Walking through the valley of shadow of death - II
It was late August 2010. I was driving through New York city on Cross Bronx Highway. It was Friday 5:00 PM. The commuter rush was at its peak by the daily commuting crowd and the weekenders fleeing New York City. Frenetic drivers weaved in and out of the lane in front of me using up the large spaces I like to leave ahead of me as a sedate Ohio driver.
After a rather stressful drive I was just in time for the start of a wedding rehearsal dinner that was taking place near the NY-Ct border. The dinner was wonderful but was heavy. By the time I went to bed I was tired and a little worn off. It didn't help that I re-enacted Linda Blair's Exorcist act of projectile vomiting. I attributed it to the food not agreeing with me and tried to sleep.
Next day I was very weak and had to excuse off from the reception. Next two days were spent in trying to enjoy New York City life that I usually love but was feeling unusually fatigued at this time. By the time I drove back and saw my doctor it was almost a week after and he promptly put me in the hospital under observation suspecting pneumonia.
It was mid night when two residents appeared next to me and asked excitedly how I was feeling. I was not feeling any thing special except general weakness and told them, "sleepy". They told me that the blood test and the EKG showed that I was having a heart attack.
That started a whirlwind of activity and I ended up with a stent in my heart artery LAD also known as the "widow maker". The cardiologist told me that I had the heart attack a week back and a part of my heart is permanently dead. I was one of the "walking dead" during the time I was in NY! My groin became a public place where doctors and nurses roamed freely with their fingers to check for swelling and infection. After four weeks I ended up with three more stents to open up partially blocked arteries.
The first crisis made me enjoy life more but this crisis sent me on a hunt for the causes and the possible cures for these conditions. In the next few posts I'll try to report my findings.
After a rather stressful drive I was just in time for the start of a wedding rehearsal dinner that was taking place near the NY-Ct border. The dinner was wonderful but was heavy. By the time I went to bed I was tired and a little worn off. It didn't help that I re-enacted Linda Blair's Exorcist act of projectile vomiting. I attributed it to the food not agreeing with me and tried to sleep.
Next day I was very weak and had to excuse off from the reception. Next two days were spent in trying to enjoy New York City life that I usually love but was feeling unusually fatigued at this time. By the time I drove back and saw my doctor it was almost a week after and he promptly put me in the hospital under observation suspecting pneumonia.
It was mid night when two residents appeared next to me and asked excitedly how I was feeling. I was not feeling any thing special except general weakness and told them, "sleepy". They told me that the blood test and the EKG showed that I was having a heart attack.
That started a whirlwind of activity and I ended up with a stent in my heart artery LAD also known as the "widow maker". The cardiologist told me that I had the heart attack a week back and a part of my heart is permanently dead. I was one of the "walking dead" during the time I was in NY! My groin became a public place where doctors and nurses roamed freely with their fingers to check for swelling and infection. After four weeks I ended up with three more stents to open up partially blocked arteries.
The first crisis made me enjoy life more but this crisis sent me on a hunt for the causes and the possible cures for these conditions. In the next few posts I'll try to report my findings.
posted by Random Thinker at 7:31 AM
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