Ha, well so much for that reminder.
Our “last day” in New Orleans started out so well. We had mostly finished packing everything up the night before because we knew we would be out most of our last full day in the city. First up, I surprised Bill with a porch swing pedicure that morning, because 1) he is and has been incredible throughout this whole process and 2) well, porch swing pedicure! It was as fun as it sounds and thankfully I scheduled the appointment early enough in the day that we were in the shade and it had yet to get oh-my-gawd-hot.
After getting our toes twinkled, we rushed back to our airbnb to get changed for the main event of the day – Friday lunch at Galatoires. In all our trips to NOLA, I had never been, so Bill got up super early to get in the reservations line that starts around 6am! If you’re lucky enough to have the contact info for one of the professional line sitters who prop up their camping chairs before it even gets light out, you can forget the early morning yourself. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long though as the maitre’d came out shortly after he arrived and we got on the list for the 11:30 seating.
If you’ve never been to Friday lunch at Galatoires, we can highly recommend adding it to your bucket list. It’s truly an EVENT. Full of mostly locals and a few in-the-know tourists, New Orleaneans get dressed up in their summer swelter best (think seersucker suits for the gents and lacy white shift dresses for the ladies) and join their friends who are usually celebrating something. (We debated what to tell our waiter we were celebrating…keep it clean and say our upcoming wedding anniversary or go all out and admit that it was really my new boobs. Sadly, he didn’t ask.) Your goal is to sit in the downstairs main dining room where all the glass clinking toasting and happy birthday singing is going on.
Speaking of celebrations, we found ourselves extra lucky that day as it just so happens, a Mardi Gras Indian Chief was enjoying lunch that day with a large group when two members of his tribe in their elaborate tribal dress showed up to sing and dance for him and his guests, along with the rest of us. SO cool!
We started our nearly three hour lunch w/ a cocktail as one does and settled in for what we knew would be most of our afternoon. G’s did not disappoint – we enjoyed several classics off their menu, but our most favorite dish was the Crab Au Gratin. Divine.
Since we weren’t driving, B enjoyed a four-Sazerac lunch while I made due with two French 75’s. Black bottom whiskey pecan pie completed our meal and we waddled outta there on to our next adventure of the day – a walking tour in the historic garden district, also something we’d never done before even though I’ve always wanted to.
It was a cool tour, but in retrospect of course, it was probably not the best plan to spend two hours walking outside in the hot sun and dripping humidity with an heat index of 110. But I had been feeling so good and had already been out walking around during the heat of the day and had been fine. Of course I usually went out later in the day and not for two hours straight. Even with loading up on water before and during the walk, both B and I were feeling the heat and drove home in blessed A/C to rest until dinner.
By the time we got back though, my head was pounding and my legs swollen like two majestic oak trees. I pulled my compression stockings on, laid down on the bed with a cold wash cloth and tried to nap for a bit. Unfortunately, I just ended up feeling worse and worse. Bill wasn’t feeling great either so we canceled our dinner reservation and he went to get some takeout poke for us to share. While he was gone he texted that there was quite a line and that he wasn’t actually that hungry either and wondered if I was fine with skipping dinner. The answer? Hell yes.
My stomach had been becoming increasingly uneasy so when he suggested picking up something sweet for dessert, I declined. Now if you know me and most of you do, you know I’m not one to ever turn down dessert. Just doesn’t happen, my friends. So he knew something was up. By the time he arrived back, my headache was at a tear-inducing 11 and I had a kitchen bowl in my lap just in case my stomach decided to prove itself. Thankfully I did as I ended up using it several times that night. Ugh.
Later that evening when the pain and nausea was not subsiding, we called the center and spoke with the PA on call. She felt it was possible I had picked up some bug in all my adventures out and not necessarily heat exhaustion as I initially feared. She wanted me to drink some gatorade, but unfortunately, I couldn’t keep it down so she prescribed some heavy duty medicines: Zofran for the nausea and Fioricet (a controlled substance) for the headache, and Bill headed for the Walgreens down the street to pick them up. She promised to call in the morning to check in on how I was doing.
A note from Bill: It is an exceedingly odd and uncomfortable feeling to take pictures of one’s spouse while they’re in the throws of vomiting. Even if they ask you to.
I finally felt enough relief about two hours later to get some fitful sleep, but I’m not gonna lie, it was a rough night. And making matters worse was the knowledge that we were supposed to get back on the road to Denver the next day. I literally could not imagine being in a moving car for 10+ hours and continuing another 10+ hours the following day. I felt terrible, physically and emotionally that I was going to make Bill late in getting back to work.
I woke up the next morning not feeling much better, but slowly the nausea finally started to subside and once I could keep down saltines safely, I moved on to the hard stuff. That’s right…graham crackers. Thankfully, they passed the puke test too, and I was able to sleep some more.
I ended up seeing the PA later that afternoon though since I wasn’t feeling as well as she would have hoped. She wanted to check my vitals and do some blood work, just in case. Thankfully, all the numbers looked good, even if I didn’t.
As the day went on, I thankfully begin feeling more settled so we made plans to leave the following day. Our airbnb host was so gracious and allowed us to extend our stay into the weekend when Bill talked with her on what was supposed to have been our last night. The next two days in the car were pretty much a blur as I alternated between napping and sleeping and sleeping and napping and trying not to puke. The headache medicine helped, but because it contained caffeine, it made my body super jittery and I spent a good part of the next two nights walking around the hotel rooms in the dark so Bill could sleep.
So have I learned my lesson for the “second” time and I’ll take things a bit more conservatively on our next visit for my second stage surgery? Only time will tell, but given the severity of said lesson, I’d say chances are better than good. But I also don’t want to be too hard on myself…it could have just been a fluke/virus/heat exhaustion…especially since Bill didn’t feel super great either. Either way, just a reminder to take a little more easy even when I’m feeling good…my body just might not be quite caught up with my head.
And, to end on a more happy note…I’ll leave you with a cute Callie pic instead of a decidedly un-cute Anne puking pic.
