Thursday, August 28, 2008

Today's Madness

I've said it before: The Cleveland Road System SUCKS!


Now I've found that they can't even get their parking garages in an organized system. Holy Cow! It took me 45 minutes to find my car in a parking garage at the University today. We parked, I took note of the large 5b painted on the wall near my car and walked to the nearest elevator. I got in, pushed the 1, went down, got out. Realized we weren't on the ground level and couldn't get back in the elevator because it was taking too long, found another elevator, got in, pressed the G, went down, and got out. We walked to the Dental School, proceeded to find Nathan, didn't find him, left the Dental School, walked back to the garage. Entered the elevator we'd taken to get to the ground level, asked the guy who got in with us to press 5, looked at the panel and didn't see a 5 so he pressed 4. He said he was confused, too, because he parked on 6. Got out of elevator on 4, walked up garage to level 5 with three kids in tow--one who'd really shouldn't have been walking (read on and you'll find out why), one who was incredibly messy and really needed a bath, and one who had peed through her clothing. Got to level 5 and saw 5c. Kept walking and saw 5d. Kept walking (even though logically b tells you it would have been the other way) and found level 6. Turned around and saw 5d, then 5 c, then level 4. Ok, what?? Level 4? Where's 5b and 5a? I walked around and around, further into level 4 and further into levels 5 and 6. No 5b. I walked around for 45 minutes without finding my car. Now, it is partially my fault that it lasted that long because I didn't think to get my keys out and try to get the alarm going. However, when a stranger on level 6 asked if my panic attack required medical assistance and I assured him I would be fine in a minute, he took my keys and got the alarm going. We walked to level 5 and could hear it. Below us. For some reason level 5 is actually two levels and you have to get out of the Twilight Zone to find it. Seriously, I felt like I had entered the Twilight Zone. And for those of you young'ens who think I'm talking about Stephenie Meyer, I'm not. Look it up on Wiki or something. It was a really good show. Not so good when it's happening to you, though. So this guy walked me and the kids around and around. We saw the car, but couldn't get to it. There were barriers all across the side of the garage we were on, blocking our way to it. At the far end of the side of the garage it just went down to the level below my car, not to it. We couldn't figure out where to go. So you see, it wasn't just me that couldn't find my way around. Plus, this guy said he had a hard time finding his car, too. Eventually we had to take the stairs up. I had Jeremy get out of the stroller and walk while I bumped it up the steps. When we got to the pay station I told the lady that they needed a better system and maybe some signs pointing how to get to the different letter parts of the levels. She asked if I wanted to see the supervisor and I said sure. He ended up letting me out of the garage for free. And it's a good thing, too because I did not want to pay $4 for parking my car, not finding Nathan and then not finding my car. It seriously took me 45 minutes to find my car and there is no way I could have done it on my own. Sad day.

Ok, so you want to know why this was more terrible than it really should have been? Under normal bad day circumstances I don't think I would have had a panic attack (I've only ever had one other). However, this morning at a less than glorious 8:30 Jeremy and Emma had their first doctor appointment since we moved here. While Emma was getting her shots, Megan was watching. Now, Megan has always been a very sensitive child. When Jeremy got his shots as a baby she always cried with him. Today I thought she's be ok because she kept telling Emma that she was going to get shots, but that she'd be alright. Nope. When Emma started crying, Megan's face started to scrunch up and then it suddenly went slack. I was about to tell her that Emma was fine when her legs gave out and she fainted. There was a toy behind her and her legs got tangled up in it, her head and neck hit a huge bucket of toys and then she kind of fell off those and into a small gap between the bucket and a bookshelf. Her eyes were still open, but completely glazed over. My first thought was she was having a seizure (she was tested for them about two years ago--negative). Then I thought to myself, I watch too many episodes of House. Still, I was really scared. Her eyes seemed to take forever before they closed. The nurse that was doing the shots called for a doctor to come in and she and another nurse came in. They finished giving Emma the shots (with one of the nurses holding her and feeding her a bottle) and I can't really tell you where Jeremy was in all this. At one point I saw him trying to push the doctor's chair out of the room, but I'm not sure if that was before or after Megan woke up. When her eyes finally opened again and she woke up she was so scared. She had no idea what happened, but she retained the feeling of fear that she'd had when she'd fainted. She wouldn't stop covering her face with her hands and she just cried and cried for Nathan. I asked her if she wanted a priesthood blessing and she said yes. Since I obviously couldn't give one to her I told her I'd say a special prayer. I got close to her ear and whispered it to her while everyone else was still trying to get Meg to move her hands and open her eyes. Megan had told us that the light was hurting her eyes, so I didn't know if that was an affect of her fainting, hitting her head, or if she was simply embarrassed. A few minutes after the prayer she moved her hands down and the doctor was able to check her eyes. She said everything was fine, but Megan still wanted to see Nathan. So off we went--in the wrong direction. When I realized it we'd been driving for 10 minutes already. So off we went in the correct direction. Except when we got to the University area I realized I had no idea how to get to the Dental School itself. I had to drive around and around until I saw a sign leading to the Dental Clinic.

So now you know why I ended up in the less than organized parking garage looking for my car.


Oh yeah. When Megan talked about what it felt like to faint, she said, "When Emma got a shot, I thought I got a shot in my head."

7 comments:

Janelle said...

Oh my gosh, you poor thing! What a day! The one bright spot in this story was that I laughed about the "too many episodes of House" thing. What an ordeal for all of you! I hope you're coming to Enrichment tonight -- you sound like you could use the break!

Kellie said...

I am so there! I do need a break!

Amber said...

Kellie

I called you today, but you are at Enrichment. Nathan said Megan had fainted, but he didn't say how bad everything was. That sounds worse than Zann's. How long was she out for? Oh my word! I am glad you were able to find your car. That is awesome. Sorry it took forever. I think I would have just started crying and yelling and being extra ornery. You did get out free though. You are awesome. I love you and miss you.

Leanne said...

Wow. that's so scary! I'm so glad you found your car though, what a mess! Poor Megan and poor Kellie!

kollers said...

Oh no! Little Megan fainting..... that is such a sad thought. You did have a rough day! I'm glad you were able to finally find your car. What a day! Hope school is going well for Nathan and hope the kids don't have to get any more shots for a long time.

Danyelle Ferguson said...

Oh Kellie - what an awful, awful day! It's super scary to see your kids faint. My hubby is actually the one I have to worry about. He's fine with the kids getting shots or blood drawn, but if it's me - he passes out cold. It made labor kind of interesting. :) I'm glad everyone is okay though. Lots of long-distance hugs!

Anonymous said...

WOWZA! that is crazy!!!!