Severe Dehydration & Small Stroke Sharon is fine I’m a strong Dakota Woman.

I don’t usually share the details of my health concerns, but last week I ended up in the hospital because of severe dehydration. I’m using Facebook to share what I believe is important information, perhaps especially for the elders but also to others who don’t know how bad severe dehydration can be. I did not know.
I’ve had a long month and been very ill and did not know how sick I was. I had no high temperature, oxygen was fine pulse was fine. It started with a cold, then diarrhea for 26 days. I continued to work at MMDC, but started to feel weak. I rested some but then I was off and running again. After having diarrhea for 5 days I went to the doctor who told me to buy something over the counter for the diarrhea, eliminate wheat from my diet and then come back in 5 days if not better. Unfortunately I never went back, I was too busy. All this changed on Dec 11, my husband’s Al’s birthday. (He’s been gone for 13 years now.) He was watching over me. I had been in bed since the Christmas party and toy drive, but on Thursday the 11th around 1:00pm as I was driving to Target I got chest pains and it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I became so weak and dizzy I thought it better to skip Target and go straight to the emergency room. When I walked in to the packed ER room, they got me into a wheel chair and took me straight back.
Once I was at the hospital I could not pee and had no diarrhea for 23 hours. Things were not looking good. They admitted me and said I was severely dehydrated from the diarrhea and it took 11 pints of fluid to bring me back to normal. My kidneys, heart and liver were on the verge of shutting down and they also found an infection in my intestines. I was put on a heart monitor for 5 day. I didn’t know how close to death I was. If I had waited to go in even a few more days I may not be here to write this. PLEASE if you get diarrhea more than 4 or 5 days go to the doctor because it can be life threatening! Like I’ve said before, you can’t keep a Dakota woman down, but this scared the heck out of me! LOL. Thanks for listening, as I don’t want anyone to go thru what I have. It’s too dangerous and all because I didn’t listen to my body until it was almost too late. I thank the Creator every day. I love all of you. Happy Holidays, stay safe and well. Love Sharon Lennartson