Derailed

Some of you may already know this, but last Saturday, when I had expected to be writing the last two scenes of Consent, I was instead camped out in the emergency room hoping to get a breathing treatment. Friday night, I had a bit of a sore throat. Saturday, I woke up and felt like I was drowning. One minute I was joking with the sassy, hot phlebotomist and discussing plot bunnies with Kate to put him in a story with the gymnastics teacher I’ve sworn for months needs his own story, and trying to convince the med student listening to my chest that no, I didn’t have chills or a fever or anything other than breathing problems. The next minute, I was listless on the gurney, suddenly shivering and battling cold sweats, and my temperature was 101.5°. The staff was talking about admitting me if I couldn’t get my oxygen saturation levels up to 95% and on the monitor they had me hooked to, I was lucky to be pulling 91 and the infernal thing kept beeping because I was dipping down into the high 80s.

They didn’t give me a choice. I had pneumonia and they weren’t going to let me leave. Four days in the hospital, a slew of tests, and many, many blood draws and shots of other sorts later, I have some answers to what completely derailed me for days. I likely have asthma, and I almost definitely have sleep apnea. The breathing issues coupled with my burning the midnight oil and skipping meals to write at every opportunity is what brought on the pneumonia, which the lung doctor said I likely had for a couple weeks before I noticed anything beyond the fatigue I always battle due to being severely anemic (and the sleep apnea I never knew I had). I have appointments out the wazoo to confirm all the suspicions in the next few weeks.

So my plans to have Consent in the hands of my betas this week went awry. I’m feeling a little better, but I’m still really weak, and easily tired out. They say it could be weeks before I’m full strength again. I can promise the book will still be released in September, but it will likely be the end of the month rather than the beginning or middle, like I’d hoped.