I almost died in my truck yesterday(with video)

Good to know, the one I ordered is a adjustable 33-37 inch folding one. Im 6 foot, so that one should fit me just fine for now. I do need to see maybe at the mall they have a cane store.

 

Damn that video is terrifying. I couldn't imagine.

Was the lady that helped you a nurse or something? She was crazy calm and handled that situation perfectly.

Hope you get better, man.

 

Hey Erik , how are you doing bud? How's the recovery coming along? Did they ever figured out what was bugging you?

 

Im doing well, recovery is slow, but its going. Biggest problem I am running into right now is my knees and ankles are killing me by the end of the day. No word on what is was that caused all this, but as a precaution I have waged war on mosquitos and got a pair of 1/2 acre mosquito traps to put around my house. They have been running for 2 days, but its been cold, windy and raining for those 2 days so theres not much in them.

 

The Lord sent two angels in your time of need. God Bless them. Glad to hear you are doing better.

 

Get one with the handle horizontal to the ground. I carry the cheapie round top ones in the truck for short time use, but the horizontal top ones spread the load to more of the hand.
Have they tested you for Lyme disease?
Get well soon !

 

Damn glad to see the OP posting that they are on the mend. There is nothing scarier than having a medical episode that cant be figured out.

I had an incredibly similar experience in July 2009. Cripple Creek, Colorado. We were vacationing, and day of arrival I hadn't had much water, and decided to grab a 6 pack of beer. Had 2 that evening with dinner and a little water, and went to bed just feeling off.
Woke up next morning at 4 a.m. and had tingling in my scalp, and end of my fingers were numb. I had gone to the bathroom and was just standing there trying to figure out what was going on. Wife came in and told her I think I need to head to ER because tingling and numbness was getting worse.
Closest hospital was Pikes Peak Regional, so we headed that way by 7 a.m. Wife was driving, both kids in the backseats. Somewhere about 12,000Ft in elevation qbout 5 miles outside Cripple Creek I was breathing rapidly and out of nowhere my legs straightened stiff, wrists and fingers curled inwards. Arms stretched and stiffened, and my speech was slurring. I remember trying to grab phone but it was useless in that situation. I do remember telling my wife I wasnt going to make it. She stopped on side of highway at a ranch and was honking at the gate. About that time a road construction worker passed by. He stopped and used a satellite phone (required by state workers in no signal area apparently), and he called 911. By time medics arrived, I was regulating breathing better and everything slowly was starting to work again, but like OP it was a challenge to get me out of the SUV because of the remaining stiffness.
Basically the EMT said my blood glasses were completely out of whack and the hyperventilation was causing CO2 to skyrocket and body was reacting to that and I was on the verge of blacking out.
Got to Pikes Peak and described what felt like a horrible Charley Horse in my arms and legs. My urine was the color of strong tea...after 8hrs, 6 liters of fluids, a bag of magnesium, and a bag of potassium, I was discharged and felt good except for a fever.
Final diagnoses: severe dehydration, acute altitude sickness, and I had an unknown virus they never figured out (that evening i ran a 103.7F fever that broke next morning).
It's scary as hell....
OP, praying for a full and complete recovery. God bless you man.

 

reading this was like reading someone else tell my story. Literally everything (except the beer and lack of water) are like mine. I had a fever one night that topped out at 102.9, my fingers curled and locked in place... like everything you just said is a spot on match for me, even the unknown virus part.

 

911 operators had put life flight in Denver on standby as they thought it may have been a heart attack. Medics on scene called that off. I did have tingling/numbness off and on on way to the hospital, and each time medics reminded me to regulate my breathing and each time I did it subsided. So mine was mainly a CO2 imbalance issue. They said no doubt if I kept up the hyperventelation I was going to pass out. Said body's way of rebooting when we get into that state. Still scared the hell out of everyone, and my oldest...who was 6 at the time, still brings it up to this day.
Part of my stupidity was...we live in Arkansas...so +350 feet in elevation. Cripple Creek is over 9300Ft. We didn't do the proper acclimatization first. Docs said no doubt that played a role in all of this. But they also said the virus likely was playing the biggest role in the sequence of events. They did run other tests to ensure it wasn't a heart attack. 10 years later, have never had that happen again. But I think about it often, and when I read yours and then saw the videos, it was startling how similar it seemed.

 

Wish you a speedy recovery !!!! Sometimes we all forget how great Life is even on a shitty day till we get a health reminder.

 

Did they rule out Triple E as the culprit?

 

I first heard about EEE virus on the news yesterday and I thought about OP. The symptoms they described sound similar to what he experienced

 

"As for a diagnosis, we dont know anymore, doctors know it was a virus that decided to wrecking ball my spine, but not much past that."

A virus screwed you up that much, and put you in the hospital? That is some scary shit. Any idea how you could have gotten such a thing?

 

Altitude sickness is no joke, when I hiked Mt Whitney a couple years ago I came across a guy being treated for severe altitude sickness by some rangers. He was having seizures, foaming at the mouth and looked to be unconscious. Apparently he had been there overnight before he was found. They were putting him into a portable pressure chamber pod and then hiking him down to a valley below where a helicopter was waiting. No idea if he made it or not, hope he did.

That was near the summit so close to 15k feet elevation. My dad and I were taking the medication Diamox which is supposed to help prevent altitude sickness. I only started feeling off when I got close to the summit...dizzyness and a feeling of being buzzed. They say once you start feeling headaches and nausea you have to go down in elevation ASAP. Only 'cure' for altitude sickness is to lose altitude and head down. From what I've read, people that are sensitive to it will start to get symptoms at around 10k feet. Around 15k ft is where most people will begin getting symptoms if you aren't acclimated to it.

 

They havent not said its EEE, but I think they would of said something if it was. The last time I had something like this, I didnt get paralyzed, I just had tingling in my hands and arms.

 

An ounce of prevention...!

 

Omg how you doing now

 

Doing better now, drove my truck for the first time yesterday in a month. I get pretty tired after walking anything more than a block and have to sit down and rest. But slowly getting better.

 

Hope you’re doing well. Luckily there are still good people out there to lend a hand when it’s needed.