I NEEDED THIS...

...like another hole in the head!  Wednesday evening I was getting ready to go to sleep, and when I lay back on my pillow, I was hit with a sharp pain in my chest and jaw - right side.  So I reached back, grabbed my bottle of nitro, and took the one allowed spray.  I lay back down to wait for the pain to subside.  It didn’t.  Picked up the phone and dialed 9 1 1.  The medics arrived quickly, examined me, and over a period of about 40 minutes, gave me three more doses of nitro.  Then they hauled me off to the nearest emergency room.  I must say the ER crew were all over me like a blanket, doing what needed doing (I suppose), including drawing some blood.  It was around midnight when the blood tests came back.  Negative as to heart damage.  So they took another sample.  That one also came back negative.  By now it was after 2 a.m., my pain had long since subsided, and I wanted to go home.

No such luck.  They admitted me to the hospital “for observation”, not that anyone stood over me and observed anything.  It was 4:30 before I could roll over to go to sleep in my fancy “designer” hospital gown.  Maybe you’re familiar with these garments.  If one were caught out in public in such, one would be arrested for indecent exposure!  Cliff gathered up some things I felt I needed, and dropped them off around 4 a.m.

Asleep around 4:30, and 3 hours later I was greeted with a veritable parade of hospital personnel wanting blood pressure measurements, my temperature, more blood (I’m surprised I had any left), only a quarter ton of information, and what did I want for breakfast?  To say I was angry would be to be putting it mildly.  About the mildest thing I said was, “GO AWAY!”  Even if they would let me, I couldn’t go home on Thursday.  They were paving the road in front of my place!  Nobody in or out!

Then I had a parade of doctors -- my own physician, my cardiologist, and my pulmonologist.  I suppose that the best news I received was from the cardiologist when he said he doubted that the pain was caused by the heart.  However, no one came up with a reason for the discomfort.  And with that bit of news, my own doc, on Thursday afternoon, wrote up my release for the following morning - Friday.

Now there are three things one should know about hospitals:  they are no place to rest, they are noisy, and if you really want to be left alone, push the call button.

I must say the nurses were wonderful.  They were cheerful, understanding, and put up with my bad temper.  And eventually they wore down my enmity.  By late afternoon I was telling them jokes.

So here I am, back at the old homestead, and ready for the usual run of life.  Let’s see what I have that’s funny.

I’d been having trouble for a while getting videos to load, so I’m not sure which I have posted.  If you’ve seen any of these before, you’ll forgive me.  Otherwise, enjoy.