The other night I picked up my boyfriend and we went to a bonfire at a coworkers house. We were sending off another coworker that was moving away. It was a great time. Since I was driving I limited myself to two beers and stopped drinking and switched to water several hours before we left. Everyone had brought food. Now, it was your typical bbq food and nothing was out of the ordinary.
Since the event was quite far from where I lived and I still had to take my boyfriend home (who at the time lived about 45 minutes away from me) we left a little before all the fun was done. When I got to my boyfriend's house I decided to come in to take a nap. Yes, we just took a nap. About an hour later I woke up, still tired but a little better to drive. Or so I thought. My stomach felt a little weird. I didn't quite feel that I needed to vomit, I wasn't hungry, and it wasn't gas. I just didn't feel right. My boyfriend didn't have any pepto or tumms so I decided that I would be fine to leave and take something when I got home. After all, it was just 45 minutes away. Surely, I could make it home.
About 15 minutes after I left I was not feeling well. It was after 12am and there weren't very many cars on the road. Which was a good thing. I realized that I needed to vomit and that I should pull over. It wasn't incredibly urgent, but I knew it was coming. I was able to pull over, put my hazard lights on, and safely got out of my car and vomited on the side of the road. Aside from being super embarrassed I felt much better. You know that feeling you get after you vomit where you feel like you are better? That's what I felt. I thought I was through the worst of it. I thought that I would be good to go for the rest of the way home. Just a quick 30 minute drive and I could brush my teeth, get a glass of water, and snuggle with my puppy.
I decided that calling my boyfriend was a good idea. My heart was racing from what I had just done. I had never needed to pull over on the highway before, let alone at night. Less than five minutes after calling him and telling him what I had just done and was feeling better did I realize that I was not OK.
I had just passed the halfway point between our houses when I needed to vomit again. Urgently. This may be a little gross, but there was really no warning. I was able to get over to the right lane, but there wasn't a shoulder. I couldn't hold it in. I vomited in my car. Explosively. Several times. I was terrified. I was embarrassed. I didn't know what to do.
I was finally able to pull over, legs and floor covered in vomit. I finally felt like I was empty. That my stomach had nothing left to give. My poor boyfriend was on the phone the entire time. He heard me begging for him to help me in gaps in the vomiting. He had no idea what was going on. He thought I had crashed. Here I was a 26 year old women that has been on her own for almost three years begging for help like a small child. I was crying. It was ugly. I didn't know what to do.
I knew that I was sober. I was sober before we had even left the bonfire. My boyfriend was on his way to help me, though that the time I have no idea what I expected him to do I just wanted him with me. I knew that I should not stay on the side of the road. I knew that I needed to get somewhere safe. I wasn't very familiar with the area having not spent a lot of time around there. And let me tell you, it was all different at night.
I was able to find a gas station, it was closed, but it had lights on over the pumps and there was no one there. When I got out of the car I realized that my face and arms were splattered and that the car was a disaster. I immediately stared to clean my car. I was frantically using the paper towels at the pump to remove the chunks. My boyfriend was there not long after I had finished getting all of the big pieces out. He brought towels and paper towels and set out cleaning my car. It was all over the wheel, the dash, my seat, the floor, even the windows has little bits of splatter. We both came to the conclusion that it had to have been something I ate. But, since I did have a few things that he didn't we weren't able to pinpoint what caused it.
Once my car was more drivable we headed to my house. We showered off and started laundry. It took me a while to calm down enough to sleep. My entire GI system felt out of whack. Exactly what I would imagine would happen with mild food poisoning. That entire night was one of the scariest things that has ever happened.
I never thought that I would be in a situation that would require me to pull over, alone, while driving on the highway at night. I never thought that I would need to pull over and vomit. I never thought that I would need to urgently vomit while driving. Why would I? I normally pay pretty good attention to what my body tells me. I was amazing that I didn't get hurt.
So, what did I learn? I should have stopped at a gas station to get pep before getting on the highway. My body felt off, but not enough to keep me from going home. I was able to keep a cool head while in an emergency. I was able to safely get my to the side of the road to vomit and was able to safely take care of my business and get back to my car. I may have been crying on the phone to my boyfriend, begging him to come to me. But, I realized that I needed help and I made sure that I got it.
Bottom line. Cars can be cleaned. Embarrassment will pass. Do what you need to do to get yourself back on track. In this case I did what I needed to do to get myself home safely. I was able to get help when I needed it. I strongly feel that anyone driving alone at night should have someone that they can call if they need help. No one should have to be alone to deal with anything that they deem an emergency. Boyfriend and I are already laughing about it, even though we were both termed when it happened.
Since the event was quite far from where I lived and I still had to take my boyfriend home (who at the time lived about 45 minutes away from me) we left a little before all the fun was done. When I got to my boyfriend's house I decided to come in to take a nap. Yes, we just took a nap. About an hour later I woke up, still tired but a little better to drive. Or so I thought. My stomach felt a little weird. I didn't quite feel that I needed to vomit, I wasn't hungry, and it wasn't gas. I just didn't feel right. My boyfriend didn't have any pepto or tumms so I decided that I would be fine to leave and take something when I got home. After all, it was just 45 minutes away. Surely, I could make it home.
About 15 minutes after I left I was not feeling well. It was after 12am and there weren't very many cars on the road. Which was a good thing. I realized that I needed to vomit and that I should pull over. It wasn't incredibly urgent, but I knew it was coming. I was able to pull over, put my hazard lights on, and safely got out of my car and vomited on the side of the road. Aside from being super embarrassed I felt much better. You know that feeling you get after you vomit where you feel like you are better? That's what I felt. I thought I was through the worst of it. I thought that I would be good to go for the rest of the way home. Just a quick 30 minute drive and I could brush my teeth, get a glass of water, and snuggle with my puppy.
I decided that calling my boyfriend was a good idea. My heart was racing from what I had just done. I had never needed to pull over on the highway before, let alone at night. Less than five minutes after calling him and telling him what I had just done and was feeling better did I realize that I was not OK.
I had just passed the halfway point between our houses when I needed to vomit again. Urgently. This may be a little gross, but there was really no warning. I was able to get over to the right lane, but there wasn't a shoulder. I couldn't hold it in. I vomited in my car. Explosively. Several times. I was terrified. I was embarrassed. I didn't know what to do.
I was finally able to pull over, legs and floor covered in vomit. I finally felt like I was empty. That my stomach had nothing left to give. My poor boyfriend was on the phone the entire time. He heard me begging for him to help me in gaps in the vomiting. He had no idea what was going on. He thought I had crashed. Here I was a 26 year old women that has been on her own for almost three years begging for help like a small child. I was crying. It was ugly. I didn't know what to do.
I knew that I was sober. I was sober before we had even left the bonfire. My boyfriend was on his way to help me, though that the time I have no idea what I expected him to do I just wanted him with me. I knew that I should not stay on the side of the road. I knew that I needed to get somewhere safe. I wasn't very familiar with the area having not spent a lot of time around there. And let me tell you, it was all different at night.
I was able to find a gas station, it was closed, but it had lights on over the pumps and there was no one there. When I got out of the car I realized that my face and arms were splattered and that the car was a disaster. I immediately stared to clean my car. I was frantically using the paper towels at the pump to remove the chunks. My boyfriend was there not long after I had finished getting all of the big pieces out. He brought towels and paper towels and set out cleaning my car. It was all over the wheel, the dash, my seat, the floor, even the windows has little bits of splatter. We both came to the conclusion that it had to have been something I ate. But, since I did have a few things that he didn't we weren't able to pinpoint what caused it.
Once my car was more drivable we headed to my house. We showered off and started laundry. It took me a while to calm down enough to sleep. My entire GI system felt out of whack. Exactly what I would imagine would happen with mild food poisoning. That entire night was one of the scariest things that has ever happened.
I never thought that I would be in a situation that would require me to pull over, alone, while driving on the highway at night. I never thought that I would need to pull over and vomit. I never thought that I would need to urgently vomit while driving. Why would I? I normally pay pretty good attention to what my body tells me. I was amazing that I didn't get hurt.
So, what did I learn? I should have stopped at a gas station to get pep before getting on the highway. My body felt off, but not enough to keep me from going home. I was able to keep a cool head while in an emergency. I was able to safely get my to the side of the road to vomit and was able to safely take care of my business and get back to my car. I may have been crying on the phone to my boyfriend, begging him to come to me. But, I realized that I needed help and I made sure that I got it.
Bottom line. Cars can be cleaned. Embarrassment will pass. Do what you need to do to get yourself back on track. In this case I did what I needed to do to get myself home safely. I was able to get help when I needed it. I strongly feel that anyone driving alone at night should have someone that they can call if they need help. No one should have to be alone to deal with anything that they deem an emergency. Boyfriend and I are already laughing about it, even though we were both termed when it happened.
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