Emergency Contact Plan [Me]

Yesterday we had a pretty strong scare, but we tested our 'emergency plan', and it worked. In the end, no harm done.

We went to Green Hills Mall after work. All of us love The Container Store, so that was our only planned destination. We went in and spent some money on Lego containers. Very nice. And that's about all I have a clear memory of. The rest is pieced together by several of us.

There is a Lush store in the mall. Lush is full of scents that we are allergic to and should avoid like the plague. But there is a single item that Boss uses and was out of. Somehow, we wandered down to that end of the mall (about as far away from The Container Store as you can get). Maybe just to locate the store and report back to the family? Anyway, we could see the item he needed from the hallway. Apparently the decision was made to rush in, grab it, buy it, and get out. Which worked up until we got to the register and took our first breath.

We managed to pay and exit, and found a bench not far from the store. Dizzy, shallow breathing. Couldn't focus, concentrated on not passing out. Eventually able to stand up and start shuffling toward the other end. I remember thinking that, unless I actually passed out, no one was going to offer to help me. So I needed to get there on my own.

By the exit doors to the parking lot, there is a Panera Bread. We stumbled into the restaurant and collapsed at a table. The air was less scented in there, and no one seemed to mind if we just sat for a while. Something about the major can't-breathe-attack drives all the personalities out, including me. So we really were just kind of a jumbled blank mess without much thought or function.

Eventually we gathered enough function to realize we should call for help. We got out the phone, but dialing was not going to happen. We were able to get to messaging and send some random letters to Boss as a text. He replied back asking if it was a butt-text, and we were able to hit the buttons that made the phone call him. He answered, but we were unable to get any words out at first, just noise and breathing. The phone call worked, though, because after a few minutes Kiara realized she was out. He talked to her until she was all the way out, and talked her through getting a soda.

This is what we planned for emergencies, and it worked. Eventually, she switched back to me and I was able to drive home. So yeah, it was panicky and awful. But the plan worked, and everything was okay.