MONDAY BLEW UP BUT MY HEART'S JUST FINE

 

My Monday blew up big-time and I’m not referring to the wind storm we had. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had three episodes of chest pain, the first being the worst. I made the mistake late Sunday afternoon of sending my doctor an email asking, “Should I have called 911 when this happened?” followed by, “Should I call 911 if it happens again?” I also included my blood pressure reading from the episode that afternoon.

Well, after emails and phone calls, the medical consensus was I should report to Urgent Care on Capital Hill for evaluation. Okay, fine. I took myself there expecting to spend a few hours…NOT TWO DAYS!!!

The first indication I could be there for a while was when they hooked me up to an IV, blood pressure cuff and one of those beeping heart monitors. Blood was taken and I was asked repeatedly, “How do you feel?” Fine was always my answer because I did feel just fine. “Do you have any pain?” No was always my answer because there was none. I mean, really, I FELT JUST FINE!!!!

Several hours later I was told I would be transferred to Swedish Cherry Hill hospital. “Excuse me? Why?” I was told I needed an echocardiogram and a stress test and those could only be performed in the hospital. As soon as a bed opened up, I’d be taken there.

Well, crap, just crap. What about my car? What about my dog? So, I called
AJ who called his brother Thor. They both came to see me when Thor brought AJ to retrieve my car. I’m lucky they’re both available days on Mondays. They stayed for a while, their behavior more reminiscent of pre-pubescent boys than men, but they amused me. Haley agreed to stay overnight with Kuma…in the dark no less.

Now, began more tests and x-rays. I don’t know how much blood they eventually drew from me, but it was through the IV which, unfortunately had to be moved. The first poke didn’t bruise, the second poke gave me an orange-sized purple mark and the third worked and when removed only left a small red mark. I honestly don’t know how many tests they did, but I spent about thirty minutes looking at all of them this morning and trying to decipher some of the lingo.

All this while waiting for a bed at Swedish Cherry Hill. The result of this wait is that I spent the night in the Urgent Care room. This actually worked out, however, because the decision was made to do the stress test in Urgent Care. I didn’t even have to walk a treadmill. They did it via some medication which makes your heart rate increase. This test was preceded by the injection of some stuff and some kind of imaging. The young man who took me down to radiology drove my wheelchair fast…the most fun I had the whole time. Then came the injection of the get the heart rate up stuff and an EKG during the four minutes or so the med works. A bit later, another fast…and fun…trip to radiology for another set of images.

Finally, the woman who is now my cardiologist…aren’t I the lucky girl to have one of my very own…came down to see me. The end result of all the tests is that I have a small blockage, i.e., the blood still gets through to my heart, just not as much as possible when my blood pressure goes up. At this point in time…and never I hope…there’s no need for an angiogram or any kind of surgery. We’ll treat it with medication that will expand my blood vessels, remove cholesterol from my gut and who knows what else. I’ll be more knowledgeable about the meds once they arrive in the mail and I can read the accompanying information. It looks like, however, that I’ve now gone from four prescription medications to eight…better living through chemistry, right.

There will also be a cardiac nurse who will call me every Monday afternoon for a month to talk about how I’m doing and get my blood pressure readings for the week. About the only thing on the list of what I need to change would be my diet in a big-time way. It’s not that I eat a lot of junk, meat or bad stuff, but I do like my weekly steak, my cheeses and my little tot of gin. We’ll see how all that goes once the phone calls begin later this month.

I do have to give all the doctors, nurses and technicians who took care of me during my stay a big high five. They were all exemplary, very kind and helpful and I highly recommend Kaiser’s Urgent Care and its staff.

So, let this serve as a lesson to you readers…be careful what you ask your doctor. And okay, I know it’s better safe than sorry; better to know than to be stupidly unaware, etc., etc., etc. Still, I had other plans for Monday and Tuesday that didn’t include a two-day long visit to Urgent Care.