Scarfaced: Why I Was Out of Commission for Most of Last Week

It began the Sunday before last.   I spent about eight hours of that day working on my apartment and moving furniture out of it, which included an old, pre-flatscreen era behemoth of a television I couldn't have paid you to take from me.  Not the best task to do alone in the summer.  With the following Monday schedule chock full with work and Stone Soup (which nowadays gets me home after eleven on a slow night), I never quite recovered from my heaving lifting day.

It's clear now that by last Thursday morning at my job at The VA, I wasuffering from dehydration. I wasn't really fully cognizant of that, however.  I just thought I was still run down from the previous Sunday.  Though in past weeks I cut my soda intake down to half it's normal amount per day, that morning I figured a bit of early morning caffeine was what I needed.  I rushed to the vending machines,  ran back to the break room with my purchase, and took a sip.

The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in my throat and upper chest.  My next words to myself were "Oh, no" as I fought to make a sound.  I think I closed my eyes, as I didn't see anything else after a while (this is important later in the story).  But it didn't take long for things to go dark on their own.

The next thing I knew, I  heard dreamlike voices, which were quickly interrupted by the voice of my department's on-staff nurse.  That's when I realized I was lying down while still at work.  Clearly some time had passed between my sip and the end of my nap time, my nap's beginning somewhere in memory's limbo.  I opened my eyes and started to get up only to stop at my knees once I found out I was staring down at a floor covered with my own blood, with some of it still dripping down from my face.  I wish  I could say this was the first time I'd been in a situation like this, but at least I could guess that I bumped my head and the blood was coming from my nose.  Turns out I was partially right, but what I couldn't tell yet was that a good portion of the blood also came from a gash below my eye from where one of the lenses in my glasses dug into my skin pretty hard.
    

Less than an hour after my fall.

The fall also left me with bruises and cuts on my forehead and nose, but the cut below my eye was one of two big reasons why I was kept in the Emergency Department for six hours.  The other reason was to barrage me with blood tests.  As I didn't "see the room spin" prior to my blackout (damn closed eyes), the doctor felt the reason for my fainting spell had less to do with dehydration (which forced one nurse to try four times for a vein on my arm or hand) and more to do with my heart.  I was then subjected to a number of blood tests and a CAT scan, all of which cleared me of any heart problems (as well as a dozen other possibilities--it's nice to know I don't have diabetes).

Stitches in.

The diagnosis was that I had a vasovagal response, though there were also questions as to whether I ever had a stress test (I never have) and recommendations that I meet with my primary care (which I will this summer).  I spent Friday and most of the weekend close to home finally resting up and  trying to not get my face into any more trouble.
 
So far this new week so good.  My nose is unbroken, and I kept my teeth.  Despite the bruising, I haven't had to take any painkillers for my head or face.  The stitches come off on Tuesday, which will hopefully eliminate the chance of any scarring.  Whatever the reasons behind Thursday's episode, it's clear I have run myself ragged and can't keep it up anymore.  I've definitely made resolutions to cut back on work time and take more AL time off this summer ( I haven't taken a full week's leave from my job in years).  I'm also trying to cut back on my off-duty projects or at least make sure it's the work I need or want to do, as I haven't allowed myself to do much of either in a while.  What this will do to my time serving as Stone Soup's organizer and host or even as Associate Editor of Oddball Magazine is still a mystery.  I'll be at Stone Soup tonight, but I'll need someone to help me close the night out for the time being. In the meantime, I have some vitamin E to open up.