I would love to write all about the walk, which was amazing! My team was amazing! It will take some time to get the final numbers. I'll post when I know.
I chose to walk for about 3K out of the 5K. After the walk, we went home. At 3:00 that afternoon, I fell uncontrollably into a deep sleep. Poor Gustavo tried to wake me up for dinner, but I was way out. I woke around 6:30 PM. I still went to sleep at 11:00 that night. The pain has been much increased since the Walk. Same with my POTS symptoms. Feverish at times. And I've just been feeling weak and tired overall.
Gustavo was correct in what he said that afternoon. He said that it's almost a shame that everyone sees me only when I'm at my best, or at least pretending to be. At the walk, I had a lot of adrenaline, and I wanted to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. So I put on a pretty good show. Unfortunately, this means that people saw the best version of me; not really an accurate representation of living with Chiari. That came later.
Very few people see the pain and sickness I go through every day. The most they might see is a semi-conscious spell or a sleep attack. I really hide any other symptom from people. It's just the best way to maintain positive relationships, from my experience. If you don't hide your symptoms, then you are seen as a "downer," or even a negative person. You have to put that smile on your face.
The aftermath of an active morning:
Overwhelming fatigue. Exploding head. Pounding heart. Dry heaves of nausea. Overall pain. Can't make it up the stairs without resting. Intense, severe sweating spells throughout the night; then awakening with chills. Digestion at a halt. Light-headed. Cannot go without my collar for a moment. Did I mention my head is exploding?
This is how my body is reacting to over-doing it on Saturday morning. Nothing unexpected.
Bonus: my legs are not too sore. I think I've been walking a lot more lately. And the MBT shoes must really be helping to strengthen my legs. Otherwise, I'd be really sore by now.
Plus: I didn't faint at the walk. I'm sorry I had to walk so quickly, but I knew that if I walked at a slower pace, I would collapse or even pass out. I had to just keep moving.
Bedtime now. At least I'm having no trouble getting to sleep...except I need an ice pack on my head. It helps distract my nerves from the enormous amount of pain coming from my exploding brain.
Thank you to all.
There are more thank you's and more details to come, once I'm feeling stronger.
