When My Body is not on My Wavelength

By Gena Sysavath
Web Content Contributor

I am weak. Everything physical about me is scrawny. 

My immune system? Barely thriving. I got to say, I blame all of my bodily defaults on my parents. How is it that everything hereditarily wrong with both my parents was passed down to me?

Let me tell you guys, I am near legally blind at the age of twenty-two. My allergies make me puff up like a red balloon if I’m not careful, and I shed too much hair even though I already have very thin hair. 

Also, I might as well be allergic to the sun, because if I am out in the light for longer than an hour, I will get all sickly and tired. The number of times I nearly fainted because I was out in the sun too long should not be as big as it is. It is a little screwy that I was not born a vampire.

It does not help that I do not like to exercise. I am going to die young and I accept that. Breathing problems be damned. That being said, I do feel faint a little too often. So, it is not a surprise that I have fainted before, in public, where I can not hide in despair when I come back alive. 

I’ll even show it through my friends’ drawings.

The Bridge Incident

My mother, for no reason whatsoever, suddenly loved to go fishing. I was only a munchkin when this obsession with fishing occurred and it was hell.

I was young, therefore without my permission, I was dragged to go on random fishing excursions and basically just sit on a lawn chair for hours. I hated it.

Now, this was before my parents had any idea, I might have issues with the outdoors because I was fine before this day. I would just snack and run around the little area by the river or bridge we were at.

This specific fishing trip was a special day for my mom because she finally found the time to go to this giant bridge next to a waterfall. The bridge was tall and we had to go up these steep rocky stairs.

However, I ruined this trip because two hours into this little adventure, I decided to climb further up the bridge and then suddenly I felt drained and my vision went red. I thought I was dying right there. I then sunk down to the ground using my last breath to call out to my father.

I woke up bruised ten seconds later. My dad carried me all the way back to the car where I was in the shade and force-fed oranges.

I Just Wanted Food.

This issue only happened because I’m dumb. 

Let’s go back to my eighth-grade year, I’m procrastinating and was feeding my addiction to anime. It was Sunday evening and my parents were having a mini get-together with people I did not care for. 

I am obsessing over the anime I was watching and just simply forgot to eat. It was around 6 p.m. when I finally decided that I was hungry enough to go make myself some pizza rolls. 

I walk out of my dark cave of a room and enter my living room where I am faced with several children and their parents. I ignore them in the feat of food. I do make it to the microwave and I even make it to a chair next to the microwave. Nothing seems out of the ordinary to me. 

At least until I suddenly wake up on the floor with a spoon being shoved into my mouth. Apparently, it was so I did not swallow my tongue, but I was gone for a couple of seconds. 

The swarming of worried parents and curious kids was suffocating. The call for an ambulance was not ideal because I was delirious being bombarded with questions.

The ride to the hospital was fun. An ambulance is cool when you’re not sickly or dying. What was not amazing was being starved for another three hours while having fluid being dripped into your body. Especially in a crowded hospital where you are told by a doctor exactly what you assumed happened.

I do not recommend it; it was not fun. At least I got three meals when I made it back home.

The Hike

The hike was recent, as it happened a couple of months ago. 

My roommate and her lady-friend asked me to go on a hike. By this point, I am aware that I do have a love-hate relationship with nature, but I haven’t suddenly blacked out in a while. So, I assume I would be fine. 

I was wrong.

The hike was far and long, which I should have expected from this nature-loving healthy-bodied couple, but again, I am dumb. We were deep in a forest climbing up and down trees and giant stones.

This trail was beautiful. However, I could not really vast in its glory when I was sweaty and tired. I was, however, very proud of how far I went before everything went down. 

We had been hiking for at least two hours, but it felt long. My beautiful and very youthful roommate and friend were happily climbing trees and taking pictures when I see the familiar flash of red in my vision. 

I was only able to look at my roommate straight in the eyes before I was going down. The look of horror she had as I was falling into my depths was welcomed. 

Again, I woke up a couple of seconds later, but this time I could not move my body parts. It was like an out-of-body experience where I can see everything happening but not feel it whatsoever. 

I was piggy-backed all the way back to the car thanks to my lovely friends. We even got a free orange on the way thanks to a worried stranger.

Here’s to say, I will still play with my odds with nature and my body.

Featured Image by Gena Sysavath