Every 6 months to a year I will have these very odd health symptoms. Last week I experienced one of these internal health storms and it happened very inconveniently during a trip away from home.
It began last Thursday morning. When my brain suffers from a fever I start to not think straight. I noticed that taking hold during breakfast and began to wonder what was going on.
By Thursday at lunch I began to feel stomach pains and a bit of queasiness. The stomach weirdness continued though the day until I began our drive up to DC.
I had handed the driving over to Kelly and taking a short nap when I noticed my ears felt hot against my car pillow. I told Kelly that something was going on with me but I wasn’t sure just what. In spite of my stomach pains continuing and the feeling of coming down with something, I managed to complete our drive to Kelly’s parents’ home.
A night of sleep made me feel better, though my rash had begun and my stomach pains did not go away. I suffered through it and felt like walking around New York once we got there, though I began to feel chilled on our visit to the Brooklyn bridge.
Around the time we were planning our next meal, I decided I could not spend any more time outside. I offered to travel back alone to our hotel.
Big mistake. I wasn’t yet halfway back when my body began to shiver uncontrollably. It was like I was getting hypothermia and my body was trying to generate heat. I did all I could to still my shaking muscles as I rode the subway but I’m sure people surrounding me wondered what was going on. It got worse when I changed trains at 96th St. I could not stand on the platform without shaking from head to toe.
Here I was in the middle of New York and my body was not fully under my control. I could not walk without pausing as my legs kept wobbling below me.
Finally I reach my subway stop. Leaving the subway station from an entrance different than I’d used before, I began to walk in the wrong direction. More shudders, more feelings of cold. I turned in the right direction and slowly moved my feet towards the hotel, all the while hoping my clenched jaw was not damaging my teeth.
I finally make it back to my hotel and do a stupid thing: I hop in a hot shower, rather than hop into bed. The hot water on my skin only serves to open up the blood flow, causing me to lose even more body heat. I barely manage to brush my teeth before I yank on whatever clothes I can find and leap into bed, teeth chattering.
Two hours later around 8:30 PM, Kelly and Travis check in on me. I take my temperature, which reads 102.1 degrees. My skin feels as hot as a furnace against the cool cotton sheets. I go back to sleep and spend a restless night.
That morning I felt much better. The fever was gone, my stomach had settled down a bit, and my rash was only somewhat painful. I regained my appetite and did whatever I could to attend Hallie’s performance at Carnegie.
The rest of the weekend went relatively smoothly, though I could not shake the feeling of absolute helplessness I had Saturday evening. When those shudder attacks occur at home I can simply work from home and spend the time in bed. It was a different story in the middle of New York. Fortunately I made it back safely, though I’m more committed than ever to figuring out exactly what is causing these symptoms.
I’ve got to find some answers to my health issues.