| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Yesterday, I went to the Supermarket on my bike and got caught by the rain. I got pretty much soaked, but I didn’t really mind, ‘cause it was a warm rain. Still, I decided to cancel out my visit with Ernie. We’ve fallen into a pattern of meeting at Honeydew Donuts for coffee and a good BS session. I was supposed to meet up with my friend Dondi a bit later and give her a ride to a Meeting a couple of towns over, but as the time approached, I looked at the “Live Doppler Radar” and saw another wave of rain approaching. I could see that it was going to arrive before too long, so I called her and canceled out on that, too. I broiled a Rib Eye and nuked a Yukon Gold potato for dinner, and prepared to settle in for the evening. I was hoping that there might be a good movie on the idiot box to watch; but if not, I could play one of my DVDs. Just another quiet Sunday night. I was washing my dinner plates when I got a sharp pain down both my arms (along the triceps) and in the center of my chest, along with a feeling that I can inadequately describe as dizziness/disorientation. It lasted for about 30 seconds, then went away. My thought was Heart Attack! Followed by a bit of Denial, “No; it went away too quickly”. That was followed by, “Yeah, and Bill thought his chest pain wasn’t that significant either, and now he’s dead!” After I debated with myself for a short while, I decided I should go to the ER. Now, I really don’t like Emergency Rooms. When I was Mining, I visited the local ER after getting hurt on every big tunnel job (and most of the little tunnel jobs, too). Some were better than others, but I never found one that I wanted to go back to. However; where else do you go on a Sunday evening when you think you’ve had a heart attack? So I got on the bike and rode over to the hospital in Leominster. I will say that when you walk up to the Triage Nurse and tell him that you’ve got chest and arm pain they don’t fart around. I had a cuff on my arm, a thermometer in my mouth and a little clip on my finger in less than 30 seconds. Literally, two minutes later, I had little sticky things all over my chest (and a couple on my lower legs) and they were taking an EKG. Then they took me to a little horse stall sized room (alcove?) and stuck me on a bed. Another Nurse came in to drain a sizeable quantity of my blood. When I tried to explain that it’s hard to hit my veins, she brushed me off. Then she proceeded to cause me a lot of freakin’ pain while trying to get some blood. She got some, but she couldn’t get the I.V. fitting to work right, so she removed it, taped a piece of gauze over the puncture, and left. After a while, another nurse came in and put an I.V. in a different vein. The first nurse botched the blood samples she took, so the second nurse took another gallon or two (in multiple tiny vials). Then I got to see a Doctor. I explained what happened to him, and he said that my EKG looked good, but he wanted to see the results of my blood work, and told me to just relax and watch the TV or nap or whatever, and he’d be back as soon as he knew more. I think there were about a dozen different channels on the TV. None of them were worth watching. I could watch a bunch of physically fit people trying to negotiate a moving obstacle course and get completely battered, the latest installment of America’s Got Clueless Untalented Idiots, or a crime show where people talked in a rapid monotone, trying to convey a sense of importance and urgency. I nodded off for a short while. I was awakened by a nurse who asked what I wanted. I guess, in my sleep, my finger had hit the call button. I apologized, and she reset the gizmo, and I ran the dial on the Idiot Box again. I settled on a show about a ship (Naval Vessel) that held the only uninfected people on the planet after some Plague hit. They were sailing from one continent to another while the beautiful Doctor/Researcher used up monkeys trying to create an anti-virus. In the meantime, the dedicated Captain was trying to quell a potential mutiny. Or something like that. It might be a good show, but the Low Fidelity speaker in the little remote/ nurse caller wasn’t quite up to the task of delivering decent sound, and I could only understand a phrase or two every so often. I doubt that I’ll try to look the show up and see if it’s worth watching. Then the Doctor came back in and told me that everything looked good. He really didn’t think I’d had a heart attack, and explained his reasoning to me. A couple of nurses came in as soon as he left, and removed the monitoring clips, cuffs and wires, took out the I.V. and left me to remove the dozen or so stickers from my chest and legs. I put on my clothes, and they stuck me in a chair out in the hallway until they got my follow up orders printed (they needed the alcove for another patient), and I got to see them running around like madmen and madwomen. It took about half an hour, but eventually, a nurse arrived with my discharge papers, and I signed her copy and she signed my copy, and I was left to find my way out of the Labyrinth. I got lost, then found my way out to the parking lot where I got on my bike and rode home. It was not my usual Sunday night. | ||
| Reepicheep |
LOL. What else are you going to do? You made the right call by going... Glad it looks clear so far! | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Rode to the ER with a suspected heart attack!!! Buells must have healing powers. Go steady there Crust  Rocket in England | ||
| Skntpig |
Glad you are ok. If you have the same feeling I would go again. I would rather have a false alarm then not go when you should have. | ||
| Froggy |
John, I'm glad to hear it is a big fat nothing. The show you barley watched was The Last Ship. It is directed by Michael Bay, so like his movies it has a ridiculous plot full of holes and terrible acting, but plenty of things blowing up. Good mindless way to kill an hour every week. | ||
| Two_seasons |
Glad to hear you're OK Crusty. Easy to dismiss and at our age (I'm 60) we have some very weird things going on. I had dismissed many of what some would have considered a heart attack. I'm not an alarmist, so waited to see what would transpire! Until May 2013... I actually had one. Three stents later, I went home, the next day. Since then, I believe I've had another at work but, two nitro pills later, whatever it was subsided! All the meds they put me on from the hospital were goofing me up so bad that I started to ween myself off them a little at a time. Today, I don't take any meds that were/still are, prescribed. I won't do it. The side effects from one alone may cause a stroke in me...no way I'm doing that any more. Today, I have my employer's "health coach" calling me and leaving me desperate voice-mails saying we really need to talk...really? They don't want to talk, they want to demand I return to my meds! I am refusing and they are getting nasty about it! For now, as far as I know, they (my employer) don't have any legal way to make me. I trade my time for their paycheck. They don't control me...but, they sure are trying. I know you are out of work right now. My suggestion, if you can afford it, stick with the smaller employers. They don't have "health coaches" nor an HR dept which, right there, could cause heart attack(s) just dealing with their BS. Best wishes to you Crusty. | ||
| Griffmeister |
Wow, I should hope that's not your usual Sunday. Glad you're okay and glad you didn't hesitate, for too long anyhow. | ||
| Rick_a |
On Friday some family friends were on their way over for dinner and a movie. He had some chest pains, but thought nothing of it. As someone with chronic indigestion problems, I imagine it was nothing alarming. His wife forced him to the emergency room, and it turned out he had a heart attack. A couple arteries were blocked, and stints were put in. If he were on his own it would have been a lot worse. You can't be too safe. | ||
| Etennuly |
Crusty!  Good move, especially since you are living single. In a really bad event you might not get be able to get there. I have a 41 year old family member who really 'locked up' when he had his first and second heart attacks. If not for the people around him he would never have made the ER. Have you got one of those "Help I can't get up" alert button deals? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Glad it ended up being nothing! Hope to see you in a few weeks! | ||
| Oldog |
Glad you are OK, Like you I too am by my self, and I am lucky have some excellent folks next door, So WHEN the time comes if home I can get help if needed, Please take time to put some thing in place for this type of eventuality =) again Glad you are OK!  | ||
| Strokizator |
Glad to hear you are doing well, Crusty. If you remember, several years ago you sent me a pair if boots, size 9.5. I'm on the penultimate (you like that word?) day of a 9000 mile trip and those boots were awesome - it rained a lot. Danner boots and Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT's, it doesn't get any better than that. The tires are done for but the boots will shine right up. Thanks again, dude. | ||
| 1313 |
penultimate (you like that word?) I just learned that word today! Can't remember where I saw it, but I had to Google it to find out what it meant. Sorry your 9,000 mile journey is coming to a close, but glad as all get out that Crusty is still among us! 1313 | ||
| Hootowl |
Fans of top gear (the original one) should be quite familiar with that word. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Good on you for getting checked. And, I'm glad it worked out OK. Reminds me of the night I doubled over in pain after dinner - more pain than I ever felt even during PT with 2 shattered legs. Pain enough that I called 911 in about...oh...eight seconds. It H-U-R-T. At least you skated without surgery...I got cut open and they took my gall bladder! |
