My mother and I decided to head off to Busch Gardens for a bit since we had some time between errands… though, yes, because of our little trip to Williamsburg to ride on stuff, we didn’t get everything done and have to go to the bank and pay a few bills tomorrow. There are a few shows that my mother has yet to see and we also wanted to ride those few rides that aren’t too intense for her.
We went to go to see the More Pet Shenanigans, which I have never seen before despite having gone to Busch Gardens countless times. It was such an adorable show, I swear I almost died. All these kitties and puppies running around, just being cute kitties and puppies. All of the animals have been rescued from the ASPCA, so that just makes them all the more special. And they were sooooo cute. Those kitties! I can’t gush enough over how sweet they all looked bouncing around and running and doing tricks.
Afterwards, since it was starting in ten minutes and just across the way, my mother and I went to see the Grey Wolf show. It’s a stand up show and it was so hot. Today was the hottest day of the year so far. With the humidity, it was an easy 108 degrees. I’m a pretty tough person. I have youth on my side, right? So, I stood out in the sun and heat for a good half an hour since the show was 20 minutes long. My mother and I planned to ride the Sky Ride to Germany to go to the Festhaus and get something quick to eat. By the time we leave the wolf show, I feel a little sick to my stomach, but I take that as hunger. When I get hungry, I get really super nauseous.
I think to myself, “a cold drink and a little food and I’ll feel great.” By the time we make it to France next to Ireland (where the two animal shows were), it’s only getting worse. And when I say worse, I mean its worseness seems to be growing exponentially. I’m feeling a little lightheaded, but again, it’s hot and I need water. Nothing big or detrimental. I’ve felt that way before. Except at this point, I’m getting a little scatterbrained. I can this when I walk the wrong direction in the line, something obvious to a clear mind. I tend to be somewhat out of it from time to time, so I don’t think my mother took it as a bad sign.
When we got into line and stood, it hit me like bricks. It was the strangest feeling in the world. It felt like there was this huge weight or pressure on my chest. I felt like my breathing was being restricted to short and shallow breaths, yet at the same time I felt like my lungs were expanding and wide open. I tried not to panic at this point because I knew that to do so would only make my breathing worse, more labored and quick. I held on to the line bar and tried to put as much weight against it as I could to relax, to take the stress off of me.
My eyes began to go all blotchy, like there were dark spots popping up here and there. When I would open them and try to focus on something, my eyes felt strained. After the splotching, it seemed like the whole world was beginning to fade. When I opened my eyes, it was like everything was covered in a film of see through black so that I could see everything, but it was darkened in an artificial way not by clouds or a gray sky. I don’t know when I told my mother that I felt like I was going to pass out, but I did. She noticed then that my lips were pale white, the color of my face, which one would expect to be flushed in heat like that. All the color had drained from me.
The feeling that I was going to vomit was so bad I felt like I was going to collapse. The world kept dimming, things were getting lighter. I knew that I was seconds away from passing out. I was actually going to faint. My mother asked if I wanted to get out of line, but all I thought about was sitting in the cart, closing my eyes and cooling off. So, despite that it was hard for me to stay upright and conscious on two feet, I forced myself to.
This part is sort of dreamlike, but I remember feeling drunk when I walked into the cart and getting in. Then I sort of let myself slump against the side and close my eyes. My mother said she checked my fingernails then to see if they had color, which they didn’t. I don’t remember this either. I don’t recall her grabbing my hand. I just had my eyes closed and I was sort of half awake. The cool air felt really good that high up. I think I mumbled something to my mom, but again I don’t remember what happened.
Somewhere over Land of the Dragons, something in me snapped like I was waking up and I could open my eyes and talk without slurring. I felt weak, I was shaky all over and cold (but soooo hot), but I could open my eyes and I wasn’t seeing spots anymore. All I had was a growing and lingering headache.
Eating did help. Sitting inside of the Festhaus in the dark with the cold air helped a lot, as did the drink and food.
After my scare, my mother and I decided to take it light. We went to Ireland again and rode Corkscrew Hill, a ride that we can both agree is completely awesome. For such a hot day, the ride had NO line, so we went right up to the front and then on. God, I can’t tell you how good those dark ice cold tunnels felt to get to the ride. Because even though I felt better, I constantly felt like I was on the brink of another spell.
Since we were close, we ended out day with Pirates in 4-D in the Globe Theater at Banbury Cross, England. Once the show was over, we were both exhausted and decided to come home. My mother has been forcing me to drink water. To be honest, I still feel really weak and really… weird. But a little normal and not like I am about to pass out and die.
When Alfee called, I didn’t tell him. I didn’t want him to worry. He’d freak out if he knew and I didn’t want to make his life that much more stressful.
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