With Halloween right around the corner, let me share with you my scary story from this past weekend…
It all started with a whole blood donation at Vitalant in Sparks just after Noon on Saturday. The conversation with the phlebotomist consisted of me bragging about heading over to the Coffee Shop inside Hobey’s Casino afterward to enjoy their Smoked Beef Brisket special, which only rolls around maybe once a month or so. Everything went well with the donation, and I felt fine as I enjoyed the 15-minute post-donation snacks, orange juice, and bottled water.
Being a pint low on blood, I thought I’d eat a nice, big meal with a tall glass of strawberry lemonade, partially to celebrate helping someone who needs blood, and partially to refill my depleted veins. And therein was my big mistake…
My wife and I arrived at the newly remodeled Hobey’s Coffee Shop, were seated in a booth near the kitchen, and I eagerly ordered the smoked brisket meal and that tall lemonade, but started with a delicious bowl of the soup du jour to whet my appetite, while my better half enjoyed a house salad for starters, and awaited the chicken fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, and veggies.
I polished off the soup without any issues, and sipped on the lemonade a few times while I enthusiastically awaited the main course. Conversation ensued and after a few minutes the meals arrived.
I can’t even effectively describe the amazingness that is smoked beef brisket, but this was entirely delicious and tender—my fork literally sliced right through the meat like butter. The mashed potatoes and veggies that also accompanied my brisket were also quite tasty.
And then…
About 3 minutes into my meal, I felt an intense lightheadedness that washed over me almost instantly, and I felt the blood drain from my head, just as I passed out without warning. I don’t remember this, but my wife said that I blanked completely, eyes still open, and my hand in the middle of reaching for my glass of lemonade. And then my hand started twitching…
I was obviously unresponsive, as my wife was trying to talk to me, but I don’t remember any of it. She stood up immediately and told me to lay down, while gently pushing me over to rest on the bench. After 5 minutes or so lying on the bench, I felt better and decided to try to sit back up.
I was able to remain conscious for about 30 seconds after sitting up, and I blacked out again. About 15 seconds later, I found myself lying down again and regained my senses, asking if I had passed out again. Indeed.
After waiting just a short amount of time, I felt better (or so I thought), and tried again to sit back up. Again, I got lightheaded almost instantly and slowly slumped over, and again my wife helped me lay back down, but I tried to catch myself with my elbow resting on the bench, so I didn’t go all the way back down like I should have. At this point, I mumbled gibberish and my body shook a bit, and my wife thought I was having a seizure.
When this happened, she grabbed my arm and pulled it out from under my torso, allowing me to lay down completely. After a few seconds of being prone, I regained consciousness and simply asked her, “Again?”
This time, I made the decision to rest a bit longer before trying to get back up, so I laid there for about 10 minutes straight, because I felt better when I was laying down, and I thought just resting for a bit longer would fix the lack of blood flow to my brain.
After 10 minutes had passed, I tried again (my now fourth attempt), and sat up slowly and took a sip of my lemonade, but I immediately felt tired and rested my head on my hands on the table, and I blacked out yet again.
My wife had to pry my head out of my hands which were firmly propped on the table, and lay me back down again, since I was obviously not doing any better. This time, however, I learned my lesson and stayed down for about 30 minutes.
During this time, my wife went to paid the bill, and Carl and Gail (managers on shift) came over to check on me, having been alerted by our waiter that I was passed out in the booth. Their concern and calm demeanors were nice and we chatted while I was still laying down. They offered a wheelchair and to call emergency services for me if I wanted them to, but at that point, I felt that it was overkill. Gail brought us water and orange juice, because we had told her about my blood donation earlier, and Carl assured us that we could take as much time as we needed. During this time, my wife also helped by raising my legs in an effort to get more blood to my heart and head.
Long story short, after a couple more attempts at leaning up to take sips of water, laying back down because I still didn’t feel normal, and about another hour later, I finally relented to Gail calling paramedics for me. She told them I was alert, and they dispatched an ambulance.
A few minutes later, emergency personnel (it may have been Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue, but I cannot be sure) and REMSA showed up on the scene. They spoke with me, asked me about medications and potential medical conditions, and then took my blood pressure, which was only 60 over 40, and they remarked, “And that’s why you keep passing out!”
They then moved the table out of the booth, and I scooted onto a gurney, and they wheeled me outside and into the ambulance.
After putting a cuff on my arm to monitor my blood pressure, and sticking sensors on me to do an EKG, the EKG was normal, but my blood pressure was still low. They hung a bag and started IV saline, and I drained the entire liter. During the 10 minutes or so of receiving fluid, we chatted about my blood donation, and they mentioned that I was definitely dehydrated.
My blood pressure came up to a point (I believe it was 105 over 70-something) where they felt comfortable giving me the option of either going to the hospital if I wanted, or trying to stand up (if I felt like I could).
Since I now felt amazing with the extra liquid coursing through my system, I opted to try standing, since I felt like I was back to normal. This went well, and I had no further issues with lightheadedness or balance. They then drove the ambulance across the parking lot to where we were parked.
My blood pressure remained at a near normal-ish level, so I was able to exit the ambulance and walk to our own vehicle without any issues.
I’d personally like to thank the staff at Hobey’s Coffee Shop for helping us through a difficult situation, with friendly faces and pleasant, professional courtesy. I’d also like to thank the emergency personnel who responded, especially the 2 REMSA paramedics (Matt and Savannah) who got me up and walking again. That saline IV bag was a game changer—just what a drained blood donor needed!🩸
