Dehydration -- and All the Fun That Goes With it.

 I'm not really telling the world anything that it didn't already know about Laura when I say she suffers from having severe dehydration more than the rest of us. It isn't chronic, happening sporadically, which isn't often at all. When it does happen, though, there isn't much of anything I can do for her other than to drive her to the emergency room as soon as she tells me it's too far gone and she doesn't feel as if she can come back from it.

    Recently, the last time, maybe a year ago, she waited too long, and we really had a go of it at the E.R. with her needing three full bottles of saline and other meds given to her through the IV shunt, to help with nausea, dizziness, and anxiety. The anxiety that gets triggered, she'll tell you, is the worst part of it. She doesn't feel that anyone is after her, but that her own system is shutting down and turning off. That's the scary part.

    Today, I'm over her minding my own business, as I do. I'm writing in the new book, reading emails, and watching my YouTube buddies do their thing when Laura enters my office, stating she's about to pass out. Okay, maybe I should stop what I'm doing. I stop.  It wasn't too bad this time; we got her to the E.R. and they got her in really quickly. She was hooked up and on her way to feeling better in less than 30 minutes, but she did have to go through a bottle of saline and the meds before she was able to think clearly enough to say she needed to pee.

    Oh, good, peeing is a great sign! They took samples of her blood, of course, and ran those, asking her a thousand questions and then turning their attention to me, thinking maybe I could shed more light.  Laura kept answering "no" to everything, and the medical personnel thought maybe she was saying this because I was in the room. Nope.  Laura, like me, doesn't drink alcohol. She doesn't smoke, do drugs, smoke pot, nothing exciting - she even gets over 8 hours of sleep every night. Her problem is maintaining fluid intake when she loses it in other parts of her body.

    When you or I have a bout of stomach issues, a little distress in the bowels, we can take an over-the-counter med and drink an extra Gatorade. Laura slumps over and dies. It's never pretty, and she constantly thinks she can beat it - always goes a little longer than she should before complaining. Not this time! Woot!! She listened to her body, and bam! She was in and out of that E.R. in less than 2.5 hours, and let me tell you, she KNOWS not to make herself wait if or when it happens again. Two and a half hours is significantly better than staying overnight or having to go through bottle after bottle of replenishing liquid.  Yea Laura!

    There is one absolutely hilarious side story. I didn't shower this morning, but I usually do. I didn't see the need so I didn't. When I took my daughter to the E.R. I was suddenly keenly aware that she wasn't the one STINKING to high heaven in the car; it was me. All the hormones in my body decided to scramble around and be smelt due to my own love and admiration for my little girl - I become this hulk-type helicopter mom when she goes into her throws. I didn't turn green or anything but buddy, I smelled and everyone knew it. I had to laugh. It was funny, and I was told it was normal...yeah, OK, that's worse. I'd rather be anything but normal.

    OK, so we came home, and get this, it was still early enough for me to write another chapter in my book. Guess what happens in Chapter 14 of "Cask"! That's right, Laura Ashton, a good neighbor of Ama Posh, ends up being hospitalized with severe hyponatremia and dehydration! She survives, of course, and is thankful to her good friends for their assistance. I thought it humanized the book a little, and it makes the thing seem more realistic. Thank you, Laura.  I may end up giving her a little something-something if the book sells a million copies, especially if people say they loved the character.

Thank you for your prayers. She and I both appreciate them. 

Photo Credit: OldFoolRn.com