GROSSMONT COLLEGE –Barely had the first week of school begun when I collapsed around 8:30 a.m. in the morning at the Health and Science Department.

I hadn’t been up that early for a class since my final day of high school last June. Whatever I’d been feeling on that Tuesday morning I tried to ignore. I was in my English morning class thinking I was  “feeling fine” and just like that,  all of a sudden I found yourself light-headed and desperately wanting to go back to bed or just get in a much more comfortable setting than that of a classroom.

After being allowed to leave the room, I was visited by a Grossmont nurse and a staff police officer/  I told them I didn’t eat my breakfast but I was certain I was well enough to make it through the rest of the class and,  in theory, the rest of my day.

Apparently I had insufficient fluids in me. After leaving the classroom on my own,  I again nearly fainted, I fell off the staircase.  Luckily, I did not hit my head to the relief of many well-wishing bystanders. The next thing I saw were paramedics coming to escort me to the Kaiser Permanente Hospital.

According to a doctor there, it is not always possible to get to the “bottom” of what causes these fainting episodes;  however, I personally attribute it to not having eaten breakfast that morning.

Luckily for me, my health and for that matter my parent’s money and insurance plan withstood the little drama, and within three hours I was back at my house, spending the balance of the day resting like I should have from the beginning.

This event has reminded me of the importance of eating healthy and having a well balanced breakfast everyday.

I shall remember it as one my wildest starts to school following a vacation or break.

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Burke is a reporter for the GC Summit. He may be contacted at [email protected]