First off, THANK YOU all who sent good wishes both through here, my last FB post, or more personally. I was touched by your concern, and since I’m not writing this from the grave, my hard lesson DOES have a positive and happy outcome. Thanks for sticking through this second part, and I have to balance it between being too “dramatic,” since there’s way too much drama online, but also wanted to share how serious this hydration thing really is.

Had I listened to this warning from my wife I MAY have seen the signs and avoided the whole mess, but we men can be pretty stubborn and think we’re Supermen and invulnerable.

Getting dizzy in the bathroom and passing out the day after a hot, taxing hike was a scary and fragile moment for both of us. I was out of it, but Kathleen, being a former nurse, could tell that I was more than just physically gone; I was mentally gone, too. She ran downstairs to get help, but unfortunately we were on the second floor. Paramedics? Not an option, only cab service to a faraway hospital. I was flat on my back and coming back around and, like most macho males, I said, “no I’m fine,” but honestly I did not know if I was fine at that time or not. We carry a blood pressure cuff with us, but my BP was too low to even get a reading. After a few attempts we did and it was insanely low, and we recognized that I was seriously dehydrated. By this time I was able to track and follow her fingers, answer questions correctly, and feel like myself. Our hosts brought a fresh coconut and orange juice, and Kat and they got me to bed, elevated my feet, and we all just waited.

Fortunately, the story continues on a happier note than it began, but after digging into AI and doing some research, we discovered that because of the hike the day before and because I had already been dehydrated for several days, my body was deficient in potassium and magnesium and possibly sodium. Sodium (salt) is easy to find, it’s everywhere, but since I have had high blood pressure I try to avoid it, and rarely put salt on anything. Eventually we were able to go downstairs for breakfast, had some nourishing pho chicken soup, and over the next several hours I recovered while we monitored my blood pressure the entire day. We got electrolytes and magnesium supplements, and I spent the next few hours lying down with my feet up. And over the next few days life more or less returned to normal.

Kathleen says that I was gone, which of course I denied at the time, and has said that I was different since this episode; I agree. My speech was slurred, I was non-responsive and lost body function, and there was a possibility of a seizure. For me, inside my head, I realized my potential mortality, not sure exactly what happened, but some way, somehow, I did come out of it different. And a week later I still am..

I check my BP several times a day, religiously eat a Vietnamese banana every morning, which is healthier than a typical Columbian banana, and higher in potassium, and take a magnesium pill every night. I’ve been to the gym, started slowly to feel things out, but this event truly did open my eyes. When we’re young we feel we’re invincible; invulnerable, and nothing can stop us. Until we get a serious injury, or sickness, or have some type of event that causes us to reflect on our humanness. Living as we do on the road we are blessed to find good to excellent medical facilities at the places we want to stay the longest. That gives us some peace of mind, so along with healthy eating, being present and mindful of our surroundings, and living in Gratitude, I’m not sure what else we can do.