Went to do a welfare check on a friend and found her dead on the couch

Which is probably part of why Kentucky Derby racehorses are worth so much!

 

Emily cheated death twice before she actually did pass away. When she was 12 years old, which would have 2000 or 2001, she got appendicitis. Emily had an incredibly high threshold for pain, and the abdominal pain was largely ignored. Her appendix actually burst, and her parents found her unconscious in her bed. Doctors did not think she was going to make it, but they did an emergency appendectomy and she pulled through. Emily got to meet the ambulance crew who had rushed her to the hospital and saved her life. She was inspired to become an EMT, and was in this profession until injuries from a horseback riding accident brought that to an end. Her parents also bought her Declan (the horse seen in the pictures that I posted) not long after she recovered from the appendectomy.

At the end of 2020, when she was still living with Amanda and her ex, Emily’s skin started to turn yellow and Amanda suspected liver failure; Amanda forced Emily to go to the hospital, but she became impatient and attempted to leave. Amanda took the car keys and forced her to wait until a doctor could see her. It is a very good thing that Amanda forced her to stay, because it turns out that she was in fact in liver failure. The doctor said that Emily would have been dead in hours if she had gone home; Emily drank socially before, but she hadn’t consumed alcohol in years at the time of her death. The reason her liver failed is because she had her gallbladder removed years prior, and that procedure wasn’t done properly. Something involving her bile ducts was causing her liver to fail.

Luckily, correcting the issue was easy through surgery and Emily’s life was saved. Her liver suffered no permanent damage. If Amanda and Emily were still living together, no doubt Amanda would have forced Emily to go to the ER and she very well might still be here today. My guilt phase is largely over, because I didn’t talk to Emily that much, and Amanda didn’t suspect that something wrong until Emily had been gone for at least 14 hours. That means that at a minimum, she was dead before I woke up for work.

 

Sounds like she had more issues than just being overweight.
Some people just have bad genes.

My mother has some type of auto-immune disease.
My brother has has High Cholesterol. He's had it since he was 13.

As far as I know, I'm ok.
They say my blood pressure run low compared to most people.
But it's never been a concern. I haven't passed out,

I haven't been to a regular Dr. since 2018 or 2019.
Nothing hurts.......so I haven't needed to go.

 

Actually, both of her parents are quite healthy. Her dad plays tennis and works out, and her mom runs marathons including the Boston Marathon. The appendix was just bad luck. She did have many more issues than just being overweight, but I still believe what outright killed her was the domino effect touched off by two medications reacting.

 

Ten days ago, I learned that a woman I'd known for almost twenty years was dead, and catching a glimpse of her once the lights in her condo were turned on likely changed my life forever. Up until the moment the lights came on, I thought she was unconscious and in distress but still alive. My therapist said that I would largely get over what I've seen in about two weeks, and it would as. It has been ten days, and things are definitely better for Amanda and me. I can't quite put my finger on my emotions, but while I know that my friend died, it's like I still can't believe that I found her body. I know that I did find her body, but that it's like I haven't caught up with that reality yet. What's going on here?!?!

 

I'd say the fact that her death was sudden and unexpected, and you finding her in that state, is what it wrong.
Our body and mind don't typically respond well to "new" and unexpected things.
You just have to find your way of dealing with it.

I think you will get better with time.
I'm quite sure the same "feelings" happen for Police, Paramedics, Firefighters and Soldiers when they find their first "dead person".