Lessons learned the hard way
As we enter spring fundraising season as well as cold and flu season I wanted to share an experience I had several years ago in the hopes that someone doesn't make the same mistake that I made. I also realize that you may already know this but here it is. In 2018 or so I did a summer event where the stage was an elevated (very high runway) and this is important because I am terrified of heights. I also had a not so pleasant summer cold. Can we all agree summer colds are the WORST! I wasn't sick enough to find a replacement but I was feeling quite congested. Leading up to the event I did all the things I could think of to either get rid of the cold or to minimize the symptoms. Morning of the event I felt pretty good but still had a cough and congestion, so mid day I decided to take a decongestant to clear everything up. I'm sure you know where this is going. Fast forward to the decongestant doing its job AND in doing the job of clearing up my congestion and cough it also dried up everything else including my mouth! As I walked onto the runway (remember I am afraid of heights) I was scared and it took me a moment to find my balance. As I opened my mouth to speak, my mouth refused to cooperate because it was so dry that it was glued shut! Nerves because of the height issue AND dry mouth because of the decongestant and I had one hell of a time trying to do my job. I had to stop and ask for water but because it was a runway there were no tables or a podium to put my water down, so I had the pleasure of learning how to juggle a mic, water, and my notes, ALL why having the worst cotton mouth I have ever experienced! I realize this could have been condensed to say, don't take a decongestant the day of your event, but I can't pass up on a good story, so here we are. Decongestants sound like a great idea AND they are, but not when you need to speak!