SO WHAT'S NEW?

Things going swimmingly for you are they?  Other than the little nuances of day to day living, it’s smooth sailing?  What could possibly go wrong?  Until last Saturday night, that was me. 

I had just stood on our porch and waved good-by to our last guests after a birthday party for Romy.  I tidied up the house a bit, no too much, but a bit, and then went to bed.  I had just watched the opening of Saturday Night Live and the introduction of Zach Galifianakis when I noticed a slight pain in the right side of my chest, near the chest bone.  I had earlier stuffed myself to the gills with Mexican food so I thought I was paying the price. 

 

Over the next 2 hours the pain had spread toward and into the right shoulder.  I was not overly alarmed thinking that all the typical warning signs of heart trouble are signaled by pain on the left side.  I was alarmed enough, however, that I took a full aspirin.  No relief. 

At 2 am I woke up Terry as the pain increased and we drove to Hoag Hospital.  Some 6 hours an EKG, chest x-ray, and cat scan later we were released.  Your heart is beautiful, whatever is causing the pain it isn’t the heart, we were told, “Give it some time”. 

 

It must have been hammered home in med school that doctors must ask everyone “On a scale of 1 to 10, what is the pain?”  I had told them 7-8 in the ER and it stayed that way all day Sunday and Sunday night.

During the day Sunday Forest called and I mentioned how our night had gone.  I mentioned that as long as the heart was fine I was going to ride it out.  He wasn’t buying it.  He called a cardiologist we both use named Dr. Jay Shapira, at Cedars Sinai Hospital in LA.  On a Sunday mind you, the doctor returns the call.  Forest explains things and the doctor said to call his office in the morning and he would see me right away.  Monday morning Terry calls Hoag Hospital to have our records sent to Dr. Schapira and we head for a quick trip to LA. 

 

The first test is another EKG.  Comparing that carefully with the records sent from Hoag, the good doctor noticed a slight difference.  Still a regular heart beat, but slightly different.  Next, a blood draw and then an echo cardiogram.  Everything is still fine.  Lastly, a chest x-ray was ordered.  We were told to go to lunch and come back for a pow-wow.

Gathered in his small office, Terry and I watched the Doctor intently study all the results.  He looked up, stared straight ahead, rubbing his chin, for several minutes.  Then he said, “OK, I want you to check into the hospital right now”. 

 

In hindsight I feel his gut instinct told him he must act.  He told us, however, all results were fine and pointing to something other than the heart but just to rule the heart out completely and then concentrate on what was causing the pain, he wanted to do an angiogram.  This is a lovely procedure where they make an incision in your groin and then run a dye through the heart to check for blockage.  He explained that he didn’t expect to find anything but with the high calcium levels I have had for a while he would rather be cautious.

After a wheel chair ride to our room, during which my pusher kept shouting “chest pains” to make people part like the Red Sea, another EKG was ordered.  Our wonderful nurse, named Ann, noticed the heart beat was now abnormal, A-Fib, as she called it (did I mention nurses are vastly underpaid).  She called Dr. Schapira to report her findings and the tone of everything changed. 

 

We were immediately transferred to another room more geared to heart issues.  A special drip was started to normalize the heart beat and all manner of stepped up blood tests, blood pressure monitoring and other procedures were begun.  Terry, Erin, Forest, Romy and Molly all gathered around my bed that evening giving me immense support.  

         

By mid-morning Tuesday the heart beat had returned to normal.  There was optimism as we were wheeled into the prep area.  The anesthesiologist and Dr. Schapira explained the procedure to us and we started.  Because they want to know if you are experiencing any heart discomfort during the procedure a local anesthetic is administered as well as a mask that puts you in la-la land but you are still awake.  An hour later the doctor walks up to me, leans down inches from my ear and says “We found a blood clot and an artery that was 95% blocked.  We removed the blood clot, the blockage and inserted a stent”.  Well, OK!!!   

It wasn’t until we were being wheeled back to my room and my family was at my side that I found out the doctor had told them that had they not done this procedure that I would have had a massive heart attack on Wednesday.  This was on Tuesday. 

That night, in a darkened hospital room with Terry and my kids, who we call our gang, gathered around my bed, life was starting over.  I have much unfinished business and it’s time to get started. 

After the kids had left and late into the night a nurse wakes me up yet again for another test of some kind or other.  I glance over the side of my bed and there is my soul mate Terry asleep on a rock hard mat on the floor.  In the darkness I can see her beautiful blond bun on top of her head, peaking out beneath her blanket.  From the first day I met her among the gazillion reasons I fell hopelessly in love with her, right at the top of the list would be her beautiful smiling face topped by her beautiful blond bun.

 

Last night I said good night to Terry then sat in my tilt-back lounge chair.  I was thinking how lucky I was.  Terry and each one of our gang had played huge roles in the last few days.  I was lucky for that and I was lucky for them beyond any meager words I can write.  I was also lucky for a series of events that began during Saturday Night Live that could only have been orchestrated by a higher power.  There is no other explanation.  God is good.

Feeling the need to give Terry another hug or, if she was asleep, just to look at her, I went back to our bedroom.  There Terry was, kneeling down beside our bed saying the Rosary with a beautiful crystal Rosary blessed by the Pope that Molly gave her.  That said it all.