Tag Archives: Illness

Not For The Faint of Heart

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Have you ever fainted? I don’t mean like those fainting goats (also referred to as stiffy goats) who don’t really faint — they suffer from a genetic condition called myotonia congenita, which causes their muscles to stiffen and often fall over when startled or excited — but they don’t lose consciousness, which is the hallmark of true syncope.

And by the way, it’s kind of abusive to startle those poor goats and laugh when they fall over…it’s really not funny, even though Honey Badger was…

Back to MY story. I can’t even recall the last time I fainted, but it happened a couple days ago.

Here’s the scenario…

I was on the sofa watching an older British medical drama called Peak Practice and fell asleep for a few minutes. When I awakened, I jumped up and ran downstairs to draw the curtains and make sure the house was locked up and secure for the night.

As I pulled the drapes closed, I started to feel hot, kind of nauseous and lightheaded, all very clear signals that one should heed, but as I usually do, I ignored every single sign and continued until I became so dizzy that I felt I should go to the sofa on the other side of the room and sit down.

But I didn’t get there in time.

I must have lost consciousness momentarily because the next thing I recall is being down on the floor near the fireplace. A lamp had been knocked over as well as a table with one of my favorite plants, Rattlesnake (Goeppertia insignis). The pot was smashed and there was dirt all over the rug.

I lay there for a few seconds as it was actually quite peaceful in a weird way, and began to triage myself for any major injuries.

Luckily for me, there was no damage except for some gnarly bruising where I hit the fireplace.

This would have been a different story if it had been my head on the bricks, that’s for sure.

I was upset with myself for not paying attention to the warning signs and even more so for the mess on the carpet.

Fainting spells/syncope — are a sudden and brief loss of consciousness caused by a temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain. 

When I felt sufficiently recovered to sit and stand without a recurrence of any dizziness, I ran upstairs to check my pupils which were normal; round, reactive, and equal. My heart rate was strong and steady, not tachy or weak.

Here’s the best part…

Crazy person that I am, the next thing I did was drag the vacuum downstairs to clean up the dirt because I knew that the longer it stayed on the light gray carpet, the more likely it would stain, which would really stress me out. I picked up the fallen lamp and the broken pot, and sucked up the dirt. I ran back upstairs for a rag, bowl of water, and carpet cleaner, and started scrubbing.

When I figured I had done enough (damage AND cleaning), I went to bed.

The next morning I felt fine and I can only assume I experienced an isolated syncope episode and it’s nothing to worry about. Maybe I was dehydrated, maybe my potassium levels were off, maybe I stood up too quickly, maybe I had fallen asleep in a weird position, maybe someone was playing around with a voodoo doll and some dark arts– I have no idea.

Today my body is pretty sore and the bruises are blooming. I’m drinking a lot of water because dehydration was the most likely culprit. Also, I realize that it might be prudent for me to slow down just a bit and cease running up and down stairs, because that never seems to end well for me, like last year’s split leg catastrophe…https://enchantedseashells.com/2024/01/21/tales-of-the-er/

You’d think I’d have learned my lesson, right?

From emergencyphysicians.org, here’s what to do:

If you feel faint, either lie down or sit down immediately. If you sit down, bend forward with your head between your knees to help get the blood flowing to your brain. Wait until you feel better before trying to stand up. If someone else faints, position the person on his or her back and elevate the legs above the heart, if possible. Check for signs of breathing. Loosen belts or restrictive clothing. If the person doesn’t regain consciousness within a minute, call 911.

Every Little Thing

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“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault

Although I never before knew who originally created this quote, I always KNEW — deep in my heart — that a rainbow or a sunset or a whale, a Monarch butterfly, the sighting of a coyote or a bobcat, my hawks — the discovery of a rock or achingly perfect seashell — brings joy as much as a new Chanel or a stunningly crafted pair of heels.

The night when I was genuinely poorly, when I ALMOST thought I’d have to go to the ER, I was awakened by the conversational hooting of a couple of Great Horned Owls and felt comforted by their voices. In my feverish delirium, I believed they were telling me to hang on, it’ll be OK.

Thank goodness, they told the truth. As much as antibiotics bring their own set of issues with my little body (don’t ask), I’m on the road to recovery, as my RN mom would say.

This morning I have SUCH a strong desire for vegan hot chocolate, it made me think of her and start laughing. Simple joys, right?

When I was sick, as soon as I had a craving for anything chocolate, my mom said her nursey training told her all she needed to know to stop worrying about me.

I fully earned the title of Princess because I used to make her wear her nursey cap and drape her stethoscope around her neck when she answered the bell that was on my nightstand. And she happily complied while carrying a tray with ice chips, fresh flowers, and tea in the special antique porcelain tea pot.

At the end of the day, little things are undeniably all there is. Those of us who understand this surely are the lucky ones.

Downward Spiral

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If you read about my non-conversation with a haughty school secretary, you might remember I had a bit of a mild cold, but NOT Covid.

Well…on Saturday night the landscape changed. I started to run a low grade fever, went to bed, woke up wracked with chills and my temp had climbed to 102. I was nauseous and developed a very ugly, very productive cough (TMI, I know.)

With my asthma and history of viral lung infections, I had an idea that I now had a secondary bacterial infection.

All day Sunday I tried to lower my temp with acetominophen since I can’t take ibuprofen but my chest wasn’t feeling particularly great.

Early Monday morning I was able to schedule a video appointment with the doc who ordered a chest x-ray.

And just like that, the diagnosis was bilateral pneumonia!

Doc said I was very lucky. My proactive attention to the symptoms stopped me from having to be hospitalized, that’s how bad it was becoming.

That is my WORST nightmare, for sure. With a mom for a nurse, I’ve heard too many horror stories to want to end up at the mercy of strangers, no matter how talented or dedicated they may be to the craft of nursing.

Being hospitalized also triggers memories of my son’s near death experience and I literally can’t stand the smell or the bright lights or the constant sounds.

So now I’m taking two kinds of antibiotics which I also hate because I don’t tolerate them well, but no steroids because I have even worse reactions to them. I’m also taking probiotics because I definitely don’t want to contract C-difficile, which is what my son suffered from AFTER his surgery. We almost lost my precious boy twice.

How it went so quickly from a slight sore throat and congestion to full blown pneumonia in two days, I’ll never know.

There’s always a silver lining though, right? At least the x-rays showed no pleural effusion or pneumothorax and the cardiomediastinal silhouette is stable. (You medical professionals will know this is good news.)

But the real life lesson here is to never stop being your own best medical advocate. I’m only giving myself permission to have one more day of feeling poorly (and slightly sorry for myself.)