I have been E&T for a bit (and will probably be for another week).
A tad ago I took a brisk walk up to Woody's store and about 2/3 of the way there had a really bad chest pain and a severe case of vertigo.
The next week the same thing thing happened again - about the same spot on the journey.
Then one night all four dogs got loose while Woody was at work and I had to chase them down again - just got back to the drive before the pain hit.
I would normally ignore these little inconveniences, but I did have a scheduled Dr's appointment last week. I knew Jane would be all over my case for not consulting a Dr earlier, but if I neglected to mention it on the office visit, she would would really be down on me.
The Dr. couldn't just go ho-hum, he had to give me a prescription for Nitro glycerin pills and schedule me for a cardiology consult to get a stress test; the cardiologist said a stress test was a waste of time and scheduled me for a cardiac catheterization (You want to shave me where!!!) (The Dr. seems to be a believer in News Reports, not advance warnings: I got a needle jam follwed by the declaration "You'll feel a little stick." Meanwhile, the attending nurse was unhappy with the previous nurse's attempts at inserting an IV, so she took two more stabs at it. There was then all sorts or rearranging of lab equipment and I was getting impatient at the delay (I was waiting for the litany of sensations the Internet predicted.) Just when I was about to sound like like a 6 year old on a car trip and plead "Are we there yet!", the Dr. announced "All done!". Too soon! I was still mulling over a choice of quips: either, "Can you peel me a grape" or can I have a cigarette break?"
Well, it seems my heart is in perfect shape and does just what it should - running in idle - but step on the gas and forget about it - clogs galore!.
Said the DR - you need a by-pass (or two or more).
I asked about the options which basically reduced to:
A. Try a new diet, maybe get a stent or two, do a touch of angioplasty, pray often to a collection of Deity's - and then when for the inevitable heart attack, suffer cardiac muscle damage, and come in the for the by pass.
B. Skip the preliminaries, get the damn surgery, and get on with my life.
Fortunately I had a two-headed "common sense" coin which dictated the surgery.
So. we set the alarm for 4AM Tuesday to do the deed.
Me: how long will I be hospitalized?
Them: usually three days.
Me: OK - Tues - one, Wed - two, Thurs - three.
Them: Nope: Tues is day zero (So I guess they don't charge for that day!)
So, if I hadn't worried about Janes's nagging I wouldn't be going in for Surgery!
So I blame Jane for this damnable inconvenience (but should probably bless her for the years she might have added to my life).
der Brucer
Boy - the dogs are having a blast looking for needle marks to lick!
