Thanksgiving

[scarfman]

Wednesday night about 23:20 I rolled over in bed, poked my wife and said, "I don't know how else to say this, but I have chest pains and my left arm feels funny." qtrhorserider popped out of bed and insisted on driving me to the E.R. instead of calling 9-1-1.

By the time I got to the car I was sweating too (but I never had any more symptoms than that). When asked by the nurses where my pain was on the scale of one to ten, I said five to seven, because I don't think I'm as sensitive to pain as most people, and I haven't ever had cause to be asked that before, which may be related. After the morphine and the nitro it went down to point five.

I was admitted and taken to the cath lab, where they gave me more good drugs and a cardiologist went in through the groin to remove the blockage. Afterwards he said there had been 99% blockage, but it was removed and now he'd put in a stent. He said, or the E.R. doctor said later or earlier, that a stress test such as I'd taken five years ago would have identified if there were any blockages then, but there's always the chance of existing deposits in the arteries breaking off and creating new ones; which my doctor had stressed at the time, too.

About 01:30 I was moved up into a room, wondering here my wife was. By the time the nurse thought to ask for the cell phone number, it rang just outside the hall; my wife, my dad and his wife (my mom turns her phone off at night) visited for a little while. I had to sleep on my back the first four hours, which isn't usual and didn't work well. But by the time my wife showed up with my laptop at 11:30 I was ready for it.

About 08:00 the nurse gave me five pills, one of which was Lipitor, which says the blockage was cholesterol. I guess that set of pills is to be daily routine from now on.

I left a message for my mom to call me when she got up. Then I was on my phone with my wife when she called. I know Mom would feel best when she heard I sound perfectly normal, but the phone tag went on about half an hour.

More when I know more.

Comments

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Yikes! So glad you're doing well enough to type this up for us yourself.

Hope what more you learn will be reassuring...

[arjuna-lj.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're still in one piece. Take it easy dude.

[acmespaceship.livejournal.com]

Cripes, never a dull moment with you guys, is there? I am reminded of the surgeon who talked to my Dad just before he went under for a bypass. The surgeon took great pains to explain that: "When you wake up, you will be cured. You will feel like hell from the surgery, but you will be healthy." Dad, incidentally, had his bypass at age 70 and died at 88 with no further heart problems.

Or, in the immortal words of Gromit's friend Wallace: "That went as well as could be expected." Any heart attack in the past beats hell out of the heart attack waiting to happen. Happy Thanksgiving and much love from us in the windy city.

[hergrace.livejournal.com]

Gripes Paul! I'm thankful you're safe and relatively sound now. What a way to pass the night/morning! Many hugs, good thoughts and prayers to both of you. x

[fisher-queen.livejournal.com]

Goodness. My best friend went into the hospital this morning with blood clots. What is going ON with my friendlist this Thanksgiving? Hope you're feeling better soon!

[pedanther]

Erk. Not a nice thing to happen, and I'm very glad it wasn't worse. I hope when you know more it's good news.

[omorka.livejournal.com]

Oh, Lawd. Puts my problems right into perspective, that does. Good thoughts for a speedy recovery!

[alienfish.livejournal.com]

*hugs* and resounding well wishes to you. I know it's not a physical thing, but perhaps encouraging at the very least.

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[scythethewicked.livejournal.com]

Sorry you had to spend Thanksgiving in the ER, but Jesus, I'm glad you're okay. It's already being said, but I'm repeating the message: take it easy, and feel better.

[bodybag-pilgrim.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're coming through, which is good. Stay with us a while longer!