so Sept 1st was the day i was supposed to move to Seattle. these plans were pleasantly changed but i decided to go ahead and book a return flight and go on a little vacation.
as you may or may not know- i travel quite a bit and it has never been a problem for me. the 1 1/2 hour flight to Atlanta and the 4 hour flight to Seattle are a breeze compared to the two 24 hr flights Ive taken back and forth to Asia twice in one summer. today was a little different.
my flight was scheduled to leave at 1148am and i was planning on rolling out of bed at 10 and arriving at Richmond international around 1030 w plenty of time. Stephanie came in to town to see me one last time before we would be separated for 9 days. me, her, Jenna and Kate just spent a relaxing night in watching Indian films and eating late night pizza. no harm right?
unfortunately me and Stephanie were hit with what we think was food poisoning, waking up extremely nauseous around 8am and spending our remaining hours together next to the toilet. we made it to the airport and parked the car around 1045 and attempted to walk only a few feet before we both thought we were gonna pass out. Stephanie walked back to sit down for a second and ended up throwing up and i followed right behind. sucks for the owner of the vomit splashed Tahoe SUV to the left of us along with my brand new river club slip on shoes that have an unintentional light orange pattern across the tops.
i got to the check in counter just in time to board my flight and thought that since i had thrown up that everything would be fine. just in case, when i got on the plane i warned the flight attendants of how i was feeling and asked for some crackers and ginger ale to calm my stomach.
luckily i got an entire row to myself and was able to lay all the way across w a blanket to keep me warm. thirty minutes before landing in Atlanta it hit me- i started feeling lightheaded and hit the flight attendant call button, for the 3rd time, to ask for some water and help to the bathroom. good thing because i made it barely out of my seat before i passed out and woke up with 4 people over top of me asking my name along with small talk to make sure i was ok. they put an oxygen mask on me for the remainder of the trip and made sure i knew everything was going to be ok and that my flight would be rebooked free of charge.
when we reached the terminal the EMT was waiting for me. they checked my blood pressure and temperature and told me they would recommend taking me to the hospital to get further checked. still queasy, i told them i wanted to go ahead on to Seattle. next they pricked my finger to check my blood sugar. i started getting really lightheaded again and passed out soon after but this time it was worse. i wasn't unconscious but i could barely see and i couldn't walk or even keep my head up. so the EMT made the decision for me that i was going to the hospital. so they wheeled me out to the ambulance, lifted me up onto a stretcher and hooked me up to an IV and liquids. it was official- i was not going to Seattle tonight.
when i got to the hospital i was feeling a little bit better but still really weak. they had to take my blood, take a urine test, they put those circle heart monitor stickers all over me, took two xrays of my chest, and i felt like, at such a young age, i was falling apart. i was in the hospital room for close to 4 hours before i was discharged. i was alone and there were times i had no idea what was going on- if i was gonna be sent back to Richmond or given the ok to go on to Seattle. but even though i was there by myself i felt very loved with everyone back home checking up on me every hour. and everything ended up ok. they gave me a voucher for a free cab ride back to the airport. the lady at the check in desk was very understanding of what had happened and recommended i stay in a hotel for the night and fly out in the morning. so that's exactly what i did. country inn. Seattle, ill see you tomorrow. my trip is gonna be fucking amazing after having to deal with all this! and add another 'ridiculous place to pass out' onto my list.
