Crazy Lady and (not) Her Cat

When the invincible becomes “vincible”

It is not as if she has never heard of altitude.

It is not as if she has never heard of altitude sickness.

It is not as if she didn´t know of the importance of altitude acclimatization.

It is not …

Oh yes, she knew it all. Yet, this know-it-all world traveler (presumably), a well-educated and well-read fully grown woman, ignored all her wisdom, not to mention common sense and reason, and let it all fly out the window as though there were no tomorrow. Seriously, what could possibly go wrong? What could possibly happen to her? Definitely not to her. She can take on any challenge. After all, she is invincible. And by the way, doesn’t altitude sickness and/or any other altitude-related emergency only happen to mountaineers, the world’s highest mountain climbers at that, like Mount Everest?

Yet, only a few years ago, while visiting a “mere” mile-high city of Denver (5,130–5,690 ft – 1,564–1,734 m), she heard people talk, and she heard stories about the effects mile-high elevation might have. Not only on visitors but also on locals. Just last year in Fort Collins, CO, she was telling anybody and everybody who cared to listen how glad she was spending time in the city and thereby getting acclimatized for higher altitudes to which she was heading shortly – a plan that was sadly crushed by COVID.

She wasn’t going to let it happen again – let something or even someone crash her plans. So when a window of opportunity opened about a month ago, without as much as a second thought and definitely none regarding elevation, altitude, or acclimatization, she jumped on the first available airplane and flew from NYC to the second-highest capital city in the world – Quito in Ecuador. From 33 feet (10 m) right up to 9,350 ft (2,850 m). This, in itself, mustn’t necessarily mean a life-threatening situation or even trouble, danger, altitude sickness, or whatever else harmful… as long as you…

Remember where you are. Take it easy, give your body a chance, and take some precautions. Chilling is good, heaps of water (like 5 liters) are essential, carbs and dark chocolate are helpful, and observation is crucial. Listen to your body and do not take any chances. Descend if necessary. For most, the critical altitude point is 8,000 feet. At that elevation, most people require acclimatization.

If you play with fire you can get burnt

Altitude sickness can be life-threatening Don´t play with fire – Take the following steps

Train high-altitude breathing techniques prior to departure. Search Youtube There are some pills you can start taking prior to arrival. Search for them Take it very easy after arrival Use sunscreen. You´re some 3000 meters closer to the sun. The last thing you want is to get sunstroke on top of altitude sickness Wear a hat  Drink liters of water Drink matte de coca, preferably brewed from fresh coca leaves. If not available, use 2 tea bags of whatever brand you can find. Sold only at the local markets. “Naturista” stores may also have it. Some cafes run by Peruvians usually serve it Eat dark chocolate Eat carbs Take Paracetamol for headaches Buy Glaucomed Acetazolamida for altitude sickness, take one in the morning and one in the evening Some 5-star hotels provide both matte de coca and oxygen. Some have even inhouse doctor Do not drink alcohol Descent to a lower altitude Alternatively, in rare situations depending on your condition, go higher up and then descent to where you were Visit a doctor.  Get an altitude app so that you know exactly how high you are. Always fun to have. I use “My Elevation” Free Coca leaves in an airport in Peru to help with altitude sickness. Photo: unknown

Oh yes, acclimatization. This insignificant detail together with whatever common sense she might have had (or not) slipped her mind completely. For not only did she forget to take any precautions whatsoever prior to the arrival, not only did she forget to take it very easy, drink liters of water and observe her body´s reaction to the “elements”, but she also did everything one (with a bit of brain) must never ever do during the first days or even weeks at this elevation. Like power walking 16 kilometers (10 miles) carrying camera gear without any rest at all, no food, and above all no water. All that and more on the very first day in the city that beats the critical altitude point by almost 1000 feet. Very smart. Bravo.

This is exactly what she did. Seven or so hours of speedy walking. And then she run up 3 flights of stairs to her room and had a glass of wine. A big NO-NO. Of course, she was tired. A bit. But other than that? All good. So she continued. Day number 2 wasn´t as “eventful” as the previous one – nonetheless, she was exploring the hilly streets of Quito. Up and down, up and down. The elevation thingy didn´t even cross her mind. Not for a second. (After all, she spent a good few weeks in Bogota (8661 feet, 2640 m) which is only 200 meters (656 feet) lower than Quito, doing the very same activities and had no problems. As a matter of fact, nobody ever mentioned elevation in Bogota. Not once, not in any capacity).

Days 2 and 3 have passed without any issues. Due to bad weather, she slowed down a bit but was still quite active. However, she hardly drank any water during those days. Day 4 was the first sunny day and quite hot. She took a stroll around the neighborhood. Walking some 3000 meters closer to the sun without a hat it felt like walking under a fireball. Sun at that elevation is not for tanning. Hot, thirsty, and tired, she went back to the hotel, and for the first time in her life, she experienced shortness of breath. Someone advised her to sip on Matte de coca, drink plenty of water, and eat dark chocolate. She complied, minus matte de coca which she couldn´t find in the supermarket. To compensate for that she bought two bars of dark chocolate.

She wasn’t sure whether it was night 4 or 5 when things got serious. Maybe even outright dangerous. Undoubtedly she was suffering from something – was it altitude sickness or something worse? By then, she did do some reading about the matter and refused to even think about “something worse”. Everything will be alright, won’t it? Her lungs felt squeezed by some imaginary powers, her hands and fingers were tingling, her heart was whispering something she didn´t want to hear, she couldn’t walk up the stairs, she was exhausted, she lost all her appetite, her energy level was non-existent, even her teeth were hurting, and she couldn’t sleep. Insomnia hit her and hit her hard. As soon as she lay down, her lungs were about to collapse. Or so it felt. She couldn’t breathe at all. Panic. She was doing the best she could to convince herself to relax and breathe, slowly, slowly, breathe, expel, one more time, breathe, expel … give it a minute or 30 seconds, 15 then … it will calm down. It will. Two seconds later, she was up. Her head started playing tricks on her when lying down, and she couldn´t control it. So she stayed up. (Could it be a glimpse of how covid sufferers feel?) Awful stuff and very scary. She didn´t sleep for three nights.

Matte de Coca

Oh yes, she should have gone to lower altitudes right away. She didn´t. It didn´t even cross her mind. Perhaps she was too tired. She stayed in bed waiting for the crisis to pass. She should have asked for help. She didn´t. She should have called for a doctor. She didn’t. There were other things she could or should have done. She didn’t do any of them. Instead, she went to a supermarket on a third day to buy coca tea. They didn’t have it. She went to the pharmacy to look for tea. No tea. But they had the pills. She bought the pills. After three sleepless nights, she fell asleep. At last.

Descent. Why don´t you? 

How dumb one can really get? She must have gone mad, why doesn´t she leave for lower elevation, as any, even moderately intelligent person would? Descent is the only way. Why? Why? Why indeed? Leave. Go. Run. What are you waiting for?

Well, not always things are black and white. (Or maybe they are and we just mess them up.) Just before the crisis, or maybe on the day of she committed to … a cat sit … (yes, you read it right – cat sit) and felt she couldn´t break the commitment, wouldn´t even know how to do it. Leaving wasn´t even an option, or so she felt at the time. Always optimistic. Give it a day or two and it will go over, she thought. Of course, it will. It must. It always does, doesn´t it? She refused to think of any other outcome. She´ll be good as new in a matter of days. She wasn´t. 

Eventually, she got a couple of gray cells functioning and she did leave. There was no other choice if her condition was to improve. Not very far though. Only to Cumbaya, a valley some 20 minutes cab ride from the city.  A real-life saver as it lies 450 meters (1500 feet) lower than Quito. It was in Cumbaya that she patiently waited for her cat-sit-gig to begin.

The taxi ride back to the city was mentally challenging. The altitude app was only going up up up and up. The Cumbaya stay was a smart move but not smart enough. She should have traveled to even lower altitudes (and stayed there). She was better but not fully recovered. Far from it.

During the 13-day pet-sit stay in Quito, she was in survival mode, exhausted and sleepy. Idle running. Living in a twilight zone somewhere over the rainbow (or rather above clouds). Staying at home most of the time cuddling the kitty. Conveniently she was staying in a residential area on the top of a steep hill, 2844 meters (9339 feet) above the sea, with no grocery shops and no restaurants. Occasionally she had to inch 0.4 miles down the hill to shop and eat but (as not to risk anything) always took a cab back. If she only could ditch that killer mask. Ah, that would be the day. And she was waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Waiting for the day she could leave for lower altitudes. For good this time. She will never find her paradise in Quito. Waterfront in Lima looks lovely. Three days to go.

And the kitty? Sweetest, cuddliest, and most patient kitty in the world that wouldn´t leave her side. Wherever she went the kitty went. Not much of a kitty really but a senior cat with serious medical conditions who required seven meds a day (all of them syringed into the mouth) and liquids every other day that took 10 agonizing minutes to inject. And he hated them all. It was a real challenge. Almost mission impossible for one inexperienced sitter. She managed the meds but needed assistance with the liquids. Not to inject but to hold and pet the cat. All she could think of were meds, meds, and meds anxiously searching Youtube for alternative ways to administrate them, how to hide them, which treats to use, what cat-tv to play for distraction, and what music to play for calmness. Enjoyment for the kitty but stress and anxiety for her. No ideal situation for her already fragile condition. In addition, the kitty loved to sleep on her chest which was not ideal for her lungs. Oh well, no complaints, she asked for it. She got it. The cat loved it and that´s all that mattered. They really bonded. Hopefully, he had the time of his life with this crazy lady, a.k.a. moi. 😉

And the silver lining? Isn´t there always one in every story?

Oh yes, I believe there is one. Maybe even two. After two? three? years of writer´s block I have managed to write this post and enjoyed doing it. Bravo to me. My only hope is it will not take another two years for the next one. Unfortunately, I cannot attach nice Quito pictures – there aren´t any. Spend most of my time at home. Walking was very difficult. Carrying a camera was impossible. 

Then there is also the booster shot. Ecuadorian Health Authorities provided one for me as they did for everybody incl tourists. So generous of them. Much appreciated.

Furthermore, I am hoping that this health emergency, which consequences are far from over, has thought me a lesson. That I, like everybody else, am not invincible. That letting life-saving advice in potentially life-threatening situations slip my mind is not acceptable and right out heights of stupidity, but above all, I am hoping that my stupidity hasn´t caused too much permanent damage … for I fear it wasn´t just altitude sickness I suffered/suffer from but also dyspnea.

Suma Summarum: Maybe, just maybe not all commitments are unbreakable.