In a Heart Beat

It is amazing what we take for granted, like the easy task of taking a simple breath.

Friday afternoon at work I was kidding with my boss and said that I felt that I was getting sick and I didn't think that I would be making it to work Monday morning. After all the forecast was sunny and warm, what better way to spend a sunny and warm day than riding my Harley.

I had plans on mowing the lawn Saturday morning and then getting the sprinkler system running for the year. After that I was going to go for a nice trip around the area on the bike. Oh was that about to change.

Saturday morning at 5:30 I awoke with a pain in my chest, a pain intense enough to give me a sense that there was something wrong. In the groggy state of waking and still able to analyze my situation, I was trying to find my pulse on my wrist then my neck and all along thinking that I am to young and ornery to have a heart attack.

With all my wrestling around in bed Nancy woke and asked if I was okay, to which I stated that I was having a hard time finding my pulse, so she calmly took my wrist and said it is still there and just as slow as usual. "I said well at least I'm still alive." I told her that I was having a hard time breathing and had a pain in my chest.

I then got out of bed and came to the computer room to read emails and look up what a pain in the chest indicated. I felt like someone or something was sitting on my chest and I couldn't take a breath. As I investigated my situation, I thought; "Okay what if you are having a heart attack, are you going to let Nancy find you slumped over the keyboard, why not go and let someone that knows what they are doing surmise your situation." So I went and told her I guess that we should go to the hospital. She quickly got dressed and we left.

We arrived at the emergency room and I thought oh goody now I get to sit here in this emergency room and wait with all these others. I went up to first person I saw that looked like they knew what to do, (I don't go to the Dr or hospital enough to know the proper procedure) and said "I'm having chest pains." To which I was given this response: "Please have a seat." great I knew this would happen.

The person at the desk was asking for my name and insurance information, when this woman ( the same one that told me to have a seat) with a wheeled chair ( not really a wheelchair) came up and told me to get in and I left Nancy with my wallet and started down the hall to a room.

In the room all sorts of people were coming in and asking over and over again "On a scale of 1 to 10 describe the severity of the pain." probing and plugging me into machines and inserting sharp pointed things into my arms (some were not as practiced as others). Asking about history of heart problems in my family, too which I said that my mother had a case of pericarditis several years ago. That didn't seem to impress anybody.

The consensus was that I was having a heart attack so they were going to give me some nitroglicern, but couldn't because my heart rate was to low, so they were waiting for the rate to increase. I had one EKG already so they wanted to take another for comparison. So they started sticking all of these patches on my body, and hooking me up to more wires. After the second one they felt that they needed a better look to find out the cause of the pain.

So these two guys came in and said that they were the heart catheter guys and took me to another room, (the only way I can describe these men is everyday Joes)at this time I was laid out on the bed facing the ceiling and all I had to look as was the passing of various ceiling tiles. I had absolutely no idea as to the location I was taken.

These everyday Joes told me they were going to give me a heart catheter to see what was going on. They forgot to tell me that a third guy was going to shave some very private parts of my body. They also neglected to say anything about hand restraints. That was the last thing I remember until waking up in another room. (Where? I have no idea.)

Finally the doctor came into tell me the diagnosis. He said that I did not have a heart attack but they felt that it was some kind of reflux or esophageal spasm. I didn't quite agree but then again I am not a doctor. but just an electrician.

For the rest of the day I spent in and out of sleep. With machines beeping and fluids running thru tubes into my veins. My wonderful wife by my side along with my mother and my kids to visit. The pain was still in my chest and no relief to speak of, the nurses still asking the dreaded question "On a scale of 1 to 10 how is your pain now?" I kept asking to see Dr. House because I knew that he would find the cause of my pain.

The nurse that was taking care of me her name was Angie, was very nice and had a very good beside manor although I don't believe that I was a very good patient. Angie told me at one time I would be spending the night at the hospital, then later said that they thought they would send me home around 7:00 that evening. Still later she came in to say that they were going to let me go home around 3:30 that afternoon, still not sure what was the real problem.

They thought that they would take another EKG just to see if the results were the same, they were not. So then they gave me an intraveineous shot of turatol and what do you know I could breath again and felt like a different person.

Finally the Dr. came in (not Dr. House but Dr. Harms) and said that they came to the conclusion that I had pericarditis, they don't know exactly what causes it but I will tell you this it hurts like.... well you get the picture. The good news is that with the heart catheter they discovered that my coronary arteries and the heart itself are pristine (their term not mine).

So they discharged me at 4:00 that afternoon with a prescription for a strong anti-inflammatory, and a strong caution not to lift anything over 5lbs and no motorcycle rides for the next three to four days. I felt so much better, I still couldn't take a deep breath but my goodness I could at least breath normally with out pain.

I spent the next few hours being cared for by my beautiful wife, talking to friends and family and enjoying the life that I do live. Then came bedtime, I took my prescribed dose of medicine and as I laid down on the bed I told Nancy "I don't know if I can sleep here tonight" because the pain of laying down flat was hurting pretty bad.

What a difference a night can make, this morning I woke with out pain and feeling that I could do what ever I wanted. Thank goodness that I have a caring wife because she reminded me what the doctor had said about no rides today. Oh well there will be other days of which I am now sure of. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Ephesians 4:7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

===Skid===