Heart Disease 101 – The First Day Done!

John had returned from dinner the night before just long enough to say good-bye. “I’ll be back in the morning,” he said, “I’ve got a lot to do, so I may be a little late.”

“Take your time,” I said, “you don’t need to burn out the first week.” As he opened the door to leave, a nurse came in pulling her stats cart.

“Take care of him,” he said, waving to me as he started down the hall.

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“‘Here for more stats,” the nurse said. She looked at her watch. “It’s almost 10:00,” she continued, “would you like something to help you sleep?”

I chuckled. “Unless you have a sledge hammer, I’m not sure anything would do the trick.” “Besides,” I added,” all I’ve done is sit around today.”

“I’ll call the doctor to find out what’s available, just in case,” she replied. “This has been a pretty exciting day for you.”

“Coronary heart disease was certainly NOT on my list of things to deal with,” I added. “Nor having to choose whether I want to be part pig or part bionic.” The early signs of heart disease which had shown themselves began creeping back into my head. I wondered — how many others had no idea what their bodies were saying, shouting, to them?

I was also beginning to worry about the finances again. What was I going to do? I needed to win a lottery.

As the nurse removed the blood pressure cuff from my arm, she smiled. “I can tell what you’re thinking,” she said, “and it won’t do any good at all to dwell on it. You’re stats are fine, you’re young and in relatively good health,” she continued, “so as much as you can, relax. The doctor will tell me what I can give you.”

“Nothing strong,” I replied. “I’m a wimp when it comes to medication.” She placed the oxygen tube coming from the wall next to me on the bed. “Don’t forget you can use this, if need be. I’ll be back in a little while with a snack and your pills.” My breathing had been intermittently labored all day.

“Turn to channel 18, if you’d like,” she continued. “There’s a lot of information and facts about heart disease you’ll need to know. There are also videos about valvular heart disease, how heart disease affects the body, what you can expect.”

“Thanks,” I answered. “‘Probably more important to watch those than “Survivor,” I laughed. “Although apparently that’s what I’M becoming.” She took her cart and left the room.

My cell phone rang and I reached to grab it. “Hello?” I said. It was Belinda.

“So are you settled in?” she asked.

“As much as I can be,” I said. “Who’d have thought I’d be getting new parts for what I thought was a respiratory infection?”

There was a pause. “I’m just glad you had the sense to go to the doctor before it became catastrophic. I’ll be in tomorrow to see you,” she added. “We can talk about it then. What time’s good for you?”

“Well, from what I’ve gathered, I’ll officially be up around 6 to get a chest x-ray. So how about 10 or 10:30? That way, I’ll have had time to clean up and have breakfast.”

“That’s good,” she answered. “Is John there?”

“He’s already left for the night, but you’ll probably see him tomorrow. Don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s got to work things out at his job, and he says he has some errands to run, so I’m not expecting him early.”

“Get some rest,” she continued, “I won’t keep you. Just remember there’s a reason for everything, and eventually you’ll know why all this is happening.”

“I’ll try,” I answered. We said goodbye and I put the phone down. “O.K. God,” I thought, “I’m ready for a miracle.”

I spent most of the night talking to myself, the Universe, Spirit, whatever you want to call it. The rubber was starting to hit the road, and I wasn’t about to give up this early in the game.