#aka I'm mentally exhausted and I've decided to bring up this question for me to ponder over cuz yeah

[misteria247]

.......do y'all think that the turtles and Splinter are nocturnal? Since they do their missions and ninja stuff at night? Like it's really rare to see them during the day, unless it's at places like April's farmhouse or the Mystic City. So they've gotta be nocturnal right???? Maybe??????

[imamxdel]

It has been a really long 5 days. August 2023 is a month for the history books of Liv's life.

So...I was just discharged from the hospital. For those who don't know, I've been a charge nurse of an orthopedic/oncology unit for almost 5 years. My job is incredibly stressful, but just as rewarding and it's a very good job in the sense of a comfortable compensation, good hours, and fabulous benefits. And also, I've been in the process of purchasing a condo as a first time home owner...as if the stress of that wasn't killing me, I was laying in bed Sunday night ready to work 3-14 hour shifts in a row and started to feel heart palpitations, aches, and severe shaking.

I could have easily attributed it to the stress of an impending work week and the mental exhaustion of trying to buy a home for the first time. It's not like 26 year old women who work out about 8 hours a week are commonly known for having heart attacks, but I knew something wasn't normal, and decided to call my coworker and tell her I was driving myself to the ER (btw don't do that, please call someone to drive you or dial for an ambulance).

Long story short, all tests for a heart attack or pulmonary embolsim were negative, but my troponin levels were critically high at 398 (normal is less than 40). This specific lab measures the amount of dead cardiac tissue in the blood stream. They ended up admitting me to the critical care cardiac unit as they couldn't find an answer as to why I was showing these type of results.

Another long story short, the cardiologists came to the conclusion that I must have contracted viral myocarditis, AKA an unknown virus that was attacking my heart. I tested negative for covid twice. There is no treatment for this diagnosis as your body has to fight it off on its own, and that they could only manage the symptoms.

So there I am, a decently seasoned (and sorry to brag, but a well known and respected) nurse suddenly experiencing her first time as a patient. I knew the drill pretty well and I'm proud to say that I was an A+ patient! Never hit my call light once (again...I'm probably stubborn). I had my parents bring up my laptop and some clothes, and settled in for the ride.

The doctors basically wanted to keep me until my troponin levels came down. Because I was essentially asymptomatic other than some chest tightness that only exacerbated when I moved around too much, I was literally in the hospital to get poked every 6 hours while strapped on to a heart monitor.

My troponin levels only kept going up. And when I say up, I was discharged this morning with my levels at 902 (the highest I've ever seen in my career) and the same mild symptoms. Luckily, my other heart functions were normal and after a bit of begging and promises to follow up outpatient, they discharged me after 5 days.

Btw, here's a friendly reminder that hospitals are not hotels. You will get poked (sometimes twice if you're veins are crap), you will be woken up from your sleep every 2 hours at night, you're not allowed to shower because you're always hooked up to a cardiac monitor, and always uncomfortable because you're sleeping in a small bed with an IV in your arm running fluids. The food sucks, too, but I didn't have an appetite and barely ate during my admission. I expected all of this and surely were followed through.

I'm currently home now with the recommendation to "take it easy" for the next week. I return to work on Sunday to the same hospital I just spent five days in, because I still love my job, but this experience has only motivated me to be a better nurse.

I cannot begin to explain the gratitude I feel towards my hospital. They took such good care of me despite the frustration of a diagnosis that cannot be treated. The doctors I work next to every day sat down and answered all my questions. The nurses were kind, and even though I never needed help with anything since I was still fully independent, they never hesitated to offer assistance. I'm grateful to all my coworkers who came to visit me; my floor really is one big family and I've always stood behind that. I'm thankful to my parents who dropped everything and paused their chaotic lives to spend time with me in the hospital and cry with me when we kept getting the news that my troponin levels only kept going up. I am humbled by the amount of prayers people said for me. I'm thankful to all the kpop groups I stan that routinely post variety shows because that might have been the only thing keeping me sane when my parents went home. I never want to take my life and my youth for granted again.

Please trust your bodies when something doesn't feel right. I never thought I'd actually be admitted to the hospital, better yet for 5 days on an intensive critical care unit.