{"id":4314,"date":"2021-12-28T01:52:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T21:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onewaytickettoparadise.com\/?p=4314"},"modified":"2023-06-21T09:37:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T13:37:25","slug":"crazy-lady-and-not-her-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onewaytickettoparadise.com\/crazy-lady-and-not-her-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Crazy Lady and (not) Her Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
When the invincible becomes “vincible”<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n
It is not as if she has never heard of altitude.<\/p>\r\n
It is not as if she has never heard of altitude sickness.<\/p>\r\n
It is not as if she didn\u00b4t know of the importance of altitude acclimatization.<\/p>\r\n
It is not …<\/p>\r\n
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?<\/p>\r\n
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Yet, only a few years ago, while visiting a “mere” mile-high city of Denver (5,130\u20135,690 ft \u2013 1,564\u20131,734 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 \u2013 a plan that was sadly crushed by COVID.<\/p>\r\n
She wasn’t going to let it happen again \u2013 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 \u2013 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…<\/p>\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n
If you play with fire you can get burnt<\/h2>\r\n
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Altitude sickness can be life-threatening<\/strong> \r\nDon\u00b4t play with fire – Take the following steps<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
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Train high-altitude breathing techniques prior to departure. Search Youtube<\/li>\r\n\t
There are some pills you can start taking prior to arrival. Search for them<\/li>\r\n\t
Take it very easy after arrival<\/li>\r\n\t
Use sunscreen. You\u00b4re some 3000 meters closer to the sun. The last thing you want is to get sunstroke on top of altitude sickness<\/li>\r\n\t
Wear a hat\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t
Drink liters of water<\/li>\r\n\t
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<\/li>\r\n\t
Eat dark chocolate<\/li>\r\n\t
Eat carbs<\/li>\r\n\t
Take Paracetamol for headaches<\/li>\r\n\t
Buy Glaucomed Acetazolamida for altitude sickness, take one in the morning and one in the evening<\/li>\r\n\t
Some 5-star hotels provide both matte de coca and oxygen. Some have even inhouse doctor<\/li>\r\n\t
Do not drink alcohol<\/li>\r\n\t
Descent to a lower altitude<\/li>\r\n\t
Alternatively, in rare situations depending on your condition, go higher up and then descent to where you were<\/li>\r\n\t
Visit a doctor.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t
Get an altitude app so that you know exactly how high you are. Always fun to have. I use “My Elevation”<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n
Free Coca leaves in an airport in Peru to help with altitude sickness. Photo: unknown<\/span><\/p><\/div>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n
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\u00b4s 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.<\/p>\r\n
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\u00b4t 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\u00b4t 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).<\/p>\r\n
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\u00b4t find in the supermarket. To compensate for that she bought two bars of dark chocolate.<\/p>\r\n
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\u00b4t 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\u00b4t control it. So she stayed up. (Could it be a glimpse of how covid sufferers feel?) Awful stuff and very scary. She didn\u00b4t sleep for three nights.<\/p>\r\n