HoodaThunk?

I’ve returned home.

That simple sentence is carrying more weight with me this evening than it has in the past. As I mentioned in that quick note yesterday I’ve been a guest and a customer of the Fairfax Hospital system over the past several days. So, what happened and what have we learned?

On Tuesday I was making good on a promise to get more exercise this year and figured I’d start it off slowly with some trips to the local driving range. A friend of mine who’s shared many of my golf outings was with me and things were going pretty well. We talked business, trashed each other’s bad shots and talked up the good ones. It was pretty much a normal guys’ outing to a driving range over a lunch hour. As we packed up and lugged the bags back to the car, he went to his car and I went to mine. It was as I tossed the bag into the back of the car that I noticed the extremely tight feeling across my chest and the tingling sensation in my left arm and hand.

A bit of history here: I have an old injury to my chest – specifically to the left side of my sternum that has developed into arthritis in the left side of my ribcage. (Yes, it can actually happen.) This has resulted in chest pains before but not this severe nor have they lasted that long.

We drove our cars to a local lunch joint and I thought, perhaps, the sensations would calm down with me taking it easy. By the time 10 minutes had gone by and they were still there, I was starting to panic. I knew very well that I was in trouble and I knew it was time to quit wondering and to get to the hospital. My friend, who had long since noticed the problem, drove me to Lansdowne and I staggered into the emergency room.

After running initial tests I was admitted for overnight observation. The situation got worse during the night which prompted more tests the following day. Some of them came back 100% normal but enough doubt was brought in to the picture that the doctors recommended a cardiac catheterization. For that, I needed to be moved to Fairfax Hospital in the event that the procedure showed I had a blockage and needed a stent put into place.

Long story short, I did and they installed one. The procedure wasn’t fun by any stretch but it was also nowhere near as dire as my fears painted it to be. I am begining the long recovery and taking stock of what this will mean as regards the permanent changes to my lifestyle.

So, what have I learned? Folks, I’ve tried the “ignore the various doctors’ advice” technique for these last few decades and I can now report that it doesn’t work so well. I know all about the fast pace and the need to grab some chow on the run. French fries with every meal and meat-lover’s pizzas and not giving a single thought or half-a-”give-a-damn” about how much salt I was choking down at a given restaurant is what landed me in the E/R. The tests are in, the doctors’ analysis reports are in the files, and the 1-word answer to the question, “why me?” is this: lifestyle. And yes, my friends, you might be more resistant than I in 1 category or another but you might not be. Regardless… it can land you in that E/R, too. Trust me, you don’t want to be there.

I don’t want you there.

Please, do me a small favor. Go have a look at the American Heart Association’s Diet and Nutition page. There are things there that can help you – help us – cut down on the bad types of fats. Those of you struggling to lose weight, as I am, can find help to really cut the weight in a fashion that doesn’t deprive you of important nutrients. There’s shopping advise to help you make better decisions about what to throw into the cart. It matters, I swear to you.

If you haven’t seen your doc in a while, go say Hi. If you haven’t had a physical in over a year, you’re due. And if you’re 45+ and your family has a history of heart problems, you need to go get a stress test to see how you’re doing. You check your A/C in the house every year and you take your car in for periodic maintenance. You owe it to yourself to do no less for you. There are more of us out here who care that you keep walking around than you think. Trust me on that one. And take the opportunity to learn from my mistakes here. I offer it gladly in that hopes that you will be around with your loved one for many years to come.

Good night, folks.

(Updated to include missing links, correct spelling.)