ETC is short for "etcetera" (and so on) and "Emergency Treatment Center" at the City of Hope. They both apply to this post.
I've been feeling like a big wimp all week while I've nursed a mild cold. But, since I've been instructed to call the ETC if my temperature rises above 100.5 degrees, I sounded the alarm last night when my fever spiked at 102 degrees. I was hoping that they would say, "Take two Tylenol and call us in the morning," but the fever, combined with other symptoms, prompted the nurse and doctor on call to instruct me to report immediately to the ETC. Never mind that it was 11 pm, and the rain was coming down in buckets.
By the time Geoge and I arrived, the Tylenol had kicked in and my temperature was near normal, but my blood pressure was abnormally low (95/40). I had a chest x-ray (normal), complete blood count test (below normal, but not significantly lower than my test results from Wednesday), blood culture test and urine test. I also received several bags of hydration and a couple bags of antibiotics, just in case the infection is bacterial, not viral. We drove back home at 2:30 am, when the rain was coming down in tea-cups, not buckets.
It takes 24 to 48 hours to find out the results of the blood culture test, but I'm feeling much better today - just lacking energy, ambition, appetite, etc. This little experience is a good reminder that I'm not super human and must continue to be vigilant in drinking fluids like a camel, washing hands like an OCD patient, and so on and so forth!
4:oo pm Update: I just called the ETC to let them know I had a temperature of 101, and they said to come in STAT. RATS!
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