We hear it all the time… “Hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate!” So do you?
Staying on top of this hydration business makes sense, especially in the summertime. Sirens blaring, the paramedics have arrived at our ukulele jams or shows to rescue a player who has gone pale and slumped over in a heap. Thankfully this has only happened a few times and everyone was okay.
But one cool spring morning, an older fellow keeled over in my ukulele class. About ten of us were seated in a small second-floor classroom and, as you might expect, just strumming our ukes. The paramedics slogged up (and down) the narrow stairs with gurney and equipment in tow. Thankfully our friend recovered…after a couple days in the hospital. Diagnosis: Dehydration.
Flash forward to this month, March. It’s Thursday, the setting is Zoom Central at my desk in the living room. According to the calendar, it’s still winter in Los Angeles. But whoa it’s hot! I’m getting ding-ding heat alerts on my phone all day. My husband is out of town which means I’m a little discombobulated…well more than usual. But this afternoon I am blissfully getting ready for my class and not really paying attention to my body. All the windows are open, the fans are blowing. The temperature inside is 81 degrees but “I’m not feeling it,” says the lobster in the pot of tepid water as the burner heats up. Why oh why don’t I turn on the AC?
As the Zoom class begins my hands are shaking. Like what? Of course I’m sipping water. But only when I remember, which isn’t a lot because I just don’t get thirsty. Now it’s feeling like a word scramble in my brain and my office chair is wobbling. I muscle through the hour because that’s what I do and it doesn’t hit me until we are all saying good-bye that I am dehydrated. That my jiggly chair is okay. I am not.
It takes a few hours of water (and Gatorade) guzzling, peeing a lot, laying very still with a pillow over my head before I feel “normal” again. Well who knows what “normal” is, but it is NOT being dehydrated.
That evening I text my friends and they have plenty to say:
“Wow! And it happens so fast and one is slow in figuring it out. Yesterday was my day for confronting dehydration. I did too much walking and not enough hydrating, got the shakes and was a bit disoriented and fatigued. Someone I know fainted today and was treated by the paramedics. Heat related stuff is going around.”
Another friend tells me she has been admitted to the hospital twice for dehydration and now sips from her water bottle all day. At our ukulele jams she takes a swallow after each song. That’s 19 songs and a whole lot of chug-a-lugging. Who does that? I don’t do that. And my friend? SHE is the one calling 911 for someone else.
The next day I’m feeling good and sliding into my morning routine, EXCEPT this time the FIRST thing I do is DRINK a cup of water. And another. And another. You see, my usual MO is to roll out of bed, dive right into my creative thing and lose track of time or what my body needs. But not today! Not anymore.
Then I head off to the uke class I teach at a local retirement community. Of course I tell the residents all about yesterday’s drama because these people are Zen masters and I want to hear what they have to say. Each one nods in agreement and recounts their own dehydration-tale-of-woe. The major consensus is that you just don’t know it’s happening and are darn lucky if you figure it out before the paramedics are loading you into an ambulance.
Well let’s drink to that!
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With much gratitude for your ongoing presence…
Cali
Halaine Steinberg
Cali, this happened to me once also! It was when I was an active runner and did not hydrate enough and ended up passing out and being taken by ambulance to the ER. Diagnosis: dehydration. I feel like it is still a struggle for me to drink as much as I should during the day, but at least I am more aware now.
Cali Rose
Oh hear you Halaine. Why is it SO hard to remember to take little sips of water all day…and just taste how delicious it is, probably for most of us. Well like you, it starts with an extra serving of awareness.
Mary Mitchell
Thank you for the reminder!
Cali Rose
I need all the reminders in the world too Mary. Thank you!
Bobbie Hasselbring
I’m taking a couple of Senior Fit classes every week. Nearly everyone in the class is at least 60. While the classes are called Senior Fit, the teachers literally kick our butts with aerobics, balance exercises, stretching and weight training and, by the end of class, we’re sweating like crazy. In one of our classes, a lady fainted. The paramedics hauled her off on a stretcher. The diagnosis? Dehydration. Now I carry a water bottle in class and make sure I drink at least half of it before class ends. Your experience is pretty common. While we need to keep hydrating as we age our sense if thirst decreases. Best to fill a big jug and make sure you’ve finished it everyday by bedtime. Aging isn’t for sissies, pal.
Cali Rose
Right on! And still we forget. Awwwww…
Babsi
A few years ago when we were happily playing outside the deli in Culver City, and I had my water bottle right in front of me, I passed out and started vomiting uncontrolable. Someone came to my rescue, brought me to and called 911. I was taken to the ER in an ambulance, where a zillion tests were done, and they determined it was from DEHYDRATION. That day I learned what an amazing Ohana you had created. They saved my life, and my uke friends drove my car home to Topanga with another person in a chase car who drove those angels to Burbank. THANK YOU for the reminder. You might just save someone’s life. (PS: My mom died of complications from dehydration.. . I “thought” I was being diligent, but clearly I wasn’t.) THANK, our ukulele Angel!
Cali Rose
OMG I remember that vividly. One of our players is a nurse and she ran off and slapped you on your back to coax you into consciousness until the ambulance arrived. We were so glad you were okay and it was plenty scary to witness. Yes we do have an amazing ohana but the ukulele attracts amazing and heart-full people. Keep strumming!
Chris Miller
Cali – just wondering; how is Craig doing? Pass on my best to him.
Cali Rose
Thanks for asking Chris. He’s enjoying being a retired teacher, picking the ukulele more and taking marvelous pictures. I will tell him “hi.” Are you FB friends with him?
Rich Maschner
Oh wow!
I taught High Adventure Activities to Scout parents for about ten years and one of the main topics was hydration! Water, water with electrolytes. Stay away from sugary drinks! Keep the coffee to one cup in the morning!
I’ve only had to treat dehydration and/or heat exhaustion twice, once as a soccer coach and once on a climb up Mt. San Bernardino. Fortunately in both cases, shade, a bit of rest, hydration, and salty snacks perked them up in a few minutes.
I recently moved to Washington UT. The climate is similar to Corona, but it’s about 3,500′, and it gets hotter and dryer! I try to drink a steadily during the day but my slowly expanding prostate takes away from my bladder’s capacity! (It’s under control, my doctors know about it). I have to be sure I can relieve myself discreetly. I know, TMI!
Nice to read your blog again. Take care of yourself!
Cali Rose
Oh I LOVE TMI! Guess we have to embrace and love “peeing.” A lot! Wherever and whenever! And whatever!