Just Say No! Even when it's a prescription, drugs are bad. Here's an excerpt from INFECTED showing why if you're going to OD it's good to be in a hospital when it happens.
When I woke up later, I knew
something was wrong. I was in pain. I pushed the button still in my hand giving
myself another dose of morphine. That wasn’t the problem. There was something
else. My chest hurt. Why did my chest hurt? It hurt because I was holding my
breath. Breathe, Kate, breathe. I
opened my mouth and sucked in a mouth full of air.
Breathing is instinctual.
Conscious people are capable of holding their breath, but unconscious people
always breathe. Except for me. I was asleep, and I hadn’t been breathing. Now I
was awake and I still wasn’t breathing. Breathe,
Kate, Breathe. I gulped down another breath of air.
Everything felt confusing. Why
did I keep forgetting to breathe? My abdomen hurt. I pushed the morphine button
in my hand. It beeped three times in rapid succession, telling me I wasn’t
allowed anymore drugs yet. Six minutes can feel like a very long time.
I didn’t even know why I kept
pushing that stupid button. It didn’t take away the pain. Nothing took away the
pain. All the morphine did was make me stop caring about the pain. The six
minutes were up, I pushed the button again and heard the satisfying single
beep. I didn’t care about anything, not even breathing.
That’s right, I still wasn’t
breathing. No wonder I felt so dizzy. Breathe,
Kate, breathe. I pushed the button. Not the one in my hand, the one on the
side of my bed.
“Can I help you?” A voice came
across the intercom.
“There is something seriously
wrong with me. I keep forgetting how to breathe.” I knew I sounded like a crazy
person. I probably was a crazy person. I may not have needed a lamp sign
before, but I definitely needed one now.
Debra came into my room. “Kate,
how are you feeling?”
“I keep holding my breath,” I
said. I knew it sounded lame. Why had I called the nurse? When would six
minutes be up so I could have more pain meds? My abdomen really hurt. My chest
hurt too, probably because I wasn’t breathing. I remembered to take a breath.
“I’m not trying to, I just forget. Everything’s confusing right now.”
“You’re forgetting to breathe?” Debra
gave me a look. She was a new nurse, so I hadn’t learned how to decode all of
her looks yet. I had no idea if I looked insane or critical. Either way, I’d
probably get a lamp sign.
I laid there trying to figure
out what Debra was thinking, and forgot to breathe again. A lot of time must
have gone by because Debra started shouting at me. “Breathe, Kate, you need to
breathe.”
“Oh yeah, that’s why I called
you in here. Why do I keep forgetting that?”
