Syncope

1 call to 911 & an ambulance ride: $$$
1 CT scan of the head & chest x-ray: $$$$
1 EKG and blood work: $$
knowing that my husband is in fact healthy as an ox: PRICELESS

Michael and I had planned to finish out our registry at Babies 'R' Us with my mom on Saturday. We headed out looking forward to lunch at Freebirds and picking out a crib and other baby stuff. As we are nearing our exit Michael tells me he's feeling very light headed. I kinda blow it off thinking, he's just hungry. (He also has a flare for drama when he's sick. Just like most men! LOL) As we exit and come to the light he's breathing even harder and is stressing that he feels very nauseous and that he is going to pass out. I'm noticing he's not just being dramatic and tell him to put the car in park, get out and switch seats with me. My pregnant butt climbs over to the driver's side praying he doesn't puke in the car. As the light turns green I make my way through the light and force myself over in front of people into a gas station all while pushing my husband off of me who has become more limp and breathing even harder. I can barely put the car in park as he opens his car door and lays his head over on my shoulder at which point he goes completely limp! I'm pulling on his shirt as his body is sliding out the door. My mother jumps out of the backseat outside to Michael. (OMG! Michael has just passed out! What on earth is happening?!) I run into the gas station for some water. When I come out my mother is telling me to call 911. Michael is white as a ghost and his lips are blue. She slaps him to wake up. All he does is moan. He's barely responding to her slaps and yelling at him. (What is happening to my husband?!)

While I was on the phone with 911 four or five people stopped to ask if we needed help. All kinds of people! People from every race and economic background. I say that because just when you start to doubt our society, when they see someone in need, they really aren't all heartless. As I'm listening to instructions on the phone my heart is pounding as I hear sirens getting louder. My mother is still in Michael's face yelling at him to respond in some way. He is breathing very lightly but barely a word uttered, his eyes closed. A woman gets out of her car to flag down the ambulance and then she drives off. (Thank you whoever you were!) The paramedics get there and sit Michael up. Asking a million questions when all I want to do is just wrap my arms around him and cry. My mother keeps me strong and helps the paramedics make sense of my ramblings. They manage to get him on the gurney and into the ambulance.

After getting some vitals we head to the hospital, Mom is holding my hand reassuring me everything is okay. When I get to his room I can finally see that Michael's eyes are open and he's coherent. He's answering questions and joking with nurses and paramedics. When he sees me, he apologizes. For what I'm not sure. I guess he saw the fear and worry. Once we get papers filled out and blood drawn we've finally calmed down and had a chance to sit and cool off. What just happened? How did we end up here so fast? What's going on with my husband!? Michael relaxes and closes his eyes again but just as he's dozing the doctor walks in and gets a history again and asking what exactly happened. For the third time we tell the story and he walks out. Several tests are run. As each hour passes Michael's looking better and better. Mom and I quietly pass the time talking while Michael sleeps.

Four hours from the time I call 911, we are leaving the hospital. What was the diagnosis you ask? Syncope. The doctor comes in and says every test they ran came back absolutely normal. The patient is perfectly normal and he has no medical explanation to what happened. All he can say is that Michael has experienced a "fainting spell". What!? All those tests and you have no explanation? Don't get me wrong people. I'm glad nothing was wrong. It was just all so scary to be told that he simply passed out. Michael in all his humor comments to the nurse, "There has to be a more manly way of saying it was just a fainting spell." She said the official terminology is syncope. So he strongly repeats the name and convinces himself that that sounds much better. As we're leaving the hospital he continues to try and convince me he's okay enough for Freebirds. Sadly, I had to let him down and convince him that Chik fil'a would have to do.

Needless to say, we had a very exhausting and eventful Saturday to top off our exhausting and eventful week. Now I somehow have to convince my husband that he needs to follow up with a family doctor, which by the way he doesn't have. Why haven't I been more persistent about that in the past?!

We are moving in two weeks ladies and gentlemen. Lets pray that there are no more fainting spells for anyone! Sorry Michael, I mean episodes of syncope.

I would also like to say a huge thank you to everyone who stopped to ask us if we needed help. All but one of them had their phones in their hand ready to call for help. Thank you so much Fort Worth, Texans really do care about each other!