Days 1-3

Day 1: Not awful but know that's only because of the grace of God and prayers from friends and family. Nothing of too much interest today but off to a good start.

Day 2: Awful. Running not that bad but morning block about 1.5 hours in I started feeling the heat. I nodded off and only woke up because my head moved. Things were fuzzy and by lunch I wasn't sweating anymore. Afternoon block was outside but in the shade yet I still was having focus issues, drinking mass amounts of water but I didn't seem to be getting any better. Night block I thought would be better and it was in the fact that it was cooler. As we started in on drill things went down hill fast and I was having the same symptoms as the morning even though the sun was no longer up. I talked to Jeanne that night about it and she said it was my decision whether or not I wanted to seethe doctor. After talking with one of the food divas (that is the moms that cook all our food) I decided to call my doctor and ask if the medicine I was on could be the cause of my problems.

Day 3: Woke up still feeling crappy. Ran with the corps but after breakfast called the doctor, they were pretty certain that it wasn't my medicine so I decided to go to a family medicine doctor. After waiting 1.5 hours, finally got in. Vitals mostly normal. When she listened to my heart she said that about every 3rd beat was fast and every 4 beat was slow but it wad consistent. She decided to do a blood test to check for dehydration and an EKG to check my
heart. Blood test showed slight dehydration but my white count was up which meant I had an infection somewhere, so she decided to do a urine test. This showed keystones to which she told me meant I was dehydrated so nothing she didn't expect. EKG showed the same thing she had sad when she was listening to my heart. She said that it was most likely my heart beat coupled with an electrolyte imbalance, that was accenting the affect of heat exhaustion borderline heatstroke. She told me to drink lots and lots of Gatorade to regain imbalance in my system. Also she said that I shouldn't be doing anything else the rest of the day, which when she told me I got really bad chest pains. Oh the irony. And if I was still having these symptoms Saturday and Sunday to come back in but that if I stopped sweating again and was dizzy that I should go to the ER. When I got back to the school I had to stay inside rest of the day and all sectionals were outside. Practiced music. Postured. Etc. About 8:30, I didn't even recognize my own handwriting, and anxiety of being behind started to set in. I sat in the room by myself trying not to cry and practice some more. Finally I got up and went and found the food divas because I just needed to talk to someone. I cried a lot but I still wasn't able to get it all out. I feel like I can't let anyone see me cry because I'm older and I need to set an example and be strong, and I also feel a bit of pressure because I'm the only girl on the battery and I have to perform like one of the guys thus crying isn't a part of that. I finally started feeling better about 10pm but by then it was time for bed.

Hopefully tomorrow will go well, we are moving housing sites and performing in Austin for a standstill. Prayers and thoughts are much appreciated. Also notes or letters are very beneficial to my well-being.:) The address is: ​

Clara Turk C/O Forte Drum & Bugle Corps,
​7212 Ruenda, Grand Prarie, TX 75054

Thanks and Gig'em
Clara Turk
Fightin' Texas Aggie c/o '12 A-WHOOP!