Well I woke up on the floor...

Not the story I wanted.

I have been sick on and off since November, occasionally getter better, perhaps for almost a week, before lapsing into more fever/cough/sore throat. Normally it is my policy to only see a doctor if what I think I have is life-threatening, but being sick made me miss an entire weekend that I could have otherwise spent flying, skiing, rock climbing, going to ikea, hanging out at pikes place, etc.

Doc tells me I have a sinus infection. Pretty mundane for being sick for almost two months. I was expecting mutant mono. She wrote me a prescription, and said I should also get my flu shots because I have athsma. I asked if it was dangerous for me to get flu shots since I was already sick. She said it was fine, as long as I didn't have a fever. I forgot to tell her that I did have a fever that morning, and it probably only went away after I popped an ibprofen pill that morning. They gave me the flu shots.

Then I went to Rite Aid, a block away to pick up my perscription. I shop around for sick food. I start to shiver. The pharmacist tells me I should eat yogurt to replensish the "good bacteria" that the antibiotics will kill. I'm eating yogurt right now. It tastes like rotten pudding.

I start to feel faint as I'm heading to the register to pay for my food, and remembered that I did not each lunch, and barely had breakfast. Based on past experience, I am sensing an immediate loss of consciousness in my near future. I have no protocol for what to do in a Rite Aid, and with the blood apparently draining out of my brain I couldn't really think, either. I knew I was in trouble when I knelt on the ground, pretending to look at the gum, and was still feeling more faint. I told the cashier I was feeling faint, grabbed my cards at the end of the transaction and ignored her advice to just sit down over there on the floor. Was there something sugary I just bought that could save me? No time: the edges of my vision were going dark, I only had seconds left. Out the door I stumbled.

I fainted immediately after exiting the store. I was making my way to the wall when my vision and balance gave out. My last concious thought was a verbal "oh shit."

I don't know if I actually lost conciousness, but I was blind for a while, and for the second time in my life (the first was the car accident) some woman started talking at me while I gazed around blindly. Eventually my vision cleared and I began regaining my faculties. I've fainted about 3 or 4 times in my life, usually as a result of not eating breakfast, and I've always been fine afterwards. Good to go. But it was too late. The manager, apparently, was already on the phone with 911. He convinced me to sit and wait for "these guys [to] come by and look at you." It sounded reasonable, and because I was still not thinking clearly, I had no counter argument. I should have convinced him that no, I was fine, really, and I just need to get home and get a bite to eat. But I couldn't think straight or even stand up yet, so I just grabbed a sugary carbonated juice drink that I had just purchased and sat against the wall, waiting in the rain for the EMTs/paramedics.

They brought a fire truck. It was...ridiculously embarrassing. And they were quite interested in taking me to the hospital, seeming almost offended that I was just going to walk home. I don't know if I had hypothermia also, but I took a hot shower until the water ran out and I was still shivering. The last time that happened was the time I rode a motorcycle through a winter rainstorm.

Here I am, now, back at home and safely in the seated position, eating disgusting yogurt and broadcasting to the entire world the most embarassing thing that happened to me since...well for many months. I'm not sure how long it will be until I can go back to that rite aid. I think it was good that I fainted outside the store--no one saw me. A visual of me falling would be more memorable. How did the manager find out though? He'll definiately remember me. And they brought a FIRE TRUCK.