Learned a lesson the hard way this weekend – it only takes one day of not taking care of myself to really throw myself out of whack.
We went to the UNC-Florida State game on Saturday with friends. I was running around all day, running errands, and I didn’t bother to eat anything because I was too busy. Then we left for Chapel Hill around 5. It was still very hot when we got there. I pigged out on the tailgate we had – a tailgate that was completely void of healthy foods. I realized I was in trouble when I walked over to the Football Center to use the restroom. I didn’t say anything to anyone, but it was obvious to everyone as we were walking into the stadium that I was not well. Between the heat, the food smells, and the smoke, I was very quickly becoming quite ill.
We headed to our seats, but I realized I was either going to faint or throw up, so I headed to the ladies’ room. Luckily, the line was short, because I was very scared that something was going to happen while I was in line. I made it into a stall before getting sick. And even though I kept drinking water and stayed seated once I got back to the seats, I was so ill that we all talked about leaving at the end of the first quarter.
When our friends took a restroom break, I cried to Tim. “Stupid multiple sclerosis. I hate this disease.”
The group did get to laugh about midway through the quarter, when the scoreboard flashed scores from other games. Seeing that Wake Forest had upset Boston College, and that Virginia was shutting out Duke, suddenly perked me up. They were teasing me at how quickly I came around when I saw those scores. Let’s hear it for distraction.
We left at halftime, and I headed straight into a cold bath. I missed church the next morning so I could sleep in, and I made sure that I didn’t continue the cycle of unhealthy eating. The plan for the rest of the weekend suddenly included regular breaks to sit and relax.
I’m doing better now, but yet another lesson learned the hard way.
