Usually I do not spend much time out of my room because of my old age, but as it was my grandson’s birthday I had to sit out the whole afternoon in our yard. I was looking for some shade but did not find any such place. I turned on the table fan and I felt cold water running down on one side of my face, but when I touched, it wasn’t wet. I started feeling dizzy with a hint of nausea. I consulted my doctor that evening and he told me these are symptoms of a heatstroke. I never sit out in the sun now and always make sure that I drink a lot of water before going out.

A few months back, I was coming back from our native place alone, when my car broke down. I tried to get it started but could not make a difference. My home was not very far from there and it hardly took half an hour to reach by car. So, I overestimated myself a bit and started walking home leaving my car behind because I had already called our mechanic. It was a tough task, I had no water with me and it was extremely hot and humid. By the time I got home, my shoulders and back were throbbing with pain. I could not even move my neck from one side to the other. This foolish action of mine made me spend a week in the hospital, and still sometimes, I have hallucinations of that incident. I never move out alone anymore and always carry a friend or my wife along with me for journeys.

I am a 16 year old and I am a member of the school’s marching band. Every summer our school organizes this march around the streets in our neighborhood in the sweltering heat. It is not much of a problem though because we have water breaks and also sprinklers at times. But on 9/5/11 I suffered my first heat stroke while I was marching in the hot weather. I was doing my marching but it kept getting more difficult and intense. I sat down in front of a fan to cool me down but that did not work either. I thought maybe it was some weakness due to lack of food so I had my lunch but that just made it worse. My stomach started hurting and I also had a terrible headache. I passed out and found myself in a nearby hospital when I woke up. My parents had also arrived by then and it all looked serious. But things were under control then and they told me that it was a heat stroke. The timely action of my fellow band members might just have saved my life, it was an experience of a lifetime.

I was on a holiday with my friend at a beach when I had first experienced a heat stroke. I did a few basic mistakes and was almost inviting such a situation. I had heavy drinks with my friend in the sun, at night I did feel a bit uneasy but I went on with another round of beer. In the middle of the night I woke up as if somebody had been strangling me, my chest was contracting and I could not even breathe freely. I rushed to the washroom as I felt I am going to throw up, which I did so violently. My body went cold and I started feeling absolutely numb. But after I sat down for a while and had a glass of water, I felt better. The next I stayed out of range of both the sun and alcohol. It was a nightmarish experience.

On a sunny summer morning, I was out in the market buying vegetables and groceries. It was extremely hot and humid. I felt some dizziness but did not bother about it much because I have a low blood pressure problem. I went home and started cooking when I felt a sudden increase in this dizziness. I had a throbbing headache as I dragged myself to get some cold water from the other room to drink. But I could hardly move a few steps before my chest started to tighten and I felt nauseated, I threw up at once. Now I could hear noises in my ear and everything was going out of focus. I even tried to reach my phone but could not see it because my vision was so blurred. My hands were also in an awkward cramped position that I could not even hold the phone receiver properly. I somehow managed to call 911 and got some medical attention. I first had an MRI, which turned out to be alright and then some other tests proved that it was a heatstroke. It was a very close call, I now take great care to maintain my body fluid levels no matter what and always carry at least two water bottles in my car.