Truth to tell, I think that I have great health and will be that way for many years to come.
However, today I fainted in my driveway while working on clearing out my garage with my daughter’s family and a friend. All was going well and the plan was to donate a bunch of stuff to ReUse Hawaii. I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before. I awoke with a slight sore throat but figured it would go away like usual. Breakfast was oatmeal and my free birthday Starbucks Iced Chai Latte. As I was standing by an awning post, I felt queasy and before I knew it, I was on the ground with a cut lip and heard someone calling my name and asking if I was alright.
That was really interesting – to have blacked out. The next thing I knew, my son-in-law is calling 911 for an ambulance. “No!” I told him – but he didn’t listen. And then lo and behold, a firetruck with sirens wailing came and a very nice fireman took my blood pressure and asked me a bunch of questions, and then after that an ambulance came with sirens wailing and released the firemen from watching an old lady sit up, vomit, and insist that she is fine.
At this point I was embarrassed so the paramedics and I went into the house for them to do diagnostics in my messy house. They were also really nice and said they liked my decor. I had a glucose blood test done as well as some other tests for heart health. My temperature was good as well as my blood pressure and I was given the option of going to the hospital – which I declined. The general concensus was that I was tired and dehydrated and I was to drink water, coconut water, and liquids slowly throughout the day, and if I fainted again, to call 9-11 once more.
I was really super tired so I sipped a bit of water and lay down to sleep. It was a luxurious sleep and I woke a few hours later covered in sweat. I must have had a low grade fever that broke while I rested. I was a bit woozy and a little bit dizzy but that soon passed. My daughter gave me a Tylenol pill for my sore muscles and now I am typing this out and getting ready for bed after I ate a delicious bowl of ochazuke with ume.
I did use an old Covid test to see if this was Covid (negative) but I really think this is the flu, or maybe food poisoning. Sore body and tired.
Throughout this ordeal, I keep thinking of my blogging friend, Kay. She has had a few bouts with vertigo and hasn’t been posting as much. It sure sucks to not have optimal health. We take our good health for granted but the older we get, the more we have to work at it.
Except for my 103 year old friend, Esther Nowell who is still going strong. Her walking is slower and she can’t hear too well, but she must be doing a lot of things right. Amazing. And she doesn’t drink stuff like Iced Chai Latte, even if it’s free.
Update, one week later:
Well, here it is – the next Saturday. I have had a week of carefully taking care of myself, drinking a lot of fluids, trying to eat healthy (i.e. less processed foods) and taking it easy. Getting up or down, especially on my bed, has me enduring bouts of dizziness – the worst was yesterday in the very early morning when I tried to get to my phone which turned out to be a wrong number. I felt weak that entire morning but by mid afternoon, I felt good and strong again. That seemed to be a pattern for me – unsteady in the morning but stronger as the day progresses.
And today, after a good night’s sleep, I feel 100% better. I did errands, worked on moving and organizing house things, and did a little cooking without any problems. Phew!
I will take this as a wake up call to be good to myself. Life is good if we avoid what is bad for us (iced Chai Latte) and do what is good for us. Amen!
