In which things get even crazier…
So I was finally feeling happy. I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with Joey and Drew and the cats. And in early January, Joey and I had a talk one morning over coffee and both decided we were back in a relationship. I was so unbelievably happy. Well, the truth is, it took some time to kick in. I have a weird thing where good news after waiting can sometimes make me feel sort of depressed. But it only lasts usually a few days, and as I said, I was soon very happy.
I was doing great at work. I was actually really enjoying myself and feeling passionate. I kept getting great feedback. This was great for my self-esteem; I never thought I’d be able to hold a regular 9-5 adult job due to my disabilities. Unfortunately, I did start to have a serious problem with a co-worker, but I won’t talk about that here. It was mostly dealt with. Sorta.
Around December/January I started feeling sick often. It was stomach pains, diarrhea, and what felt like very bad heartburn. This was happening almost daily, and it got so bad I had to leave work once. I’m still not sure what caused it. I was getting very close to calling the doctor because it had been almost a month.
In February, Joey took a trip down to Florida to work on fixing up the motorhome, which was currently parked at his parents’ place. I once again stayed at the apartment to take care of the cats and fish, and to keep Drew company.
One morning I had an appointment with my therapist, so I took an Uber downtown. The buses are hard to navigate from that apartment. While I was riding in the back seat, my teeth and jaw started hurting in this very strange way I had never experienced before. The mental health building is right next to the pharmacy, so I stopped inside. I couldn’t find any ibupropfen, and just decided to walk less than five minutes to GenderCat and ask Erica for some. I still had a little time before my appointment.
As I was walking, my chest started hurting pretty bad, with that sort of heartburn feeling but more intense. Then my left shoulder started hurting too. I stopped outside the GenderCat office because I was very out of breath and dizzy. I Googled my symptoms and it said at the top of the search results, “You may be having a heart attack. Call 9-11 or go to the nearest emergency room immediately.” I found that unlikely…I was thirty-one years old and healthy. I called Joey in Florida and told him my symptoms. I asked him if he thought I should go to the emergency room. He was calm but clearly scared, and said yes.
I think I’ll leave it on this cliffhanger. 🙂 But yeah, suffice to say I’m okay now.
Part 5 coming soon.
Elliott DeLine, Author 