On May 16th, I had to leave my job because I was having what appeared “life- threatening”symptoms.
I was interpreting at my job (sign language) and I began to feel sick to my stomach.
My hands started to tingle.
My head started to spin.
My heart rate increased dramatically.
I felt pressure in my head.
Neck stiffened.
My eyes felt like they were bouncing in my head.
As I tried to do my job, It got worse.
Signing caused me to become more dizzy.
Even thinking was too much.
I got up to walk and I felt like I was going to fall.
I knew I needed to go home immediately.
(This identical thing happened to me last year in February. Same symptoms, last year I was diagnosed with Covid though.
When i got home i took a Covid home test but it came back negative.
So it wasn’t that.
Thoughts crept in my head…
“Maybe it’s something wrong with my brain?”
“Maybe it’s terminal- like my friend who has recently passed!”
“Maybe I’ll need surgery, if i go to the hospital!”
My body gets worse.
The light now hurts my eyes.
Any loud sounds becomes too much.
I’m walking as if I have a traumatic brain injury.
My ability to think is hindered.
My body feels like all engines are going at the same time firing out of control.
I get in the bed.
…Dark quiet room, covers pulled over my head…PEACE.
I sleep- my body rests. No symptoms when I’m sleeping.
I wake up attempt to go back to work and it happens again, now it’s worse!
In tears, I leave to drive to urgent care to get answers.
In the car, I listen to worship by Psalmist Raine. I speak life and scripture over my body.
It’s a struggle to drive.
An hour later I arrive to urgent care.
They check for mono, Covid, flu and do an EKG. My blood pressure is up 145/90, (I never have issues with my blood pressure)
She takes it again. 115/85
All my tests comes back normal.
The PA advised me to go to the ER, because the tingling is causing her concern.
I weep.
I don’t want to go.
I’m scared.
The nurse comes in and comforts me.
I tell her that I want to tell her something else but, I want her to take me serious and not judge.
I mention that I felt this way before with a previous illness.
I mention that my husband asked me a heavy hitting question this morning,
“April, do you think it’s YOUR anxiety?”
Saying those words had me crying again.
Anxiety wasn’t MINE!
I didn’t have a problem!
I’M NOT CRAZY!
In an instant, I felt emotional. (Was there something to that, that I wasn’t acknowledging? )
I left and went to bed.
It was 3pm.
I slept the entire day.
The following day I wake up in a better state.
But I knew that rest was my place of peace and once I got moving I would be able to gauge my body.
Went down to the basement and was determined to walk in the treadmill briefly.
After 11 mins, my legs start to tingle, now they feel like J-ello and the dizziness returns along with all the other symptoms in the matter of minutes.
Slowly and carefully, I walk up stairs announce to Eric, that I need to go to the ER now.
In tears, I call for my boys, hug them as if it might be my last time seeing them, & I sit in the car and wait for Eric to get ready to take me.
We arrived to an emptied ER.
I’m seen quickly.
Triage ask all the questions and I tell them all my symptoms.
Blood pressure is elevated again.
They take blood to labs.
Another EKG is done.
Get me to X-ray right away.
Then to CT scan of my head & chest with & without contrast.
IV is started.
Nurse saying there’s fluid on my lungs.
Starts antibiotics.
2 hours later, CT scan says my lungs DON’T have fluid.
Doctor returns after 3 hours and says everything looks normal.
The only thing show slight inflammation in lungs but nothing serious and it’s not pneumonia.
Blood work looks excellent.
They discharge me with a neurologist referral.
Thank God I’m not dying, but why do I still feel like this!
Later as I’m resting, I look on YouTube for answers.
I scan my voice notes from when this happened before (I recorded my voice last year when this happened)
I am starting to connect the dots.
I feel that there’s a high probability that it is anxiety related.
Illness triggered but exasperated by stress.
The body does keep score! It’s like a event starts the avalanche and it’s down hill from there
So today…
I am taking this information to my doctor this week.
I have started doing some vestibular exercises to help my brain “reset” and it has helped.
Limiting my sugar intake and eating more clean.
Heavy on my water too.
I still feel dizzy but I’m much better than I was.
I’m taking what I know about my body and what I’ve learned to my doctor on Thursday.
I’m also headed to the chiropractor & therapist this week as well.
(Behind all the physical symptoms, I could write 1,000 more words about the spiritual implications but I’ll save that for another time)
I wrote all this to help someone else.
ANXIETY is real and it has real implications on your body.
You are NOT CRAZY!
Hear me clearly:
YOU. ARE. NOT. CRAZY! 🫶🏽
Even when u feel fine- it’s important to take regular care of your mind.
Peace 💓
