Hot, Hot, Hot
My organization at work had their quarterly All-Hands meeting Monday. The meeting itself was fine. Afterward was a barbeque and fun day at Dulles Golf Center.
The temperature when I arrived was 98 degrees.
I made it through 15 mini-golf holes after lunch before my playing partner recognized that I was turning bright red, and not from sunburn. My hands were shaking, but I managed to make it to shade without killing myself and take my pulse (120; my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest). Because of my hypercalcemia, any kind of serious overexertion that makes my heart go that fast is life-threatening and has to be dealt with immediately
I knew immediately what was wrong--I'd gotten overheated and hadn't eaten or drank enough to compensate for the heat, so now I was poised on the brink of both hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion. know how to treat hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion--I've had extensive first aid training, and saved a woman's life on a plane by recognizing that was why she'd passed out and was unaware of her surroundings when she was conscious--but I was by myself under the shade of the pavilion and unable to get to the beverage and first aid station across the parking lot. I lowered my head, took deep breaths, slowed my heart rate to 116, and debated whether I needed to call 911.
By that time, my mini-golf foursome had finished, and my playing partner (and officemate) rushed to my aid. I had him time me while I took my pulse again (back up over 120), then sent him for cold water so I could at least cool my body down enough to slow the heart rate. Fortunately, while he was over there retrieving water, he found chunks of watermelon and brought them back, which was what I needed for an immediate blood sugar boost.
Two minutes later, my pulse was down under 100 and I was regaining the ability to think clearly. He said that I'd now returned to a whiter shade of pale. ;)
I must have looked really bad, because my boss came over to the pavillion and kept asking, "Are you sure you don't want us to call 911?" or "Are you sure you're O.K. to drive back to Maryland?" I assured them that I was, that I would stop at a hospital or call 911 if I became unable to drive back home in the middle of the commute.
It's taken two days to recover from how completely drained I was from that incident. I'm really sick of being sick. I hate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
OTOH, next week is a trip to Dallas, TX, for the National Barbie Convention, and I'm really excited for that. :)
The temperature when I arrived was 98 degrees.
I made it through 15 mini-golf holes after lunch before my playing partner recognized that I was turning bright red, and not from sunburn. My hands were shaking, but I managed to make it to shade without killing myself and take my pulse (120; my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest). Because of my hypercalcemia, any kind of serious overexertion that makes my heart go that fast is life-threatening and has to be dealt with immediately
I knew immediately what was wrong--I'd gotten overheated and hadn't eaten or drank enough to compensate for the heat, so now I was poised on the brink of both hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion. know how to treat hypoglycemia and heat exhaustion--I've had extensive first aid training, and saved a woman's life on a plane by recognizing that was why she'd passed out and was unaware of her surroundings when she was conscious--but I was by myself under the shade of the pavilion and unable to get to the beverage and first aid station across the parking lot. I lowered my head, took deep breaths, slowed my heart rate to 116, and debated whether I needed to call 911.
By that time, my mini-golf foursome had finished, and my playing partner (and officemate) rushed to my aid. I had him time me while I took my pulse again (back up over 120), then sent him for cold water so I could at least cool my body down enough to slow the heart rate. Fortunately, while he was over there retrieving water, he found chunks of watermelon and brought them back, which was what I needed for an immediate blood sugar boost.
Two minutes later, my pulse was down under 100 and I was regaining the ability to think clearly. He said that I'd now returned to a whiter shade of pale. ;)
I must have looked really bad, because my boss came over to the pavillion and kept asking, "Are you sure you don't want us to call 911?" or "Are you sure you're O.K. to drive back to Maryland?" I assured them that I was, that I would stop at a hospital or call 911 if I became unable to drive back home in the middle of the commute.
It's taken two days to recover from how completely drained I was from that incident. I'm really sick of being sick. I hate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
OTOH, next week is a trip to Dallas, TX, for the National Barbie Convention, and I'm really excited for that. :)