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I had developed a new schedule over the next few weeks: every Wednesday and Saturday I would drive to Tempe for a treatment. The treatments followed a schedule also. Two vitamin C treatments followed by an ozone treatment. The vitamin C dosage gradually increased until after a few weeks I had achieved 100 grams per treatment. While I was thrilled to be getting the maximum threshold, the severity of the side effects increased as well. As soon as the infusion entered my vein I could taste it. I’m not sure how to accurately describe it. Kind of a metallic taste. Shortly afterwards I felt the “bubble” sensation in my ears. It didn’t hurt, it was just weird. And then my tongue would feel thick and made my speech slightly sluggish. I also felt a little dizzy, a bit nauseous and a lot more talkative—which is not normal for me. During one of my visits, the technician who started my IV told me about a time when he had a cold and came to the clinic to get an IV vitamin C treatment. He said it felt a lot like being drunk. Since I have never experienced being drunk, I’ll take his word for it.
Because the side effects were stronger now with the higher dose, the infusion was slower to help mitigate the symptoms. Now it took 3-4 hours for an infusion. Add in the 40-45 minute drive to and from the clinic, and that took up most of my day. One day, as the infusion was getting started, I was feeling like I could tolerate a little faster drip rate, which would make the infusion finish faster so I could go home sooner. I decided to increase the rate just a little and leaned over and opened the line a little bit more. As a nurse, I should have known better. Or maybe it was because I was a nurse that I felt justified and thought that I knew enough. But looking back I realize how stupid I was. Within a few minutes I was noticing the effects and I was feeling a bit more dizzy than normal. I could hardly keep my eyes open and decided I should slow the rate down. My arms felt quite wobbly and I could hardly control them. It took all the focus I could muster at this time to reach my left arm up high enough to grab the tubing, find the roller that closed the line and roll it closed just a bit. I couldn’t do anything more. My arms dropped, my head rolled back and my heavy eyelids closed.
I was having an interesting dream, unlike any I have ever had before. It seemed normal enough at first. I was riding a bike along a sidewalk. I was with someone I didn’t know. We were talking and walking and noticed someone beginning to chase us. We turned corners and rode between buildings to evade our foe. The stranger with me then stops and tells me, “This isn’t real.” I remember I had to pause and think about the implications of that statement. Then I was transported to an alternate reality where someone else there said the same thing, “This isn’t real.” I kept switching back between these two alternate realities and being told, “This is real!” and then, “No, this is real!” It was like a dream sequence from a movie or TV show where the image on the screen starts swirling and swirling before the person wakes up. And then my eyes opened and Dr. John and the medical assistant were there in front of me, staring at me, and I had an oxygen mask on my face.
It took me a minute to process what had happened and where I was—like when you wake up from a really long afternoon nap and you can’t remember where you are or what time it is. “You had a seizure,” Dr. John told me. “How are you feeling?” I had a what? A seizure?! My mind was reeling. At this point I also noticed the O2 sat machine on my finger. He told me my oxygen saturation level had dropped to 78% which is what caused the seizure. Now that my oxygen level had returned to normal, the mask was taken off.
I texted Dr. Wingo and let her know about the seizure. She was worried and wanted to order an emergency CT scan of my head, thinking it was possible that the cancer spread to my brain. I was in no hurry to get another one of those and Dr. John assured me that the seizure occurred because of low oxygen and not related to the cancer. She asked how I was doing and I told her that I had the MTHFR gene mutation which contributed to my cancer. She said she hadn’t heard of it. A few minutes later she texted that she looked it up and that yes, it does have a correlation with cancer. I was surprised that as a medical professional she had never heard of it before. But I was also impressed that she was open-minded enough to look it up and check its significance.
Dr. John and his associates kept an extra close eye on me while I recovered from my seizure. I felt shaky and weak. They encouraged me to eat as soon as possible and even recommended a nearby restaurant with organic vegan options on their menu. I fished some nuts and a carrot juice out of my bag and consumed those. I had not researched this restaurant well enough to see if their menu fit with my dietary standards and I worried that anything outside my “box” could harm me. I decided I could wait until I got home to eat a substantial meal. Dr. John also asked if there was someone I could call to take me home. I also knew that I shouldn’t drive myself home. I tried to get a hold of Jeremy at work, but he didn’t respond. So I called my parents that lived only a 15 minute drive away. I explained that I had a seizure during a treatment and I would need a ride home.
My dad was worried and began asking questions like, “Is that normal to have a seizure during that kind of treatment?”
“No, Dad, it’s not.” I replied.
I think he was worried that the seizure was indicative of some impending doom. And I don’t blame him. I probably would have thought the same thing had I been in his shoes. A short time later my dad arrived and drove me home.
I felt weak and shaky all the way home. My sweet babysitters stayed for a little while longer while I made myself something to eat. Soon after, Jeremy came home, the babysitters left, and I explained to Jeremy what happened. Because I didn’t have any lasting effects and he didn’t see it happen, I don’t think he felt the gravity of the event the way I did. He easily dismissed it and took care of getting all the kids fed and to bed for me.
To continue the story go here.