Gone Crazy Be Back Soon Part Eighty

We finally arrived back at the van1

The other campers were playing with a Frisbee
Sarah was watching them and talking rapidly
To Sam, the camp director, on her cell phone
As soon as she saw us she ran over and handed
The phone to Dave so he could update Sam2

Lisa was standing awkwardly to the side
She was crying and looked as scared as I was
Sarah walked over to Lisa to comfort her
Ken and Dave put me down on the ground
So that Dave could talk on the phone and
I just stared straight up at the sky and prayed
That I was okay enough to not need the hospital
I could hear Dave on the phone and he was saying
Everything that I didn’t want him to say3

“She’s hypothermic… Yeah… I’m going to call 911… Yeah…No she needs to get to the hospital… She can barely stay conscious… I’m going to give you to Ken so I can call for help…”4

Ken continued talking to Sam
I continued to float in and out
Of awareness and extreme fear5

When I heard the sirens my heart sank
I had no hope of escaping this without
A hospital visit and that was clear6

Sarah and Lisa took the kids back into the woods
When the ambulance arrived and Ken and Dave
Stayed near the van with me and the tin foil blanket
I noticed that Lisa was still crying and I felt
Incredibly guilty and wondered if this was
Some sort of punishment for my evilness
I didn’t voice that fear but when the paramedics
Came over to me and repeated some of the things
That Ken and Dave had done I reiterated that I felt fine
(this was a total lie)
And that I didn’t want to go to the hospital
(this was completely true)7

The paramedics heard my slurred voice
And saw how sick I was and immediately
Lifted me onto the stretcher hooked me up
To an obnoxious beeping portable monitor
They covered me in layers and layers of blankets
And then attempted to get an IV in my arm8

Because I was so cold they couldn’t get
Any IV access despite the fact that they
Were repeatedly poking me the entire
Ride to the hospital’s emergency room9

I blacked out at various points during the ride
And would open my eyes to more pokes
And more blossoming bruises and lumps
In my poor little arms and my ice cold hands10

When we arrived at the hospital the sirens
Of the ambulance finally died down and
The paramedics rushed me in to the ER
Where a team of people in medical clothing
Directed the paramedics to a room where
I found my bathing suit being removed
I was sort of embarrassed but felt so weird
By then that I barely made a sound at all
I blacked out again and when I woke up
This time I had a mask on my face with
Hot oxygen blowing into me through it
And hot packs and heated blankets all over
My body that had finally started shivering
My teeth were violently chattering and so
I couldn’t respond to any questions or anything11

Finally the hot packs had warmed me up enough
That the nurses were able to get an IV in my arm
Three of them had all been poking me at once
I ended up with an IV in my left arm
And another one in my right hand
The nurses hooked it up to IV bags
That must have been heated or something12

At some point I noticed that there was
A stick of some sort in my bottom
I tried to pull it out when a nurse
Explained that it was a thermometer13

“You’re temperature’s finally rising”14

She told me15

“We need to take it rectally to get the most accurate reading possible. I know it’s uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”16

I nodded through my violent shivering
Eventually the room began to empty out
Of all the concerned medical personal
One of the remaining doctors spoke with me17

“I’m Dr. Martinez”18

He introduced himself19

“I understand you decided to go for a swim in a cave.”20

I nodded21

“Your counselor tells me the water down there was 42 degrees.”22

I nodded again23

“He gave me your mom’s phone number and she gave me a list of your medications and some of your history.”24

I nodded but silently cringed at the word “history”25

“We’re giving you heated oxygen and IV fluids to get your temperature back up”26

I nodded again
He didn’t say anything else about my “history
And I was extremely grateful for that much27

I stayed in the hospital overnight 28

And in the morning was pronounced29

“stable enough to go home and rest for a few days”30

It was also explained to me that
In the future I had to avoid
Extreme temperatures because
My antipsychotics interfered
With my bodies ability to regulate temperature