the fainting

so i did some research into children's game, and selected "nose, nose, nose, mouth", "zombie" and "prohibited movements" to try and induce some team-spirit and discipline during the coming week.

i haven't had a chance to mention the incident of the week. we have ropes, and i'm pretty darn good at climbing them. unfortunately at the beginning of the week my left forearm began to ache after i came down from one of them. the pain went away after a few hours, but it was quite an irritation.

a couple of mornings later, in a sterling mood, i went up again on my way to kitchen duty. again it hurt, but hey, it was gonna go away, right? so i carried on with my duties, my arm hurting more and more as i went along.

around 6.30am we sat down to eat, and i was in torment. in addition to the extreme pain my arm was causing me, i burned my fingertips on piping hot boiled eggs... and then i began feeling awful. that really horrible feeling that i get when i'm about to faint. i rested my head on my other arm, thinking that it might just pass, and the girl sitting across from me began to worry when she noticed that i was in a cold sweat.

"no, no, don't worry, i'll be fine," i think i said. it was kinda hard to communicate. eventually someone carried me from the tables and they lay me down on the floor, and after about half a minute i was feeling considerably better. i was escorted to the clinic, where the medic almost went into shock - my blood pressure was at 80/24. my body temperature wasn't too hot either at 33^o, but he calmed down when he checked me five minutes later and it had risen to 34^o.

they left me to lie down in the back of the clinic for a couple of hours, and just as the pain in my arm began to ease up the doctor arrived. a couple of hours later and i got a chance to actually sit down with him, and he went over my files and explained to me very simply that i suffer from vasovagal syncope. put simply, i faint.

i have to do a "tilt-table" test. i *know* i have postural low-blood pressure, so going through the motions seems kind of silly.
from the wikipedia article: "The test ends when the patient faints or has other significant symptoms, at which time he or she is given medical attention"

fantastic.

i'd fool around with project euler, but it's already very late. and i have to pack in the morning.

ooh, forgot to mention: i now have a definite group of three friends for this season's snowboarding: egg, the mongoose and karnaf. ze germans are going to get back to me next weekend, and i've sent a message to SxS to see how serious he is. this is gonna be a good trip!