Ambulances = No Running Today

So, yesterday started exciting...

I woke up around 6am, because I must have heard some commotion. I don't know why, but I thought someone might have broken into the apartment. I was kind of tired and confused, and that is where my brain went. Then I saw my cat Tater walking calmly into the bedroom, and I knew for sure there were no strangers in the apartment. He would run and hide if he saw anyone he didn't know.

I noticed that Rick wasn't in the bed, I could see that he wasn't in the bathroom, and I started wondering exactly where he was. I got up and I found him sitting on the living room floor. His skin was cold and clammy, and something was obviously wrong. He said he felt awful and fell down, and he might need to go to the emergency room.

I got him some water and tried to help him up. As soon as he got to a standing position, he passed out and fell to the floor. I decided to call 911 right away because I needed help. I think he was unconcious for just a few seconds. The 911 operator told me to sit him up, and not to give him anything to eat or drink. She also told me that it was very important for me to stay calm around him.

Luckily I had left my clothes out the night before, because I was planning on going to the gym to run. I didn't have to nervously dig through my drawers to find something to wear. I got dressed as quickly as possible and went downstairs to meet the EMTs when I saw them arrive outside.
They were super-nice and calming. Rick's blood pressure was really low, and they said that was normal for someone who had just passed out.

The EMTs didn't seem too worried about him, but they wanted to take him to the hospital to get him checked out just in case. Rick was able to walk down the stairs and get into the ambulance without any assistance. We both rode in the back (my first, and hopefully last) time. They didn't turn on the siren, but they did turn on the lights! Rick was able to sit up and buckle in. They didn't make him lay on the stretcher.

The ER was pretty uneventful. The doctor said it was a "perfect storm" of events that most likely caused it. In the morning you have low blood pressure, stomach aches can cause blood pressure to go down, and it just hit a point that was too low for his brain to handle. They gave him IV fluids, and we sat around bored for hours.

The only thing I had to entertain us was my iPod. I had some old Argentinean songs from a children's wrestling show "Titanes en el Ring" on there. Rick used to watch that show when he was a kid, and I must admit the songs are catchy! I had nothing to read, and I started to read everything I could find. I read the label on the saline bottle, the labels on the drawer. Anything.

They finally let us out of there around noon. Rick was feeling totally fine by then, so we both went to work. We were a little tired, because we got to bed late the night before and got up early by surprise...

All is well now. Rick is fine, and I am happy!