Chad: Hey bro, do you wanna go to a bitchin' tattoo convention in Colorado in September?
Me: HELLS TO THE YES I DO!
Chad: Sweet! It is on!
At this point, it has been over a year since I had been to a convention, so I am super stoked. For the next couple of months, the excitement builds and builds to the point where I feel like a 6 year old boy waiting for Christmas to get here already. Chad and Jeff are pumped for some awesome seminars at the con and I'm excited to get a new tattoo and see some incredible artists...Bob Tyrrell, Jeremy Miller, Tony Ciavarro, Nikko Hurtado and tons more. It's gonna be incredible!
Finally, the day has come,we are driving to the Nashville airport and the adventure has begun. On the way there I remember remarking about how cheap the plane tickets were. After getting to the gate and boarding the plane, I realized why that was. It was the tiniest plane ever. Who cares!? I'm just ready to be chilling in the mountains surrounded by my tattooed brethren. After a short flight, we land in Denver and rent a car (which was a bunch of horseshit in itself) to drive to Keystone, which is about an hour and a half away.
WE MADE IT!!!!! We get checked in to our ballin' ass condo and we are ready to straight chill.
This was our house for the weekend
The convention didn't start 'til the next day, so we got some booze and relaxed that night. We got up on Friday and got some food and headed to the venue. The place was huge and there was tons of stuff to see, so we walked around and checked everything out. Now it was time for new ink. WOOT! Chad got set up and we started on it mid afternoon...four and a half-ish hours later...
So, that night I was super tired and dragging ass and the altitude was taking effect on my fatness. I made a valiant effort to party, but I just couldn't do it. I headed back to the condo and went to sleep. The next morning, I woke up feeling like I had a cold, maybe even the flu. Not good times. So, I decided to stay in and take some medicine. Surely it will pass and I can enjoy this weekend, right? WRONG! I felt worse by the hour. I was feverish and my chest was congested and I felt all around weak...this sucks! I couldn't sleep more than two hours at a time and I was all out of sorts. That night, I actually felt a little better and there was a glimmer of hope for Sunday....negative. I woke up Sunday in a panic because I could hardly breathe and I was sweating profusely. I caught my breath after what seemed like an eternity and tried gathering my thoughts. I thought maybe a shower would make me feel better. Boy, was I wrong. I got dizzy and almost passed out in the shower, so I decided I needed medical attention. I texted Chad and Jeff and let them know shit was serious and waited for a response before I called an ambulance. Well, Rogina and Nancy were right downstairs and came to the rescue. They called the medical staff at the resort and they rushed over. After realizing my blood oxygen level was at 60%, they told me to get to the hospital. Once we got there, they took me right back to a room. I was then diagnosed with High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. Scary stuff. Look it up. Anyway, they put me on high flow oxygen for several hours and told me to get back to Denver ASAP, as the altitude is much lower there. I was sent on my way with oxygen tanks, looking like a 93 year old emphysema patient. It was a total bummer.
So, what started as an adventure to Colorado, ended in a near death experience and a hefty emergency room bill. It is, however, the reason I quit smoking, so there is a silver lining.
I didn't think I would kick off this blog with a serious story, but that's how it worked out I guess. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section and I will gladly answer. Until next time...CHEERS!
For what ever reason, seeing Chad cary the oxygen tanks is very funny to me..
ReplyDeleteI agree. It looks like some shenanigans are about to occur.
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