LemonWedge
Well-Known Member
Hi all. Mods please leave this here as even though it’s not directly race related, I’m intending to speak to my compadres that hang out here.
I had a horrible day on Monday, one I’m still not sure I believe. Woke up at midnight with what I thought was indigestion. It quickly became horribly painful and I unbelievably spent 5 hours pacing my living room searching for ANY sort of relief. The pain continued to get worse until I felt literally like I was at the end of what I could stand. Finally, in the midst of a manic state of mind, I had a single moment of clarity and told my wife I needed to go to the emergency room immediately. At the time I thought I was dealing with a ruptured ulcer.
Once at the Hospital emergency room, my wife checked me in while I paced the room in uncontrollable discomfort. They took me in and the the first thing they did was run an AKG test on me. They also gave me some antacid (I had obviously tried plenty of that already with no effect). They sent us back out into the waiting room to wait for results. Well, Seconds later before I had even reached a chair, a team of physicians rushed into the waiting room and urged me to follow them as quickly as possible. Once back behind the door, they informed me I was having a heart attack.
An entire team quickly got me into a room full of expensive looking machines, and started running tests in quick order. I found myself suddenly terrified, as all those around me were clearly operating in an extremely serious manner. I looked over at my wife just as they began wheeling me out. She was crying and that was the moment it really hit me. This could be it, I may not make it through this. I was now starting to get some relief from the sedative they had administered, and found myself taking some personal inventory. It was as real as real could be, but it was still hard to believe what was happening.
into the OR, I was informed that they were going to install a stint. At this point I heard what felt like the best news of my life.... a simple statement from one of the nurses: “Youre in the right place, just hang on for a few more minutes, youre going to be okay”. I have no idea who said that to me, but I cannot even begin to describe how comforting it was to hear. Thank you with all of my heart to whoever that was.
once fully sedated they began the stint placement process. Modern medical technology is unbelievable. They went in through my wrist, and the “scar” is basically just a pin-prick. Long story short, from that moment on everything was good. I spent 3 days in the hospital, and I’m home now.
My plan is to skip this weekends race, as I just really don’t feel ready to climb into the car and make a pass just yet. While I’m sure I could, I’m trying to be responsible and keep my long term health at priority #1. For reference sake: I am 55 years old. Lean at 5’8” 160lbs. Lifelong Non-smoker. Not a high-stress person, in fact most would describe me as “easy going”. Healthy family history, both Mom & Dad still alive, active and very healthy in their 80’s. Why I found myself in this situation is a mystery. My Dr said: You are now my poster-child for “It can happen to anyone”.
The issue was a 100% blockage of my LAD artery. This is the main artery that supplies blood to the lower left ventricle of your heart. Luckily, my body had somehow built a system of auxiliary veins around the blockage. My cardiologist told me “while this auxiliary veining was as impressive as I’ve ever seen, They carried just enough blood to keep you alive. No more, no less. Make no mistake, you’re lucky to be alive”. I believe Angels from heaven put those veins there, and I’m not speaking metaphorically. I fully believe that God and God alone kept me alive through this ordeal by taking a presence within my body and doing what he and he alone knew would keep me safe.
If you don’t already, please make a point of seeing a Dr regularly and follow through on all of the testing they offer you. Also, I am going to suggest that an active relationship with our lord and our savior could just be the most important relationship you have. In my case, I would not be here today without him.
Happier than ever to be here; best wishes to all!
LemonWedge.
I had a horrible day on Monday, one I’m still not sure I believe. Woke up at midnight with what I thought was indigestion. It quickly became horribly painful and I unbelievably spent 5 hours pacing my living room searching for ANY sort of relief. The pain continued to get worse until I felt literally like I was at the end of what I could stand. Finally, in the midst of a manic state of mind, I had a single moment of clarity and told my wife I needed to go to the emergency room immediately. At the time I thought I was dealing with a ruptured ulcer.
Once at the Hospital emergency room, my wife checked me in while I paced the room in uncontrollable discomfort. They took me in and the the first thing they did was run an AKG test on me. They also gave me some antacid (I had obviously tried plenty of that already with no effect). They sent us back out into the waiting room to wait for results. Well, Seconds later before I had even reached a chair, a team of physicians rushed into the waiting room and urged me to follow them as quickly as possible. Once back behind the door, they informed me I was having a heart attack.
An entire team quickly got me into a room full of expensive looking machines, and started running tests in quick order. I found myself suddenly terrified, as all those around me were clearly operating in an extremely serious manner. I looked over at my wife just as they began wheeling me out. She was crying and that was the moment it really hit me. This could be it, I may not make it through this. I was now starting to get some relief from the sedative they had administered, and found myself taking some personal inventory. It was as real as real could be, but it was still hard to believe what was happening.
into the OR, I was informed that they were going to install a stint. At this point I heard what felt like the best news of my life.... a simple statement from one of the nurses: “Youre in the right place, just hang on for a few more minutes, youre going to be okay”. I have no idea who said that to me, but I cannot even begin to describe how comforting it was to hear. Thank you with all of my heart to whoever that was.
once fully sedated they began the stint placement process. Modern medical technology is unbelievable. They went in through my wrist, and the “scar” is basically just a pin-prick. Long story short, from that moment on everything was good. I spent 3 days in the hospital, and I’m home now.
My plan is to skip this weekends race, as I just really don’t feel ready to climb into the car and make a pass just yet. While I’m sure I could, I’m trying to be responsible and keep my long term health at priority #1. For reference sake: I am 55 years old. Lean at 5’8” 160lbs. Lifelong Non-smoker. Not a high-stress person, in fact most would describe me as “easy going”. Healthy family history, both Mom & Dad still alive, active and very healthy in their 80’s. Why I found myself in this situation is a mystery. My Dr said: You are now my poster-child for “It can happen to anyone”.
The issue was a 100% blockage of my LAD artery. This is the main artery that supplies blood to the lower left ventricle of your heart. Luckily, my body had somehow built a system of auxiliary veins around the blockage. My cardiologist told me “while this auxiliary veining was as impressive as I’ve ever seen, They carried just enough blood to keep you alive. No more, no less. Make no mistake, you’re lucky to be alive”. I believe Angels from heaven put those veins there, and I’m not speaking metaphorically. I fully believe that God and God alone kept me alive through this ordeal by taking a presence within my body and doing what he and he alone knew would keep me safe.
If you don’t already, please make a point of seeing a Dr regularly and follow through on all of the testing they offer you. Also, I am going to suggest that an active relationship with our lord and our savior could just be the most important relationship you have. In my case, I would not be here today without him.
Happier than ever to be here; best wishes to all!
LemonWedge.
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