What Is This Feeling So Sudden And New?

[OblivionWalker 390]

As Slava listened to their coach going over the drill that they would be working on in practice today, he couldn't shake a strange feeling that seemed to be creeping over him, like his limbs were starting to become leaden, heavy, slow. He'd never known a sensation like this before and wasn't sure what to make of it.

 

Was he sick? Did he need some air? He wasn't sure and there must have been something strange his face was doing because when Nathan Ecker glanced back at him, he stared for a moment. "Dude, are you okay?" he whispered, and Slava had just enough time to shake his head no before the world went sideways and then completely black.

 

The next thing he knew, he was half reclined on someone (he could feel their knees pressing against his shoulders and there were some smelling salts right under his nose. "Ugh." he groaned, his eyes opening as he was trying to turn his head away from the powerful aroma.

 

"Sorry kid but you need to smell them." King Kisslinger said bracingly and that's whom Slava happened to be resting against at the moment. "You were white a sheet and just keeled right over. Nathan and I were able to keep you from hitting the deck, but you need to smell those salts and get your brain right again."

 

The smelling salts were pretty awful, but if that's what Slava needed to do to prove that he was awake again then so be it. Had he fainted? Like actually? He must have, if he'd gone from standing up to literally laying down on the ice with the entire team gathered around him.

 

After taking a few good whiffs, they were finally moved away from his face, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Do you think you can sit up?" Nathan asked and Slava considered that for a moment.

 

"I can try." he said honestly and with King's help, he was eased into a sitting position that he was perfectly able to maintain on his own. Was that what fainting felt like? Slava had no words to describe it, no frame of reference for it until now. He'd never experienced feeling that weird in his life and he never wanted to again, honestly.

 

"Do you have a history of fainting?" their coach asked, and Slava shook his head slowly, trying not to move very much. He still felt off but definitely not like before.

 

"No, this is the first time this has ever happened to me." he said honestly, and the coach patted his shoulder in what Slava figured was meant to be a soothing gesture.

 

"Well hopefully we have some answers for you soon. The team doctor is on his way to the arena as we speak and he'll want to take a good look at you, maybe even have some blood tests run."

 

Slava wrinkled his nose. He hated needles with a passion but if that was what needed to happen in order to understand what in the hell had just happened to him, he would deal with it.

 

King and Nathan helped him up to his feet, slowly, heading over to the door off the ice with his arms around them. He was okay and holding steady, but Slava knew it was a precaution because if he bit it again with no one else around him, he could seriously hurt himself on a surface as hard as ice. He wasn't going to protest or give anybody a hard time. If anything, he was just grateful for the help.

 

They took him to the small medical section and got him into a chair. Ahsoka came in with a bottle of orange juice for him in case it was something like a blood sugar low and Slava took his time, sipping the entire bottle. He definitely felt better, and the others seemed to be easing up too.

 

"At least there's some color in your face now. You were as white as the case for my airpods." Nathan joked weakly and Slava winced. He of course had heard about how pale people could get sometimes and "stark white" wasn't a good look for anybody.

 

"I never want to feel that weird again in my life." he said fervently and the team doctor, Doctor Wallace, chuckled from the doorway.

 

"Well hopefully we can figure out what's going on with you, Mr. Kovalenko. Everybody else out."

 

The rest of the team filed out and after a cursory examination, Doctor Wallace seemed inclined to think that it was indeed low blood sugar and sent an order for Slava to go Harborview Medical Center to get some blood drawn to check his A1C levels.

 

"Sometimes big fellas like you have to really be careful when it comes to what and how often you eat." the doctor told him. "If you're used to smaller portions, it can feel like you're overeating, but you need more to keep you going. As soon as the results come in, I'll call you. For right now, someone is going to go with you to Harborview and then get you home. Rest, make sure you hydrate and definitely eat something."

 

With Nathan at his side, Slava headed over to Harborview, got his blood drawn (which thankfully didn't take long, and the technician was very good, it only pinched a little) and then back to his apartment.

 

At first, Slava wasn't sure all the fuss was necessary but when the chills hit a couple hours later, he was glad he was at home. He curled up under a large Mississauga Hounds fleece blanket his baba had made him when he'd been drafted by the team and even ended up dozing off for a couple hours.

 

Mindful of his instructions, Slava drank a lot of water and also tried to eat a very balanced lunch with plenty of protein and fiber and vegetables.

 

Doctor Wallace called him in the midafternoon, as Slava was dozing through "Fellowship of the Ring", one of his comfort movies.

 

"Your A1C is low." he said immediately as soon as Slava answered. "Probably has been on the decline for a little while and it finally caught up to you. The team dietician is going to come up with some meal plans for you and send them over. Fortunately, this is something we can correct right away and there's no reason it has to interfere with your life. I'm going to recommend that you keep some snacks and juice, maybe even some of those protein shakes in a bottle at the bench so you can have something mid game."

 

It was a sound suggestion and Slava made note of some things to buy to have on hand at home.

 

"Fainting can feel really scary but fortunately there's nothing seriously wrong with you. We'll get this squared away."

 

"Thanks, doc." Slava said gratefully.

 

"We'll get you on the meal plan and then, if nothing else happens, check you in three months and see where you are. Everything willing, you'll be at normal."

 

With that settled, Slava managed to stay awake for "The Two Towers" and was a quarter of the way through "The Return of the King" when his phone notifications started going crazy and he frowned, pausing the movie.

 

He groaned as soon as he saw the news headlines. Someone had found out about his fit. Wonderful.

 

(word count: 1236)

Edited Tuesday at 12:30 AM by OblivionWalker

[Banackock 8,582]

[OblivionWalker 390]

9 hours ago, Banackock said:

Aka what happened to me at work on Sunday.