"Well, things went from bad to worse."

Thursday, March 21, 1991
     Guy had Friday afternoon (3/15) off because of having duty weekend.  We went to the library & I got a couple of books on breastfeeding.  We went to the 2nd hand baby store near the dr.'s office - Rock-a-bye Baby and to the CHKD Thrift Store.  There wasn't much baby stuff at the thrift store but the other one had a pretty good selection of new & used stuff.  We didn't buy anything though.
     I forgot to mention that the previous Sat., 3/9, we'd gone looking at video cameras.  Someone had told Guy that they were on sale at the Navy Exchange so we went there first.  They were having a closeout sale & you had to take them 'as is'.  They all didn't have accessories or instruction books and none had cases.  The one we liked was $718.00.  We also looked at Circuit City and Sears.  We narrowed it down to two at Sears but decided to wait & think about it some more.
     We were leaning more toward the ones at Sears but were trying to figure out how to pay for it.  We figured up our federal income tax & we're only getting about $470 back. (We haven't done the state tax yet cause they sent us the wrong form.)  One camera was $699.99 & one was $799.99.  We debated back and forth all week then kind of decided at the last minute.  There had been a Sears sale book in the mail and there was a coupon for 10% off any regularly priced merchandise in the store - on Fri. & Sat. only.  So we went to Sears and got the $799.99 camera plus a year's maintenance agreement.  We wanted to put it on VISA because the interest is lower but they don't take that anymore.  They had to approve us for a Sears Charge Plus account.  That was no problem because we always pay more than the minimum due and are so far ahead.  It came to $895.55.  The maintenance agreement was $137 & includes as many cleanings as you want.  I forgot how much the payments will be but we didn't really have much choice.
     We tried it out that night.  There were two books with it - one was simplified instructions & one was bigger.  I was surprised & happy that he did that.  I read the small book & started on the big one.  Guy taped me and Chief for awhile then I taped them.  The camera was heavier than it was in the store, probably because it didn't have the battery or a tape in it at the store.  When I use it I'll have to put some extra padding on my shoulder.
     The battery that came with it is an hour one.  We hope to get a spare one sometime.  They cost about $70.  Guy said he wants to tape a lot of me while I'm pregnant.  Even my tummy when the baby's moving around, and my poked-out belly button.  It should be fun I guess but I don't know if I'll want to send that home for everyone to see.  
     As I said, Guy had duty weekend and I was supposed to spend the day working in the front bedroom.  He had told me not to worry about doing too much cause my back/side was bothering me.  Well, things went from bad to worse.
     I woke up coughing at 1:30 in the morning Fri. night (3/15).  It was my usual hacking, trying to get something up and all of a sudden, with one cough I had this horrible pain where the sore spot was and it felt like something moved.  It felt like I remember from when I coughed and tore some cartilage on the left side of my breastbone several years ago.  Just like then, I couldn't take a deep breath without feeling a sharp, excruciating pain and to cough was a hundred times worse.  But I was wheezing so bad cause I couldn't breathe enough that I had to cough.
     Guy said it was my scream that woke him up.  He helped me sit up & came around to my side of the bed for me to lean on to cough.  I tried to explain to him what was going on & he would hold a pillow against my back when I coughed.  It helped some I guess but I was still in extreme pain.  I told him something was wrong and to call the dr.  He asked which one.  I asked if he thought they'd try to get Dr. Baker if we went to PNH & he said no so I said to call Dr. Rand's answering service.  I wasn't sure (still not) if that's just his service or for all the drs. but it so happened he was on call and was at the hospital for a delivery.  It took a few minutes for him to call back.  I think he suggested to call Dr. Baker but Guy explained to him how it would be if we went to PNH & he said to go ahead to the emergency room at NGH & he'd let them know I was coming & what tests to do.  It took awhile for me to get dressed then Guy let Chief out & tried to calm him down again before we left.  It was 2:45 when we signed in at the emergency desk.  Its a good thing we weren't going to PNH cause the drawbridge was up & traffic was backed up (even at that hour!).