it's most likely stress, and she did prescribe meds in case the itchies pop up again.

hmmm. i wonder if the meds she prescribed have a sedative effect too. i just might need them right before the competition.