Some Big News and A Very Scary Day

(This was written last Thursday)

I have not been able to get yesterday’s occurrence out of my mind. Writing my thoughts and feelings down is such therapy for me. Whether I will post this or not at least I will get it on paper. At this moment in time I am sitting on a plane, on my way to the Level 2 RKC in Minnesota, without my daughter for the first time ever.

Yesterday started off as a normal wonderful day. Ben and I have been waiting anxiously for our doctor's appointment that will allow us to see the first glimpse of the baby inside me. That’s right everybody I am pregnant again. Almost 7 weeks. I am normally one to wait and share the news until after the first trimester, but this story would not be the same if I left that part out.

Anyone who has had kids will know that the first appointment is the most extensive. They do a full physical, then you have an ultrasound that can be a bit uncomfortable, and then you get lots of blood drawn for various tests. I had been through all of this with the last pregnancy so I knew what to expect.

After the exciting ultrasound and seeing the little flutter of the heartbeat we were thrilled. I had been feeling so wonderful and energetic I even doubted that I was pregnant. How can someone that is pregnant feel this strong and have little to no fatigue? So seeing the heartbeat assured me that there is life inside me. The second time around doesn’t make it any less exciting. I was then told by the nurse practitioner to get my blood work done. Lyla had already been pretty fussy from being cooped up in a doctor's office for an hour, so Ben decided to take her to the car and wait for me.

Does anyone really enjoy getting their blood drawn? I know I’ve never been a big fan of it, but have always managed to do just fine. As I was sitting in the chair having this woman take several vials of blood from me, the room started to get crowded. When she was done I had mentioned to her that I was feeling a little lightheaded. I don’t think she heard me, because she asked the next person to have a seat, forcing me to get up right away. I took a deep breath and left the room. As I was walking down the hall towards the lobby I started feeling extremely nauseous and my whole body was starting to sweat. The one time I needed my cell phone I did not have it. I wanted to call Ben so badly to tell him to come up and give me a hand. Instead I sat down in a nice chair in the lobby trying to take very deep breaths to get myself together.

I decided to get up and get to the elevator because I no longer wanted to keep them waiting in the car. I caught the elevator with a man and woman. As soon as the doors shut I started feeling so dizzy and faint I knew I was going to lose it. My instinct allowed me to look at the lady and say, “ I think I’m going to pass out” . The next thing I know I’m floating and dreaming of life. I wish I could recall the actual dreams but I know there were some fear involved with the dreams. I felt like I was in the deepest sleep. Then I heard, “Are you okay?” I woke up completely shocked that I am lying on an elevator floor and was extremely disoriented. I felt like I had been gone for hours. The man in the elevator told me he had already called the paramedics. The nice woman, who caught my fall, borrowed someone’s watch to get my pulse. It was under 50bpm and she was still holding my wrist looking at a watch that she borrowed from the man. A couple questions came to mind when I started to understand what was happening. How am I going to get a hold of my husband, am I still pregnant, and who is going to cancel my clients this afternoon?

All I wanted to do was get up and walk outside to be with Ben and Lyla and go home. The people who were helping me advised me to stay where I was. They were able to call Ben and let him know what was happening. The ambulance rushed in and immediately took my blood pressure and pulse. My systolic blood pressure was at 70, which is dangerously low, and heart rate had not risen past 50 yet. My normal resting heart rate is actually high for my activity level and is around 70. As soon as I felt that I was ready to go home again I felt myself going out again. They put oxygen up my nose and jammed an IV into my arm, letting me know I needed fluids right away. Shortly after that I passed out in the chair. Ben and Lyla rushed in to the lobby and witnessed me fainting. I then regained consciousness and started to worry. At this time I didn’t understand why my body wouldn’t allow me to just get up and go. I’m usually such a resilient person. What was happening to me? Horrible thoughts were going through my head. Am I going to die? Is my blood pressure going to keep dropping? I see worry in every ones eyes. Something must be really wrong. I can’t die. I have tears in my eyes writing about this. Its amazing how your thoughts can be when in a state of panic. When I looked over at Ben holding Lyla, with fear in his eyes, I kept my cool. Trying to be as calm as possible I asked him to get a hold of my clients and let them know I wouldn't be able to train them today. I hate canceling on people so I was upset that I had to do this.

The paramedics then put me in the ambulance. As they were wheeling me in my IV and oxygen tubes got caught on the wheel almost choking me. They had to take me out 2 different times to get the tubes out from under the gurney. They wanted to take me to the nearest emergency room but the closest one was full. So they had to take me up to Encinitas, which was at least closer to my house. During the ride I think I passed out once. It was such a bumpy ride I don’t know how anyone doesn’t yak all over the place. I made it in one piece and was luckily seen immediately by a doctor.

I am not one for long stories so I will try and wrap it up right now and leave out minor details. I spent several hours in the ER having an EKG done, getting more intravenous fluids and blood pressure checks. I was so weak I didn’t know when my energy was going to come back. Eventually they discharged me and until now we are still not 100% sure what caused this episode. My thinking is it could be a combination of going through a complete physical, then getting a little too much blood taken, and I may have been on the dehydrated side by that time. Normally I am guzzling water, but I was so excited about the ultrasound I didn’t remind myself to drink very much. I have also been preoccupied about my trip. I signed up to go to the Level 2 RKC over 6 months ago and was awaiting the day. Been very nervous because the thought of leaving my daughter for the first time was going to be difficult. Another challenge I am facing is now being pregnant for the course. Our plan was to get pregnant shortly after the certification, for obvious reasons, Those of you who have attended the RKC know that it is a very vigorous and physical 3 day weekend. People who do not know me and my capabilities will probably judge me negatively for going and I’m willing to risk that. Those who do know me, know that I have been training moderately for months and am well prepared for the required tests, Pull ups, Pistols, Windmills, Bent Press, Clean and Jerks, and let’s not forget the Snatch Test. Before I knew I was pregnant I did 7 pull ups, with probably a couple reps left in me . The requirement is 1 pull up. That is scaling down to about 14% of my maximum if 7 are my real maximum. A good scale to go by when you are pregnant is to do 40-50% of your maximum, but most of all listen to your body. I have corresponded with Pavel, and he assured me that I would be allowed to take extra precautions if needed. I spoke to my doctor and she is very confident that I am the best judge of my own body. Unfortunately and fortunately, I am hypersensitive to my body so I know what I can or cannot tolerate. I would NEVER do anything to jeapardize the health of my baby or myself. I know my capabilities and I will not be going for any personal records this weekend. As much as we like to lift heavy with our peers I will be on the safe side and scale down where it is necessary. So no showing off. ;-(

I have allowed this entry to go on long enough. I am just thankful that I am sitting on this airplane in good health. Yesterday has passed but I will never forget. St. Paul is supposed to be in the high 80’s this weekend. Water, Coconut water, and trail mix will be my saviors this trip. I just cross my fingers that my mind and body gives me the strength to allow me to enjoy this weekend of physical and mental challenges. I look forward to being submerged with my passions of kettlebell training. learning new techniques, and meeting some wonderful people from all over the world. I am so grateful to have a body healthy enough to be able to be apart of this experience. I will try and take lots of pictures and keep everyone updated on the weekend. Wish me luck!

I’m reminding myself of one of those people who say goodbye and hang around for another hour. But I wanted to finish off by saying a couple things. “Enjoy each precious moment you have in life. Have no regrets and listen to your heart. Tell the people you love that you love them, even if you are upset with them. Don’t let anyone stop you from achieving your dreams even if they may seem hard to reach. Life is too precious so don’t sweat the small stuff.”