down down down the rabbit hole

I’ve been going back and forth about recording this here or not. Part of me just wants to forget it ever happened, but another part feels that if this blog is to be a recording of the major (along with some minor) events that happened during my time in The Loop, then it belongs here. I guess another part of me doesn’t want to be known as the girl who passed out at the Oscar’s Party.

The Sunday before last we attended an Oscar’s Party hosted by one of the clubs at the GSB. It was held at an upscale bar on the edge of downtown, where State Street becomes State Parkway.

As we don’t have a TV, we decided to arrive right at 7pm (CT) as depending who is hosting, those first five minutes can be some of the best entertainment of the evening. We were actually one of the first couples there. We had one of the bars (mostly) to ourselves. We found a table, took off our coats and started filling out the ballots to see who could guess the most winners for the night.

Not long after people started arriving. I even knew a few. B and I made conversation in between watching the show. It was a little warm in the bar so I was drinking water.

A couple who were not with our group, but who I suspect were regulars at the bar, ended up taking over the table next to ours. The woman in the party was a bit obnoxious. She had on too much perfume and clearly was there to be seen. Her companion was older and a smoker. Most of the students in our party didn’t smoke. Lucky me – I end up next to one of the few there.

The really funny part was that around 8:30 or 9pm, they put out some food for our group. We had each paid $25 to attend this shindig, the idea being that there was beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres. Well, the woman at the other table got her gentleman friend to go get her a plate!

Later the waitress came over to explain that the food there was for a private party. It took three times for it to sink in what that meant, and then the woman got defensive saying they had only had one plate of food. When they left the gentleman found one of our hosts and offered to pay him for the food that they had eaten. He of course didn’t accept the money, but it was a nice gesture.

The tables were high tables so I opted to stand most of the evening. It was easier to mingle and watch the TV. I really was having a good time. B brought me a Coke from the bar as I don’t drink and I guess he thought it was silly that I was just drinking water (although it was nice that someone kept refilling my glass).

It was after 10pm by this point when all of a sudden I felt dizzy, like I might faint. I tried walking it off, but didn’t have any luck. So I got closer to B and he could tell something was up. When he asked if I was okay, I shook my head no. I told him I felt dizzy.

By this point in the evening they managed to get the staff to bring out a couch from the cigar lounge that was behind curtains not far from where we were. I noticed a space on the couch, and decided that maybe sitting down might help.

It really didn’t help, and by this point someone else noticed that something was wrong. She asked if I wanted to go outside and get some fresh air. That sounded good, although I was really starting to feel worse. There were black dots in my field of vision on and off. I was trying so hard to stave off passing out.

It had been raining so the air outside was clean and brisk. I had on a sweater. B had gone to get my coat and purse. I remember talking or at least trying to, and then the next thing I remember was waking up on the ground. The first thing I asked was how long I had been out.

I am still not sure how exactly I fell, but I hit my head on the cobblestone sidewalk. Ouch! I also bruised my right thigh pretty badly.

The next thing I know is that there is someone behind me trying to lift me up. I am still amazed he managed to do it. I was feeling pretty bad and wasn’t much help getting myself up.

They brought me back inside and found me a chair to sit on. Someone brought me ice for my head, and that made me feel better. I think it was helping to balance out my temperature, so I asked for some more for my forehead, but after a while that was too much, and I started feeling faint again.

I had some water, and one of the waitresses brought me bread (she said it made her feel better). She even asked if I wanted butter! But then the 911 operators told them not to give me any food or water, so it was taken back.

I learned later that initially no one wanted to call 911, as they thought I had been drinking, and thus why I passed out. When several people confirmed that I had not been drinking, their attitudes changed.

After a few minutes, the police arrived on the scene. The officer asked me a few questions, including what I had had to drink, but essentially he just wanted to fill out his report. He also asked for some water.

Then the fire department showed up. More questions asked. And my blood pressure was taken. It was normal.

Finally the paramedics showed up and I was escorted outside to the ambulance. They made B wait outside. It was now raining again.

They asked me more questions, had trouble finding a blood pressure cuff and decided to just use the numbers given to them by the fire department. They took my blood sugar (I was so very good despite my fear of needles and pricks). They also took my heart rate. Everything checked out normal.

The woman who was writing everything down explained that I didn’t meet the qualifications of an emergency at this point. They could take me to the hospital, but I would end up with a $400 ambulance bill (at no point did anyone ever ask if I had insurance, so I am guessing that even if I did, the claim would be denied because of medical necessity).

By this point I was feeling much better. My only real complaint was that my head hurt. I couldn’t tell if my head was wet from the ground being wet, or if it was blood. I was actually surprised that they didn’t look closer at my head; especially since the one thing she did have to tell me is that I could have caused enough damage that I could have broken a blood vessel, which could be leaking, into my brain. It was a very small chance though, thus the non-medical emergency status of my case.

I decided that I really just wanted to go home. Spending Oscar’s night in the ER didn’t sound like fun. As best as I can tell the episode was caused by the cigar smoke combined with the warm room and stale air. That and the fact that I had been on my feet and probably hadn’t had enough to eat. And I can’t rule out the stress factor either.

We walked back across the street and the people waiting were nice enough to let us take the next cab that pulled up. Our cab driver was strange. He seemed to think it funny that he was a compulsive liar. I didn’t get it, and was just glad to be home.

I called my friend who had witnessed the fainting spell to let her know I was okay. I emailed the hosts of the party as well as the few other people there that I knew. I also edited and emailed off my stories for the paper that were due by 9am the next morning, as I hoped I would sleep in.

It has been a little over a week and I seem fine. My head is still a little tender, but I really only notice it when I sleep. I still don’t know who won Best Picture.