bye-bye 2014 in QUOTIDIEN

After that trip to the hospital to make sure my daughter was still alive, I drove back home. Adrenaline kept me awake until2 hours before my shift was to begin. I saddled up, and drove into work to begin the cross training that is only available once a year.

the next day, Saturday, I slept until near noon. Sunday, found me at urgent care for UTI. I was dizzy at the time, just as I was on Saturday. I expected no less given the weather front, and the whole hospital thing. Monday, I went in for my second day of training. Proud to announce I walked seven miles that day. Still with the dizziness. Tuesday I went in for my third day of training, and noticed right away that I was having difficulty reading. My right eye was blurry, and I was having difficulty concentrating. I drink more water, and ask the talkers to please be quiet so that I could concentrate.

at about 2 o’clock, we had a mock fire drill. it was cold outside, very cold. We ran across campus in response to the drill, and all went well. As everybody was discussing what went right, and what could have been better, I noticed that I could no longer see out of my right eye. Now the dizziness had a sound, a deep round ringing from the center of my head - different from tinnitus. I felt like I was going to pass out, so I leaned against the wall, and slid down to a seated position knowing that if I were to fall, I’d prefer doing so from a seated position rather than a standing one.

suspicious, I raise both arms and realized that there was a drift on my right arm. My supervisor saw me do this, and she asked me to smile. Next thing I know, there’s a tone out on the radio, and an ambulance is on the way.

I flunked the stroke test repeatedly. My blood pressure was 190 over 100. I was in and out of consciousness.
The diagnosis was complicated migraine caused by multiple stress factors....physical and emotional. And here I thought I was dealing with everything with the poise and grace I work so hard to achieve.

I was hospitalized for 2 days, and released New Year’s day.
so, bye bye 2014, you b**** . Good riddance.t