Page 10 of Work It Out
Healthybeat.com
7 Tips and Tricks to Avoid Altitude Sickness
1. Climb Slowly
“Sit up and drink this.”
Jake glared at the shaker cup Pierce attempted to force on him, then slammed his eyes shut again. “Unless that’s a strawberry milkshake or poison-laced alcohol, I don’t want it.”
Dramatic? Sure. But after last night, Jake would welcome death with open arms and a bottle of scotch. On second thought, nix the scotch. Altitude sickness was the world’s worst hangover paired with being the drunkest he’d ever been, while also fighting off pneumonia. Scotch would only make matters worse.
If he was acclimating at all, it was at the pace of a geriatric sloth on Valium.
“Dude, I swear to God—” A loud knock echoed through the house, cutting short Pierce’s latest tirade.
“Oh, shit.” Pierce stared in the direction of the front door like he’d drawn the short straw in a slasher movie and had to check out the noise coming from the basement. “That’s probably Rayah. It’s almost noon, and you still look like roadkill.”
“Thanks, man.”
To be fair, when he’d caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror, he’d borne an unfortunate resemblance to flattened raccoon, complete with dark-ringed eyes and a pale gray face.
The front door opened, followed by a soft “Hello.”
Yep. Rayah.
Jake sat up, but the world went tilt-o-whirl. “Go.” He flopped back against the mattress. “Buy me a minute.”
Pierce took off with his death smoothie and shut the door behind him.
Getting vertical nearly made Jake toss his cauliflower rice (he was denied even proverbial cookies), but he managed. Pierce’s voice rumbled through the walls, interrupted occasionally by Rayah’s warmer murmur. By the time Jake stumbled out of the bedroom, the two appeared to be in the middle of a heated debate.
“I don’t care what Doc says, I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Pierce crossed his thick arms over his chest.
“You’re probably right.” Rayah matched his stance. “I’m sure you know better than Dr. Martin. Never mind that he’s been practicing medicine since before Moses drifted through the reeds and has treated a million cases of altitude sickness. You don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“First,” Jake interrupted, “stellar sarcasm. Second, what’s not a good idea?”
Rayah stared him in the eye as she dropped the hammer. “Pack your bags, Mr. Newman. You’re leaving.”
“Hold on a second,” he began.
“She’s not making youleaveleave,” Pierce cut in. “She called Doc this morning. He said he couldn’t discuss your care with her because of hippo laws or whatever.” He widened his eyes. Jake took that to mean Dr. Martin, Bigbone’s one and only doctor for the last millennium, hadn’t spilled the beans about his POTS.
“HIPAA laws. And I’m not making him ‘leave leave’ yet.” She loaded a thousand pounds of stress on the last word, then turned to Jake. “We can try some tricks, but in the end, either you adapt or you leave. Those are the options. Doc suggested taking you to Sedona for a day or two. They’re about two thousand feet lower than we are. It’s easier for the body to make the adjustment in increments.”
“And if I don’t improve quickly enough in Sedona?”
“Then you should go home.” Rayah’s eyes gentled, as did her tone. “I’m sorry, Mr. Newman. I want this to work as badly as you do. But people who don’t acclimate and refuse to find lower ground aren’t just uncomfortable. You could die.”
In the very place he was born. Talk about tragic irony. Jake glanced from one to the other. “That sounds dire and all, but I’m still missing something. Spending a couple days in Sedona sounds reasonable.”
“That’s not the part he objects to. He thinks he should go with you.” Color flooded Rayah’s cheeks.
“Oh?” Jake’s eyebrows rose. “And what do you think, Miss Summers?”
“I think he means well, but as Dr. Martin pointed out, he also didn’t realize you had altitude sickness, nor did it occur to him to call Doc when it was brought to his attention. I respect that you’re both Pierce’s friend and his client. However, while you’re here, I’m the one who’s ultimately responsible for you. I’ve also seen altitude sickness before. I understand what you’re dealing with better than he does.”
Taking one step to his left, where Rayah wouldn’t see him, Pierce mouthed,Tell her.
