Today started off as a decently normal day. Woke up, went to get the car checked on (needed new brakes...darn), and later went to go pick up the car. I knew I wasn't feeling well, but I didn't anticipate actually passing out on the sidewalk outside the auto shop. Luckily I had just started to lean on my mom so she caught me and made sure i didn't hit my head on the ground or anything. The guys in the autoshop saw me through the windowed doors and came out to help -- about 3 people total to haul me to the couch inside (apparently I am that heavy :) They were great though and gave me water and cookies when I came too. Course, this was followed by a trip to the ER, which I've never really done before. With all those health care debates about hours and hours of waiting in an ER waiting room, I wasn't sure I wanted to be there. Then again, I've never actually passed out before so I guess it was worth it to try to see what's wrong with me. Surprisingly, I was in and out within 4 hours -- not too shabby even though a bit long. It was better than being there all night as we had anticipated (or maybe we just had no faith in the responsiveness of the system). So after a whole bag of that Sodium Chloride IV drip (isn't that just salt water?), three nurses, one doctor, two tubes of blood and an ECG test, I was told to get rest and drink fluids and be careful when I change positions (i.e. sit down to standing up). I had really low blood pressure (85/57 or so) and have always had blood pressure on the low side. Thus, the reason for the fainting spell. At least it wasn't anything too bad :) I'm still a bit weak and dizzy but am feeling a lot better now :)
As for the fainting thing, I never realized how well the movies depicted fainting. You do seriously see stars everywhere and suddenly black out. When I started coming to, everything was still black but a little starry. Gradually, I was able to see where I was and hear what was going on. Your subconscious takes over and you think you're responding to people talking but you're really not. I was also always wondering why people cried after accidents happen and so was surprised when I almost started crying too; shock does some funny things. But after the whole thing settled, I'm a lot better now (still a little woozy) and resting up at home :)
And there, in a nutshell, is my day. :)
