I need to see a doctor - NOW!!!

After getting off the phone with my father I had to remain calm and maintain some sort of civilized behaviour while waiting a few minutes for him to arrive along with my mother and some Benadryl. I remember nervously pacing around my SUV on the moderately busy side street. What seemed to be quite a long time passed, so I called my dad's cell phone to see where the heck they were. He told me he was right around the corner and that only a few minutes had gone by since we last spoke. So much for my maintaining perspective!

Just before their arrival I came to the conclusion that this "attack" was worse than any other I had experienced in the past. My reaction to that was a thought that Benadryl likely wouldn't be enough to stop it. It turns out I was right.

When my parents finally arrived (I know, it took little time but despite my efforts to remain calm, each minute that passed started stretching out more and more and more) I effectively ordered them to abandon my vehicle where it was and to drive me a couple of blocks to the nearby medical clinic. We quickly arrived and I barged through the line (it was pretty busy for 6pm on a weekday, or so I thought!) and immediately told the nurse who was dealing with another patient that I needed to see a doctor and I needed to see him or her now.

They didn't even ask me to remove my shoes!! Into a room I was whisked, I saw the nurse go into another examination room to fetch a doctor. I was put on oxygen, told to swallow some pills and was given a shot of epinephrine. They asked me some questions and informed me that this time I wasn't going to walk out (as I had done once or twice before with the simple advice of taking a few days' worth of Benadryl and I'd be fine.) An ambulance was on its way, but it would take some time because a pedestrian had been hit by a dump truck and the "local" paramedics were tied up. My bus (as they call it on Law and Order!) was coming from the Bank and Walkley area - clear across town! The fire department first arrived on scene... those in the waiting room sure got more than they bargained for that night!!

By the time the ambulance arrived the medical staff at the clinic had stabilized me. Apparently out of danger, I was now able to relax a bit and enjoy a live episode of "Rescue 911" with me as the star. OK, most of you won't remember the show but I think William Shatner hosted a "COPS"-like show back in the 90's that followed paramedics around. The paramedics put me on a stretcher and wheeled me out to the waiting ambulance. Once secured inside, a fairly young attendant was told that this would be his first opportunity to put one of those IV hookup things in while in a moving vehicle. Great, here I was going to become some student's pin cushion!

Off we headed to the Civic Hospital - the IV hookup went smoothly (maybe the drugs and oxygen made me less babyish than I can be around needles!) and I was disappointed when we cruised up Greenbank towards the 417 with no lights or siren. My one time in an ambulance (for which I was later billed) and I don't get the "full monty" and had to settle for quietly weaving through traffic while observing all Highway Traffic Act laws. Oh well.

Within minutes we were at the hospital and this episode would soon be over.