the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

Today was one of the most humiliating days of my life.

I'll recount it in the most extreme detail possible for the full effect.

This morning I walked to class with Hillary, as usual. The weather was kind of miserable, but other than that everything was fine. I sit down in my Human Behaviors class and wait for it to start. About 15 minutes into lecture I started feeling really anxious. I couldn't get comfortable, so I kept moving around, trying to stretch my legs and such. Then I get ridiculously warm. So I shed my rain jacket. Still not better. At this point I realize I feel really bad and am starting to get a little lightheaded. I decide to get up and leave to get some water and sit down. Hindsight: standing up was THE WORST decision I could have made. I take about two steps and then completely black out. I hit the ground and then wake up with 20 terrified classmates staring at me, my professor is calling 911, someone running to get me some water, and some other person is making sure I'm responsive. Awkward. I hardly know these people. Luckily, this was a social work class (so most people are pretty compassionate) and I had this professor before.

Long story short, a policeman, three firemen, and two paramedics arrive at the classroom to check me out. I moved out into the hallway, and after checking my blood pressure, blood sugar, and other vital signs, I'm given the choice of going to the hospital. HECK NO. I do NOT want to be wheeled out on the gurney they brought up for me. I told them I would go to the med clinic for further tests. As if this is not embarrassing enough, the policeman tells me to get in the car for him to drive me back to the dorm. So I ride in the back of the marked police car from Haley Center back to the dorm. Thankfully, Kaitlynn was in the room when I got back and immediately jumped in the car to drive me to the med clinic.

I arrive at the med clinic and literally had the shortest waiting time ever. (Note to self: passing out puts you at the top of their priority list.) After going through exactly what happened in excruciatingly personal detail several times, I am informed they are going to run plenty of tests on me to make sure everything is okay. They wheel the EKG cart into my room and after I strip down, they hook me up and check out my heart. Turns out it was doing its job just like it was supposed to. I walk down to the lab to give blood (second time that day) and start crying in the middle of it. The nurse couldn't find my vein in one arm, so she had to switch to the other one, and I finally just broke down about what a terrible day it had been. I'm not anemic, I don't have mono, and my white blood cell count was perfectly normal. I was poked, prodded, and everything else they could have done. Basically, nothing is wrong with me and there is no apparent reason for my fainting spell. The doctor excused me from class for two days and prescribed plenty of rest and fluids.

I guess the whole situation is kind of humorous now, but it was extremely embarrassing at the time. It was humbling for sure and made me appreciate even more my sweet friends who dropped everything they were doing to take care of me.