Another “Little” trip to the ER

Unusual circumstances, strange happenings, weird illnesses, bad reactions…… those are all a part of a day in the life of Cami Severson. If it is weird I have experienced it, strange – and I have lived it, unusual – and I have breathed it. This past Thursday was no exception.

I went running as I usually do, the only difference being that I went at 5:30pm instead of first thing in the morning. Apparently, that was a BIG mistake. I usually run about 3 miles, and it takes me around 25-30 minutes to do so. I ran fast, up and down hills, that day, and I was parched and tired by the time it came down to the last few minutes. Being dry in the mouth, I didn’t think anything of a lump beginning to form in my throat. I kept swallowing, thinking “It feels like something is stuck in my throat” as I ran the last stretch. Alarm bells started to go off, though, when I started to get intense tingling and itching in the palms of my hands and in my lips. Fortunately, by then, I had reached the house.

All I could think about, as I burst through the front door was that maybe taking a shower would help. I ran into my room and hopped into the shower. Things weren’t getting better. Now I couldn’t swallow at all, and it felt like someone was choking me. My lips were numb and swelling and my eyes were almost completely swollen shut. A little panic set in at that point. Joe was on a plane coming home from Colorado and I had to be to Young Women’s to teach them how to paint in about 45 minutes. What’s a hypersensitive freak-out girl supposed to do??

Just then the phone rang. It was my YW partner in crime (Michelle) calling to see if I could go it alone tonight because she was in a bad way right then and in a lot of pain. I mumbled something about maybe cancelling YW because somehow I needed to get to the ER. Michelle, being the amazing woman that she is, popped two Percocet, grabbed her daughter and mother, and raced to my house. We left her mom at my house, to watch the kids, and then her daughter drove us to Sunnyside Kaiser Hospital. (Being the responsible person she is, she didn’t drive under the influence of a narcotic!)

It is amazing how quick you get into the ER when your throat is closing off. I didn’t even get to fill out the paper work! They got me back into the room and started ripping off my clothes. “Whoa!!” I mumbled, “ what is this all about??” We need access to your skin, they told me. “he, he” …”okay” I say, as my shirt practically rips off my ears.

There is no permission asked, or explanations given as they continue on with the procedures. In goes an IV and a quick mention of Steroids and high doses of Benadryl being administered. Michelle is in the room with me now, commenting on how red my ears are…. and my nose. (nice that she doesn’t mention the swollen eyes and lips though) In about 2 minutes the drugs hit. “WHOA!” I slur…. “I think I am going to pass out”, huh, I feel a disconnect with reality… “I think I am a little loopy”, I keep repeating.

After about an hour the effects of the medication are evident. No more swelling, and I can start to swallow a little bit now. Yay, for meds!!

The diagnosis??? Food-related Exercise-induced Anaphylaxis. And there’s another Weird Illness written down for the books.

For those of you that are curious about what that entails…… It means that if I eat a certain food (for now we don’t know what that food is) and then exercise within in 24 hours of eating it, I will have the above mentioned reaction. But only in conjunction with exercise, not alone…… Weird? Yes,…. Normal for me…? Yes again. Fun for me.

I didn’t get to get a copy of the picture Michelle snapped of me, at the ER, so here is a quick illustration of my loveliness: