Within three minutes, my eyes turned blood red, eyelids started swelling, ears burning, sinuses filling, chest and throat constricting, and I was in a painful panic. I tried using my Albuterol but was coughing & gasping for air so shallow and rapidly it wasn't helping much. Within five minutes of the onset, my eyelids had swollen so much I could no longer see. With oxygen becoming so scarce I actually thought it could be the end for me.
Here's the part where I'm grateful for my faith in God and for my faithful husband. He gave me a blesing which helped calm me long enough to get a pot of boiling water w/ Vicks ready for me to inhale. After 30 minutes with my head under a towel the steam relaxed my throat & chest to where I could breathe fairly normally again but my eyes were still pretty puffy and my sweet daughter (the one who decided she wants to be a doctor at age 4) volunteered to hold my hand and be my eyes. I'm so blessed. I reassured her I'd be OK but she seemed more facinated than terrified by everything going on and wanted to keep an eye on my eyes for me.
Two days later and my eyes tho still a bit red, have almost returned to normal shape but my lungs are still swimming thus I'm hacking. blah blah blah, but I'm happy to report I'm still alive! I wish I knew what my initial symptoms were caused by and why a simethecone pill had that sort of effect. I get the puffy eyelids and difficulty breathing when I take ibuprofin - so I don't do that anymore - but unless someone spiked the otai (Tongan punch) with anti-inflammatories, I don't know what went wrong.
Now, just to further humiliate myself for the record (please, somebody stop me), it's been a week of physical elloquence for me. Last Monday I went to the gym for a quick run during my lunch break, didn't do a full or adequate cooldown before I rushed out the door and decided to run back to the locker room to rush my return to work. I only got a few steps into my run when suddenly the blood flow to my brain failed and everything went dark for a split second, just long enough for my toe to catch on the cement and begin a slow-motion swan-dive wipeout. As I slowly but surely stumbled to the ground I could hear myself yelling in my head, "Just ... get ... your ... toe ... up ...," but it was not to be.
I hit terra firma with the heels of my hands first then smacked down hard on my hip, scratched up my calf as I flipped over twice before coming to a stop. After surveying the damage I noticed nobody was around laughing or coming to my aid. What luck. I hopped up and tried to make sense of what just happened, searching the sidewalk for any clue of what reached up and tripped me but there was nothing there. I walked away with a palm-sized black souvenir on my hip and a realization that I'm no longer a 20-something kid impervious to physical limitations. I sure hope I'm done with my week of physical catastrophies.
On a brighter note, despite all the ailments of the week, last Saturday morning we had a Stake Conference 2-mile Family Fun Run. I was so proud of Zana completing the run with us on foot, scooter and just briefly on my back. Zeth loved the whole thing and never made a peep of complaint from his stroller.
Over 500 people participated in this "First Annual" event. Our Stake President, Finau Hafoka, is into organizing healthy events like the Swim Meet last fall and the Fun Run this spring. I like this guy.
3 comments:
Ahhh, but I have my moments too. I too frequently push off exercise and intend to get to it 'later' but never do. It really helps to have co-workers who are like-minded and motivating to get out of the chair and hit the gym with. That's the #1 tip I've got - get buddies and set a routine so you don't put off / blow off the opportunity to do something good for your body.
It doesn't hurt that I have a financial incentive through a work wellness program to exercize 5-days / week either. I'm all about the all mighty buck!
okay, i'm sorry to say it but you win. sorry, because your experience is so much worse than mine! doc said it does sound like an allergic reaction. maybe add simethecon to your no-go list. i'm really glad you're getting better...cause that sounds just scary! it's worse than the dysentery or the gout! ;-)
it's hard for me to embrace the fact that i am not a "young woman" any more. i just don't think i should be how old i am! and you're still in way better shape than i am. i'm trying. i've got a few things helping me. but there have been 2 times in the past week when i put on my running shoes and didn't end up running. today being one of them. i think one of the best things you do is take such good care of your body. i wanna be like you!
♥
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