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A Cautionary Tale About Heart Disease-Wednesday 21, 2011

A Cautionary Tale About Heart Disease

Quandary

I was safe in my car but a bit anxious and in a state of panic. My thoughts were to get home, home was safe. With a forty minute drive ahead of me, my mind vacillated in between reality and denial. I wasn't thinking I had a heart problem, just a little stress from the party. As I approached my home, the burning subsided.  Scenes from the party flashed through my mind and I decided I needed to do some shopping. Yes, shopping always perks me up and so I headed to one of my favorite stores. I felt tired, but the burning was minimal and I kept thinking it would go away. I just needed to get my mind on other things. Keep busy.

So, I lingered and wandered through the store, picking up various year end presents for key people at school who helped me through-out the year.  I was in no rush and I found some totally appropriate and unusual gifts.: a bling calculator, a ceramic box with lid intricate patterns from India, notecards and a teapot. This was my favorite gift for a friend who has never had real tea brewed in a teapot. Can you imagine tea lovers?  There are people who use the microwave to brew tea? I know an absolute travesty to tea?  Yuck, it sends chills down my spine. LOL

Of course, I wasn't done. I had to look at shoes for myself and linens. These were totally non-essential and I was drawn to different items as I drifted down each aisle.  I took a few clothes to the fitting room to try on and that was when I started to worry.  I was annoyed by the return of that burning pain and along with it, I now I felt clammy and dizzy.  At this point, I knew I needed to leave the store, if I could. I thought about leaving the cart full of intended gifts and whispered, "No I really  I needed to get these."   I stepped up to the  the checkout desk and paid for my things. As I look back, this was a bad decision

I rushed to my car and thought, I should go to the hospital. I don't feel well. If this ever happens to you, don't wait. Just go. I on the other hand was still in denial about any heart problem and so my first concern before driving to the hospital was to let my dogs out and feed them dinner.  So I headed home, a 5 minute drive. By the time I got to the driveway I was sick and disoriented, but I managed to grab one bag of purchases and stumbled up my walkway. 

I greeted my dogs at the top of the stairs who were jumping and overjoyed to see me. Of course it could also have been they knew it was time to eat. I walked down a flight of stairs to let them out in their fenced area, a must with greyhounds.  I walked slowly back up the stairs to prepare their dinner and then another trip down the stairs to let them back in. I was totally wiped. I felt drained of energy and the burning started again. I didn't want to move but I had to take them out once they had eaten. I took them downstairs again,  hurried them back inside, walked back upstairs and collapsed in a chair.

A thought to call 911 did cross my mind. However, I recalled the last time I called an ambulance and that time it took them over an hour to find my house. It's not like I live in a forest deep in the woods like those out of the way places you read in fairy tales, but prior to GPS, I guess people could misread signs and get lost. Yet, those resourceful kids better known as Hansel and Gretal knew how to take care of themselves didn't they?

So, I managed to get the dogs back in the house and settled. I grabbed my bag, thinking this is stupid, it is probably just an upset stomach, acid or heartburn. However,  I thought at that moment I had no choice. I could go to bed and sleep. Maybe by morning the pain would be gone. Fortunately, somehow my intuition kicked in and the brain chatter reasoned that I should go to the hospital. 

I arrived at my local hospital and  parked the car.  Of course I still had the foolish sense to be careful to find a spot that would protect my doors from dings. How ridiculous, I thought. 

I entered the ER and went to the desk and told them I have chest pain. They didn't even take any information. They hurried me into a room had me get on a bed and immediately hooked me up to equipment. I felt safe. I felt better just knowing I was in medical hands.  I still felt a little foolish, because I thought, this can't be my heart. All that was running though my mind were the visions from movies and television of people gripping their chests and holding their arms. This was not me. I just had burning in my chest. I never once felt pain in my arm, just a little in my jaw.

It didn't matter though, my decision had been made. I was at the hospital and I felt safe. If they found out it was only indigestion or anxiety, at least I would know.  I was exhaused and wanted to rest.  

(To be continued)

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/

Heart Attack Poster

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].

Sunday Salon-A Cautionary Tale

A  

A Cautionary Tale About Heart Disease

The Party

Last Saturday I attended a family gathering to celebrate the first birthday of my nephew's daughter.  I began to feel a burning in my chest. Not acute, gripping, pain, but a nagging burn that I shrugged off.  I'm writing my recent story, to offer you life-saving wisdom that I have read often enough, but  never expected  in a million years I would have to experience any of these symptoms first hand. I even have a chart on the inside of my medicine cabinet, close at hand but of little concern.

Stress at these functions is the norm for me. You would think family parties would be stress-free. Not so for me, but that's another more private tale. I'm sure you have all experienced the angst of attending some of your own family gatherings. So as I finished the last bite of birthday cake, which by the way was absolutely delicious the burning persisted. I was concerned, but not alarmed and attributed the discomfort to a combination of nerves and too much picnic food.

Does anyone bake  from scratch anymore?  The demise of the home-made cake took place during my generation. First the convenient cake box mix appeared on the supermarket shelves. Thanks to Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines, everyone could now become a baker. Maybe you remember having an ice-cream cake that came from a local store. That was the best of both worlds, cake and ice-cream together.  What could be better?  Perhaps you remember the appearance of the ubiquitous and often silly cakes that donned a photograph sure to embarrass the recipient. Shortly followed by warehouse food sheet cakes that afforded convenience, customization, and for a reasonable cost.  To answer my original question, my sister makes the best cakes from scratch. Her recipes are on index cards,  a book and now frequently off the Internet.  She is a temptress of confection. She uses no cake mix, no canned frosting, just the basic ingredients that she blends together altering in some way with her own spin to make the most delicious desserts. Her cake at this party was one of those, a cake to die for.  No, I probably shouldn't say that under these circumstances, but each forkful was a yummy treasured treat I savored, since more than not I deprive myself of cakes and other sweets.

As the burn persisted, I realized, I was in trouble. I needed to leave. I felt so sick. Somewhat dizzy, but the burn radiating from my chest unsettled me.  This was not a gripping pain, it didn't  shoot down my arm.  There was nothing else bothering me but the burn in my chest. No jaw pain, no numbness.  It was a burn that was centralized in my chest and it would last about five to ten minutes. I thought if I could just get to my car and rest. I quickly said my goodbyes family members, but realized I would not be able to find everyone. Then, as I got to my car to drive the 45 minutes back to my house, the pain stopped. Great, I thought, I'm safe in my car and I can get home to rest. Trust me, the idea of a heart problem never crossed my mind.

To be continued.....

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/

© [Wisteria Leigh] and [Bookworm's Dinner], [2008-2011].