The "Her 'Rocks' are out of Alignment" Story

It was an ordinary day. Actually middle of the night. Carol wakes me and tells me something is wrong with her. She is pregnant with our second child and I kind of panic immediately. "What's the matter?" I ask her. She tells me she feels dizzy and half sick in her stomach. I call the Doctor and Carol talks with him on the phone for some time describing her symptoms. After she hangs up she tells me I have to go to the hospital and pick up a prescription. "OK, but what did he say? What do you have?" I ask. Carol replies, "He thinks it's vertigo." "And what is that?" I ask her. She gives me a brief description. I remember when I was in high school hearing about a movie by Alfred Hitchcock called Vertigo, but I had no idea it was an illness. Check on our youngest and off to the hospital for the prescription. Carol takes the medicine after I return and begins to feel better after a short time. Seems vertigo is a type of motion sickness where you feel like you are in motion when you are still. Doctor told her it has something to do with the small "rocks" that are in you inner ear. Somehow she had her rocks knocked around in her ear and it gave her vertigo. She said it gave her nausea and she felt like she had to throw up. She made a trip to the Doctor's office the next day as a precaution, but didn't notice any return of the sickness. Until .... about 30 year later. Carol liked to get up early and jog a few miles around the neighborhood before she showered and got ready for work. Did it for quite a few years after we moved to our new home. One day after jogging she came back to the house and sat on the lounge chair with a glass of water to cool off. I sat down with her before I headed off to work and talked about our plans for supper. Suddenly she didn't look good. She said she was feeling dizzy and had pain in her arm. Called the doctor right away and he said I should take her to the hospital emergency room. Well, I couldn't move her. Every time I tried to help her off the chair she would fall back down into the chair, complaining of nausea. I finally called for the ambulance and they came to take her. She had an awful time getting on the litter, but they eventually got her on it and in the ambulance. I followed it to the hospital and waited until they called me to see her. She was still slightly dizzy, but they had given her some medicine to combat the nausea. Same diagnosis again. Vertigo. Her "rocks" are out of alignment. She eventually went back to see the doctor and he talked to her about a procedure she should try if she notices an onset of vertigo again. Something called the Epley Maneuver. The procedure is as follows:

1. Sit upright.
2. Turn your head to the symptomatic side at a 45 degree angle, and lie on your back.
3. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
4. Turn your head 90 degrees to the other side.
5. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
6. Roll your body onto your side in the direction you are facing; now you are pointing your head nose down.
7. Remain up to 5 minutes in this position.
8. Go back to the sitting position and remain up to 30 seconds in this position.

A few years later, she did notice what she thought was vertigo returning and immediately used the maneuver. Really worked well. We now are prepared for anything that resembles vertigo in hopes of resetting those "rocks" in her inner ear immediately. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.