Saturday two weeks ago I experienced the symptoms of a stiff neck but as it usually gets better after a day or two, it got worse continually to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore. Since it was Sunday and about midnight, I decided to go to the emergency room in Stuart. The drive there was horrendous because I couldn’t move my head without pain. At the ER I had to wait for at least two hours and after some x-rays was released with a prescription for some muscle relaxers and pain relievers. No one said anything about that I should rest for a while or anything else.
As good German I go to work of course, even after having spent all night at the ER. The pills did there thing. So I get home after work and then the pain starts setting in again. I was drugged up with pain relievers to the maximum already and it still got worse. That’s when I decided to go back to the ER. This time there was hardly any wait and the doctor said that I may have spinal meningitis and suggested a spinal tap. This was certainly not what I wanted to hear and situations came up in my mind instantly, picturing this torturing procedure. I told the doctor that a spinal tap is out of the question before I don’t get a least a second opinion. They were so nice to relieve me from pain and also gave me another prescription for a more effective pain reliever and a neck collar. This time I didn’t feel like going to work and called in sick.
Arrived at home I started researching the symptoms of spinal meningitis and the results did not match very good what I was experiencing. Still having the verdict of this illness looming over me, I decided packing up and head to Lacrosse just in case it is something serious that would require hospitalization.