Onset
I was due to give a sales pitch to some customers in Budapest on Tuesday. I had arrived a day early with presentation in hand. The only thing that could possibly go wrong was me. As I was early I thought I’d sit in on a couple of other talks before showing up for dinner later that evening. Two very polished presentations later my appetite had deserted me.
Relatively new to the company my presentation would clearly need work to bring it up to a level comparable with the two I had just listened to. I wasn’t overly concerned, I had the rest of the day and if necessary the evening to improve up on what I already had.
I was back in my room by 3pm thinking I would be done and dusted well in time for dinner. By 10pm I was feeling quite anxious as I answered a call to my room and found myself apologising for not attending dinner. My only concern was concluding a presentation that would hold up to scrutiny the following morning.
Several hours later I’d all but done. I was not due to give my talk until 11am, a good night’s rest was all that was needed. I laid back and awaited the slow tick tock necessary for sleep to rescue me from my thoughts. I tried to relax but my mind was still racing. It was during this time that I first noticed the early signs of a headache. A couple of paracetamol later I again laid back in the hope I’d soon be asleep.
Roughly an hour had passed since I first tried to sleep, some 45 minutes since I’d taken the headache tablets. My mind had stopped racing by now but the pain, far from subsiding was growing in intensity. More worryingly I was now experiencing additional pain that was giving me some cause for concern.
- Discomfort in the right hand side of my throat, intensified when swallowing
- Severe toothache occupied all the thoughts of my right hand molars
- A strong sensation of pressure behind my right eye as if it was being pushed outwards
- Most painful was a stabbing sensation
It was now 1am and I was seriously thinking about calling for help.