I was prepared.
I was going to be a cop helping in a search and rescue mission. So I've got the nifty cop outfit - complete with gunbelt.
That was where the problem was. The gunbelt wouldn't fit properly (either too tight or too loose), so it was advised to just loop my existing belt around it, and buckle that tight. Which I did. It definitely prevented my gunbelt from slipping down.
Unfortunately, the production team decided to violate union rules (I'm not union, but that's not the point) and not provide breaks of ANY kind for EIGHT HOURS. No pee break, no "snack" break, no break to warm up, and no meal break (and Union rules state a meal break is required by six hours).
So I've had the pressure on my abdomen for eight hours now. We finally get the meal break. I take off the bulk of the costume, I eat, then have to get back into things again (more difficult having just eaten my first real meal of the day). Now I have even MORE pressure on my abdomen - and we finally wrap for the day about four hours later.
Since that day, I haven't felt right. I chalked it up to being freezing in the cold for 12 hours (with not much moving about to help keep warm). By Saturday night, I knew something really wasn't proper (abdominal distension, pressure in my head, nausea), so that night I went to the hospital to get checked out.
They took x-rays, and blood work, and a urine sample (which they take a tiny bit of and throw the rest away - I mean - I worked HARD to squirt that neatly into the cup, and they just toss it? What a waste!). Then hooked me up to an I.V. drip for about an hour or so to help rehydrate me.
Three and a half hours later, I'm told what's going on.
Final diagnosis: Extensive pressure on my abdomen from the ill fitting gunbelt I had to wear during Tuesday's gig caused internal inflammation in my abdominal region creating a restriction of movement in my digestive tract resulting in a mass buildup of fecal material in my intestines.
Yes, that's right folks. The doctor confirmed what you already knew.
I'm full of shit.
Two prescriptions later, I'm waiting for "everything to come out all right".
Still, I DO love my job.
But I think I'll only submit for "interior" work for the next few weeks...
