Day 4 4.19…when it all falls apart
The wind had calmed a bit by morning & I was trying to do the same thing. I think I felt better. So, I backtracked to the highway & turned south driving along the Rafael Swell & towards my next hike. I stopped, pulled over, made coffee & ate something.
I’ve hike Little Horse slot canyon at least three other times. It’s a super fun hike…when you’re feeling good. I was still trying to talk my body into this thing we do & have a great time. I’m not sure it was listening…or maybe it was me that wasn’t listening. I brushed my teeth at the trailhead & drank more water. It was still early & there were only a couple other cars in the lot. I loaded up my pack, put on a coat, gloves, gaitor, stocking cap & took off hiking. No poles in this slot canyon…you needed your hands free to climb & be able to jump or slide down in a few spots.
The beginning of this trail is about 1/3 mile in a wash before you get into the canyon. I hadn’t gotten far, before my body started to un-naturally heat up & I had taken off my coat, beanie, gloves & gaitor….it was 44 degrees outside. I got into the canyon & started hiking.
I did not remember this rock being here last time…it was interesting trying to climb up to & then over it.
This is not a very long hike or deep canyon, but it’s narrow is many spots.
The view as you slide down this rock onto the bottom of the canyon.
It didn’t go well. I didn’t make it to the end, before I decided to turn back…now shaky & needing the pit toilet. Repeat of previous days. Something was wrong & I needed to stop until I could figure it out. I did not want to cancel my trip. But, I did want to hike & not feel sick.
I finally got back in the 4Runner & drove about 30 or 40 miles into the next town. It doesn’t have much, but it does have cell service. I called Danny who was the only person who knew about my struggles so far. Then I called Sara, who was also really concerned when she heard my symptoms.
Then I called my trip off. That was the last thing I wanted to do. But, I did. I was more than 20 hours away from home & dreading the drive home, but unsure of how to figure this out any other way. What I’d tried myself, obviously wasn’t working.
And, soon after this decision, my little nightmare began. When I left Hanksville UT, a road I’ve been on before & loved the hikes along here, I knew it was desolate. A 122 mile drive on narrow & winding roads with no services…no cell reception, no buildings, not hardly any shoulders….just a whole lot of pretty solitude.
There was a truck with AZ plates a ways in front of me, but at the time didn’t think anything about it. 20 minutes into this lonely drive, my left arm started feeling heavy. Followed by tingling, then all the way down into my fingers. WTF? I shifted in my seat, rolled down my window, shook my arm, flexed my fingers…. 20 minutes after that, my neck…my whole neck began to tingle. I could feel it moving from the base up to my jawline. And it freaked me out. And, then began the longest, scariest drive of my life.
I have a SOS GPS I carry on my backpack that I thought about just stopping in the middle of the road, going to the back where my pack was, turning it on & bringing up to the front. At this point I’d started to shake (from what was going on in my body or nerves?) I kept taking my sunglasses off to make sure I was seeing clearly (or was it just a bit hazy?). But I didn’t go get my inReach. I couldn’t let the one vehicle in front of me drive on. Several times on this long drive, I’d thought about passing the truck, flagging it down & asking if the passenger in the truck could drive my 4Runner to the hospital in the next town. But I didn’t do that either. I tried to take my mind off everything my listening to an awful audio book, cussing at the main character as she continued to do one dumb thing after another. The drive took about 2 hours, & by the time I pulled into Blanding’s hospital, I wasn’t sure if I could even walk to the ER. But I did.
Five hours later, an EKG & a couple of heart-attack blood tests, my doctor declared I was fine. I had nothing life threatening & I was good to drive 19 hours home.
I phoned Sara when I was released & she disagreed. She was ready to fly into Moab & come take me back to Orlando & find out the problem. But, I didn’t want her to have to do that. I still had hopes I could get myself home. The compromise for today was that I would check myself into a hotel tonight & see how I felt in the morning. What a long shitty day it had been…but, I hadn’t passed out while driving, had a heart attack or died…& that was a great thing.
Day 5 4.20
When I first woke up this morning, I wasn’t feeling all that great. The tingling in my neck had disappeared in the ER yesterday, right before they released me. My arm was still tingle-city, & I felt weak & shaky. But I’d passed all my tests right? By this time I was in constant contact with Danny, Sara, Luke & Pete. They were all trying to figure out who could come rescue me & what to do with me when they got there. But, we made a new plan for today. I would drive the 3 hours to Grand Junction, Colorado & stay there for a couple of nights. If I had no symptoms after a couple of days, I would drive the 4 hours to Denver & stay with Sherry. Then make my way home…if I had no symptoms. If I did, well, I’d be near a big hospital with proper testing & doctors to help me.
About an hour into my drive from Blanding, I started to feel better. Not quite as shaky & not as nauseas. Any drive was better than yesterdays sliver from hell. I got to GJ fine, got something to eat & looked for a place to stay for the next two nights. Grand Junction has a thriving & cute downtown, so I first looked for a hotel there. Way more than I wanted to pay. To be honest at this point, I just wanted to lie down & rest. I was trashed & beyond tired. I phoned a few places than found one near the river called Camp Eddy. It was a RV ‘resort” but you could also rent an airstream or a tiny house. I drove there to check it out & instantly fell in love with the smallest tiny home, right next to the river. The RV’s were way on the other side of the park & there weren’t many people staying this time of year anyway. This place wasn’t cheap either, but if I stayed for two nights it would end up being ok (they charge a stupid cleaning fee, so one night made it higher…two would spread it out).
I unloaded the bare essentials from Camper, who wonderfully got to be parked right in front of my tiny house, opened all the blinds, one window & laid down. I started a new audio book about a man who canoes rivers all through the US…which seemed fitting.
Staring out at the Colorado river & the snowy mountains in the distance was just what I needed. Better than any brewery or nice hotel downtown. I was wanting to heal enough to head back home & to quit worrying my family. The next two days would give us all a break….or so I thought.
My tiny house & refuge for the night…I instantly fell in love with this (& want one for Florida)!
Day 6 4.21
I felt OK when I got up. I still had my arm doing it’s new thing & was really tired, but nothing else. Until I started to move around & make my coffee. I tried to ignore it at first. Then I slowly started packing my car back up & just taking note of what was going on. Then I was shaking again, feeling light headed, more tingling going on…crap.
I drove myself to St. Marys hospital & walked into the ER. This next part gets long & boring, so I’m going to be brief. I was admitted to the Cardiac Unit, where my nurses & doctors were all fantastic (with the exception of one). Things went fast as I went from one test to another…EKG, lots of bloodwork, echo, CT scan of head & neck & I was hooked up to a 24 hour heart monitor. Outside of the hospital, my family was working overtime trying to figure out how to get me back home. Danny booked a flight & would be landing around noon tomorrow. Sara was in the loop with all the medical staff too.
And, I kept passing test after test. I was healthy & I’m super grateful for that, but everyone agreed something was not right.
Day 7 4.22
Danny arrived early the next afternoon as I continued to perplex everyone with my ‘good health’. The food was horrible but the staff was wonderful. I finally flunked a questionable stress test….had the same problems after I finished on the treadmill that I’d had on the trail. The cardiologist suggested I have a cardiac catheterization done to rule out the most serious of heart problems.
I should note here that what sunk me into the cardiac unit was the combo of my symptoms & a horrible family history with heart problems. I’ve never had any, but I learned that having a bad family history can over ride about any good health. They were all taking this seriously. I wanted an answer…frankly I wanted a fast answer with an easy solution (don’t we all), but I was grateful to learn that my heart, at this point anyway, seemed healthy. Nothing deadly going on. How could I not want that?
I didn’t get quite the level of drugs I’d wanted for this last procedure (it was not fun), but I did get an answer & a good one….I didn’t have anything horrible going on in my heart.
We were now into Saturday evening & with lots of “it’s not that!” answers but none that could explain what is going on in my healthy little sick body.
The hospital had a free hotel room nearby for Danny. I encouraged him to check out one or two of the many breweries GJ had…this rollercoaster ride had been a chaotic mess for him & the rest of my family. I was hooked up, monitored, still blood being drawn at all hours, my vitals being taken multiple times a day…I wasn’t going anywhere (not even to the bathroom by myself), so he might as well go relax somewhere that’s better than a hospital room.
Day 8 4.23
There was nothing more to be found out here. I’d passed enough tests for everyone to feel like I could safely make the car ride home (there was only one decent hospital between here & home & that was in Denver). I’d have a couple of restrictions for a few days (no driving was one) due to the catheter going in my main artery. So, my knight in shining armor & I were released after our morning visit from the Cardiologist team & my hospitalist. I’d asked them all on Sara’s recommendation, “if this were your relative, what would you suggest they do next to figure this out?” Dr. Belatti, the hospitalist, stayed after everyone had gone to visit with me about some of ideas of what this problem might be.
But, for now I was free from the hospital, but not necessarily from worry. Danny was with me & that made it better. Right out my hospital window was the Colorado National Monument.
I’ve hiked there before but Danny had never been. We packed up 4Runner & drove up to the park & took our time along the 23 mile scenic drive. I like Grand Junction. And even though no one ever wants to be in a hospital, they were first rate & I had felt grateful to land there when that’s what I needed. But, I didn’t want to leave this cool town on that memory alone. So, we took all of the monument in…the birds, the few spring flowers, the giant rock formations, the outdoor nature-ness of it all. We had no clue how this medical thing would play out…nature would fill our minds for this moment, shoving away, at least temporarily, all the uncertainty about everything else.
And then we headed east…landing in Denver for the night. We got a hotel room in Arvada, but before we called it a day, we had a drink at the Schoolhouse. What a long freakin’ mess this had been, with so many ups & downs, the medical bills would be crazy, we had good news, no bad news, but no answers. But, there is still so much to be grateful for. And for tonight, we were together, & going forward.
Day 9 4.24
We had breakfast in Snooze in Arvada & with me not feeling great again, we got on with our super long, super boring drive through super windy Kansas. Thank goodness I have a fantastic playlist of music which we listened to the entire time….music is a wonderful thing & very calming for me personally.
Then, I was back home. I still had no answer to what was going on… we all still have worry, concern & it’s making me crazy to be so sedentary. I’m sure I’m not the only one to go through this, & I’m sure it will get figured out.
Today….5.1
I finally felt well enough to update tripscribbles. I still don’t know anything. I’ve had an appointment with my primary doctor who is sending me back to the cardiologists. I see a new cardiologist (both to me & to him…he is very new to this speciality) tomorrow morning & I’m hoping he’s curious, knowledgeable & ready to figure this out fast. My blood pressure may be a clue…it’s bouncing all over hitting new lows & that might be part of why I feel awful so much & am so shaky. I’ve only been on one walk & spent the rest of the day feeling sick. My arm continues to tingle, more on than off & reminds me there’s a surprise party somewhere happening in my body.
I have had so many friends reach out to me with offers of help & sending all kinds of wonderful thoughts, vibes, juju & prayers my way. Keep them coming for a solution…I’m grateful & won’t turn anything down. I’m ready to be fixed & don’t want to contemplate if I can’t be.
My family was amazing throughout this ordeal…& I really hated they were all thrown into the chaos, but I felt the love…in big big ways, in every way & I am so grateful for them!
And, my cats are glad I’m home.