Wow. (Shake of head).
Just wow.
How did I get so far behind?
Time to try to get caught up.
I just spent a night and two days
in the ICU at Logan Regional Hospital.
Kent took me to the emergency room
on Tuesday because I was having
chest pains like I've never had before.
After five hours in the ER,
a few blood tests and EKGs,
I was told that my heart was unremarkable.
I've mentioned in the past
that I hate being told that.
Now not only is my brain unremarkable,
but so is my heart!
The medical profession needs
a new word for "looks normal".
Anyway, still having symptoms,
they sent me to the ICU to be monitored
and so they could find ways to torture me
with more tests so they could tell me
I was unremarkable but ...
I'm sorry (not) to say there are no pictures
but they did let me keep
my pajama pants on the whole time
I was there which was a relief.
The stress treadmill test was inhumane,
especially for someone having chest pains,
but the cardiologist kept assuring me
that I could do it.
The young, female technician
for the treadmill test was really funny.
She said the test
must have been invented by a man,
because only they would think it okay
to put a woman in a hospital gown,
without a bra, on a treadmill and tell her to run!
Logan Regional now knows
my heart inside and out.
The echo cardiogram was so interesting
and we were able
to see all the chambers
and valves of my heart.
That test finally showed that there
was a small amount of fluid
in the sac around my heart
that could account for the pain.
It is most likely caused by a virus.
Did I mention
that my lungs are unremarkable?
Except for a small nodule
that they'll keep an eye on and retest again.
All in all,
my heart is in good shape
for a 43 year old woman
who is out of shape
and has high cholesterol
and high triglycerides.
And as long as I sleep sitting up,
I can tolerate the pain.
Remarkable!
