…as I was saying, retirement was going swimmingly as of late May. Then, my family and I all contracted a nasty upper respiratory infection. This was no ordinary cold, but one that lasts a full two weeks. Somehow my son got through his finals week with it but took two full weeks to recover. I then got it and managed to move him home from college on Day 1 with the help of my brother. Then, the following weekend I had to get my son to his big concert performance about an hour away. I was on Day 9 of the URI by now so figured I’d be ok. And, for those wondering…no it wasn’t COVID or flu or RSV. Swabs were all negative.

My son’s concert was amazing. He’s a percussionist with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and a composer. They played his newest piece, Desolate Wonder, and it was awesome.

The following day, despite feeling a bit tired, I went to a lunch with some dear retired nurse friends, one of whom flew in from Texas. Just as I sat down to lunch I knew I was having a mito energy crash. I started vomiting and was short of breath at rest. This continued so I asked a friend to take me to the nearest ER (party was 45 min from home). I received IV fluids and IV anti nausea meds and was sent home.

The following day it hit again as I became nauseated and very weak after a shower. My husband took me to my PCP follow up visit but by this point I felt terrible. My doctor took one look at me and had his staff wheel me to ER immediately.

In the ER they found my lactate was elevated and I again received 2 more liters of IV fluid plus IV antibiotics since I still had significant sinus symptoms. I’ll spare you the ER details, but suffice to say it was not fun.

The following day I rested all day but did not feel great. The day after that (Thursday, May 28, 2026), my husband took me to pick up my car from Monday’s party as it was still there. This proved to be a critical error in judgment on my part.

I somehow drove the 45 minutes home but was really not feeling well at all. As soon as I got home I walked up to my bathroom and started vomiting. I was also extremely weak as the climb up the two flights of stairs sucked every last bit of energy from me. Mitochondrial myopathy is a disease of energy production and apparently my “low battery” alarm is vomiting and weakness.

After about 45 min of almost nonstop vomiting my husband and son and I agreed to have them just call 911 as I could barely walk, was vomiting nonstop, and had some new chest pain and shortness of breath. We live in a fairly urban area just down the street from a fire station so they were here very quickly. By this point I couldn’t even walk so they got me down the stairs in a safety chair. The movement from that exacerbated the vomiting but I willed myself to stay conscious as I thought I was going to pass out. By this time the ambulance was waiting and I was taken to my local Kaiser hospital for the 3rd ER visit of the week and 2nd one at this hospital in 3 days.

Because I arrived by ambulance I was quickly assessed, IVs were placed and fluids given rapidly along with multiple IV anti-nausea meds. It took 3 different meds to stop the vomiting. I was taken for CT to rule out a bowel issue or infection and x-ray to rule out pneumonia. My labs were mostly normal but lactic acid was likely high as it wasn’t drawn until after a liter of fluid and was high normal then. My cardiac enzymes bumped slightly from the demand as well.

I will spare the other ER details, but suffice to say it’s always a good idea to ensure you have decent undergarments on as you never know who will see them. lol!

This time the hospital team agreed to admit me to continue IV fluids and keep an eye on labs. I finally received a room at close to midnight and was able to get some broken sleep between nurse check.

The following morning I still felt terrible so they agreed I would stay one more night. Two close nurse friends visit and one brought me a Stan’s donut (IYKYK) that I was too sick to even eat!

I continued receiving anti-nausea meds and was able to eat a regular dinner so things were improving. I woke up on Saturday 5/30, still feeling nauseous do they gave me another bolus of IV fluid and more nausea medication plus IV calcium as my levels were low.

I was able to walk around and eat lunch so they released me later that afternoon.

I am now home and trying to recover. I have periods where I start to feel ok, and others of severe nausea and profound weakness. I’m learning to pace and using a shower chair to conserve energy. My husband has taken over the cooking duties in addition to all the house chores, despite now also being sick with the same URI.

This week I’m going in for IV fluids M-W-F as an outpatient and somehow managed to vote in person on Monday.

I’m not sure what a full recovery will look like or if it’s even possible as many with this disease experience a rapid deterioration just like I did and don’t always recover. At a minimum it’ll take weeks to months. I’m not being dramatic, just real. If you are able to stay active-do it! You never know where things will lead. Three weeks ago I was working up to one hour hikes. Now taking a shower is a huge accomplishment.

Sports definitely taught me the importance of grit and determination but there’s no pushing through a body that cannot make enough ATP (go review the Kreb’s cycle) to sustain things. It’s more about pacing and once recovered about slowly building back up. I’ve done hard things but this is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with.

The symptoms I deal with are mostly muscle pain/stiffness/cramping, fatigue, GI, and some endocrine/metabolic. With this new flare I’ve also had some brain fog and that is scary. Those that know me know I have a memory like an elephant!

Hugs to all my friends and family! I couldn’t get through this without your help and support.