Ellis week 5 - My Fainting Experiences

 

        A lot of my friends already know this, but I have fainted multiple times in the past couple of years. It’s a really weird experience that is almost impossible to explain to someone who has never gone through it. In literally every movie when someone passes out, they always wake up saying, “where am I?” That always seemed like such a cliche until I was the one waking up asking the same thing. One second you are standing, and the next you are laying on the ground with everyone hovering over you. 

        If fainting isn’t bad enough, I have the tendency to do it at the absolute worst times. Two of the times it happened, I was in my bathroom doing my hair. I was standing in front of the mirror for a long time and my knees were locked. Next thing I knew, I was on the tile floor. Thankfully, there was someone there to catch me both times. 

        Another time, I was singing Silent Night at the Christmas Eve service at my church. Once again, my knees were locked and I had been standing for a long period of time. I remember getting chills, my stomach hurt, and my vision got super blurry. After that… nothing. I woke up feeling really sick, my mom right over me, and the woman behind me who had her bracelet stuck in my hair from when she tried to catch me. 

        Although those stories are fun to tell, the worst one was when I fainted for the first time. I was in 5th grade rehearsing for a chorus concert that we would be performing later that night. For rehearsal, we would sing in front of each grade to get a feel of an audience. I was on the third (highest) riser, and started to feel really weird. Again, this was my first time fainting so I was very confused. Next thing I know, I am falling onto the girls in front of me and waking up on the floor holding my knee. No one thought I fainted, they all just thought I fell, so everyone was concerned with how nasty my knee looked. (I think it single-handedly broke my fall, so it was extremely swollen for the next few weeks) I was sent to the nurse for an ice pack, and it wasn’t until later that we connected the dots when I went to the nurse feeling sick. (nausea is a common side effect of passing out) When I explained everything that happened to the nurse, she called my mom and said I most likely fainted. It was really scary for a 5th grader to hear that. 

    After a while, we learned that the reason I faint is from locking my knees, so I have gotten really good at not letting that happen anymore. However, I have a feeling fainting is not just a part of my past, and it will probably happen a few more times down the road. For now though, those stories are pretty fun and interesting to tell.