I had never gone to the doctor so
many times. Though I could not quite
put my finger on it, I felt something
was not right.
My doctor suggested I get some lab
work done. I was not looking forward
to this. I was already a nervous wreck.
I have never done well with needles.
There is nothing else worse than
waiting, knowing you are about to
get blood work done. A man nearby
had just completed his labs and a
woman with him was making a huge
deal about it. Saying it was done
incorrectly, this did not help calm
my nerves. I then unintentionally saw
the 'supplies.' This is going to be
interesting I thought to myself.
The nurse advised me to the chair but
refusing to sit I informed her I needed
to lay down because I'd pass out. In
the past I have passed out on several
occasions due to lab work. In fact, the
doctors strongly suggested I never
donate blood because they take more.
After she gathered what she needed,
she then guided me to a room. I grew
more nervous. I did not want to do this,
but at this point, I was desperate to do
whatever I needed to get answers.
I laid down and she got me to tighten
my hand so she could see my veins,
something else I despise. I never looked.
As I laid there I just looked at the celling
and closed my eyes, praying I would not
begin to feel dizzy.
Next thing I knew, I began to feel weird.
At this point I knew whatever happened
next was out of my control. Even with my eyes
closed I felt abnormally dizzy, blurry vision and
felt as if a wave of hot and cold went through
my body.
I cant tell you what happened for the next
minute or so because I was out.
I remember waking up feeling so strange.
I felt so tired, as if I were just hit by a train.
I was so sleepy I couldnt open my eyes. I
heard many voices around me. When I opened
my eyes for a brief moment I saw a lot of
people around me. For a few seconds I did
not know where I was, or who I was.
I then realized I could not move a bone in
my body. I then felt my entire body so tight
and tense. My muscles everywhere were so
tight that it hurt. I just wanted to sleep so I
left my eyes closed. I was limp and couldn't
move. Of course amidst all of this my heart
was racing and my chest rising as it breathed
fast not knowing what was going on.
As I laid there I heard one nurse say that
she yelled for help when my eyes rolled
back in my head and my legs began to
jerk, shake. Someone then aggressively
began to place a lot of pressure on my
chest, trying to shake me to wake me up.
I heard them say my name but I was so
tired and couldn't move. I still could
barely open my eyes. The times I did,
it was catatonic.
They then began to wave something
under my nose to wake me up, but I
still felt out of it even though I could hear.
My arms, from my elbows down, I could not
move them. My legs, from my knees down
to my feet I couldn't move them. I felt the
tightness everywhere. The doctors couldnt
even move my left arm down from where it
drew up to my chest. They also couldn't
straighten my feet either because everything
was frozen up. It all stayed like this for what
felt like a long time.
The entire time, my doctor was beside me.
She tried to comfort me and I could tell
she was worried. She got an ambulance to
come get me and take me to the ER. When
the EMT people arrived they were quite
kind and funny. They lifted my limp body off
the table and on to a stretcher. I knew I was
probably as pale as a ghost and my limbs still
felt tight. I did not want to try to move yet.
I had never been in an ambulance before.
I would have been nervous and scared but
I was so sleepy and tired, it is almost as if
I didn't contain the energy to feel anything
else.
The men in the ambulance made me laugh
and always told me what they were doing.
One kept ensuring I took deep breathes
and maintained eye contact with him. I
arrived at the ER and they did more tests.
Several special people came to see me. The
first voice I heard was my grandmother's.
Though her and I are not as close as we
used to be, it was comforting to hear her.
My pastor then came by, my aunt and
soon my boyfriend, Michael. When I saw
him, I felt instantly comforted. They did a
CT scan of my head and an x-ray of my chest.
They had given me oxygen in the ambulance
in my nose. They had to give me an IV, which
I wasn't crazy about, especially considering
everything I just went through but I was okay.
They eventually took more blood through the
IV but luckily gave me a sedative so it didn't
bother me. Every now and then when the
pressure would squeeze around my arm to
check my blood pressure, my hands still
began to ball and tighten up.
This was definately one of the scariest things
that had happened to me. When you lose
control of your body, it is not a good feeling.
My flight or fight response was definitely
activated. Michael stayed with me the rest
of my time there, took me home, and stayed
with me for a bit. I was very happy he was
with me.
The next two days, luckily it was the weekend
but I felt absolutely exhausted. My legs (calves)
were sore as well as my back. I literally laid down
all day, trying to rest. I could not fall asleep. I was
too sleepy to read or even watch TV. The next day
or so I felt better but occasionally had a headache.
I felt it took me a whole week to really get back
to myself. The doctors told me I definitely had
a seizure. Another doctor agreed but also said
he felt this was a vasovagal syncope response.
Whatever it was, I hope it doesn't happen again.
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