The perils of solo traveling...

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Yesterday was a relatively quiet day...the first day of the Bouse Rendezvous for the group. I had already met many of the folks here and several of us headed into Bouse for the Monday morning at the Community Center (great breakfast for $4). I ordered the Adkin's special (2 eggs, 2 sausage patties and cheese) while everyone else dug into their biscuits & gravy or the traditional eggs, sausage and pancake breakfast. After that we all headed back to our rigs and did whatever it is that we each do all day. At 4:00 we met at the campfire ring for social hour.

Early in the day I felt a little queasy so I took one of my prescription Prevacid tablets. I've been able to get away from the daily dosage that I had to take for years but depending on what I've eaten, I sometimes have to pop one to keep the acids down. Didn't think much more about it.

After the social hour I came back and fixed dinner, salvaging what was left of some tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots & lettuce....topped it all with some shredded chicken (canned chicken breasts). Tried my new spray salad dressing (10 sprays = 10 calories). Very good! Desert was a couple handfuls of Hanover's Sourdough Pretzel Nuggets.

Well, within an hour I was miserable...very bloated, queasy and just generally feeling bad...very bad. I took a couple sips of Coke (that often settles things down as well), then took a Mylanta Gelcap. Less than 30 minutes later, things came back up. Not good...especially since I was still very bloated and now gassy.

The evening went downhill as I worshiped the plastic toilet goddess (no porcelain in my rig) several times. I shut everything down and was in bed by 8:30. A couple more trips and suddenly the other end erupted...talk about flying out of bed. As everything inside me continued to drain out, I got quite lightheaded. I tried to put my head between my knees but that bent my abdomen over enough that I was afraid I would throw up again.

Once everything seemed to have stopped...they should make special corks....sorry...., I stood up and headed to the bed. I remember reaching out for it in the dark....I remember hearing, not feeling my head hitting something. The next thing I remember is coming to with my ear hurting. My head was resting against the wooden platform under the bed. Since my ear hurt, I figured I had hit it as I fell...assuming that it had just happened. As I said, I remember a sense of HEARING my head hit something, not a sense of feeling it happen.

Well, I slept till around 8 this morning and when I got up I still thought I had just hit my ear. I could see a little swelling but as I ruffled my hair I noticed quite a tender spot on the side. As the day progressed the headache did as well. I also discovered a sore spot on my knee and my shoulder, both on the same side. So now I suspect that I did faint, hitting my head hard in the process. I have no idea how long I was out but am pretty sure I was....might have been seconds, minutes or more.

Did make me think this morning about how vulnerable we are as solo travelers. There really is nothing I could have done differently, I know that. Okay, so I could have crawled....LOL! But it will make me think carefully about things when boondocking by myself. No good answers...now off to continue nursing my headache.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

11 comments:

  1. Oh, my gosh, Donna! I hope you are ok now. That would be a very scary experience. You're right, there are risks with being a solo RVer, but there are risks in a stix n brix too. Take care of yourself, girl!

    Ellie

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  2. Had a simular thing happen years ago when living solo in a house. Got sick, went to bed, woke up 2 days later. Haven't a clue as to what happened in those 2 days.

    The only thing I can think of is to contact a friend or park office if you are feeling ill, and ask them to send someone to check on you if you do not contact them back in a pre-determined time.

    Hope your feeling better,

    Jim01

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  3. Donna, sorry to hear about your awful night. Hope that you are feeling better now. As a male with past heart issues, I have certainly considered some of the scarier scenarios of solo RVing. As you may remember I started that discussion string on the RV-Dreams Solo forum concerning what to do in case of emergencies. I'm still not sure I am satisfied with any of the responses particularly if you are boondocking.

    Scott G

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  4. The risk is in being solo, not the RV part! You'd probably have more folks checking on you quicker in the RV....what with being the social butterfly & all! LOL Sorry about the digestive problems, sounds like the Adkins route may not be for you these days...too much grease & spice maybe. If you read my blog, you can see I sympathize with your...er...symptoms! Accidental bulimia! (sp) At least I managed to keep from fainting tho...sure felt like it a few times & lucky I didn't since social isn't exactly my middle name lately....nobody would find me passed out for months!

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  5. Oooohhh, so sorry you had this awful experience. I really sympathize--the exact same thing has happened to me. I guess we should call someone to check up on us if we are the slightest bit sick. Hope you're all better now!

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  6. Donna, So sorry you have been suffering. Hope you are better now. Be sure to visit the "fisherman intaglio" on Plomosa road between Bouse and Q. It is a little hard to see at ground level, but impressive all the same.

    Dale

    http://www.skoolzoutforever.blogspot.com

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  7. I think that as others have said, the risk is from being alone rather than being in an RV. If you are boondocking totally alone then it is another matter but while with a group there isn't going to be a very long time before someone checks on you. But, it isn't like having someone sleeping beside you.

    Maybe things should be reversed- people retire & travel while young, then work until death. No, never mind, I really don't want that to start now (maybe 40 years ago.)

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  8. Donna, you and Ara need to travel together.

    Remember to hydrate today. This is very important to your recovery. Consider buying some pedialyte.

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  9. Wow, Donna. Hope you're better now. This will certainly make me check up on people that I see are solo.

    Debbie

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  10. yes, being "solo" is the main concern, whether in an RV, or "anywhere" else,...but, hey, I also have noticed that in being "solo", I tend to not become "sick" near as often as I used to get when I was more "social" in life...lol...so there are trade offs, I guess.

    Sorry to hear of your night, Hon,...are you sure you're going to be alright, now? Gotta watch those "head banging" things...

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  11. What a horrible time you've had! I've been on the road so I'm a bit behind in my blog reading -- but the good part of reading this late is that I know now that you're okay!

    I worshipped my plastic throne once, too, and it was pretty much like worshipping a porcelain one, except I knew that what I had left there was still hanging around in the tank. Yuck.

    ZoAnn

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