Heart Condition Part VII
5/31/12
As the morning progressed the list of errands began to grow so we decided to go to town and get that portion of the day completed. The girls were loaded up in the van and buckled into their seats. I really did not feel like going to town, not because of my health but I just did not want to see anyone. I get this feeling on occasion but for the most part I like to be around people and to see what is going on in the big metropolis of Delta. Keep in mind that the city of Delta has grown considerably since I moved here in 1992 and for the most part the town has not been the best place to do any real shopping and a trip to another town would be in order to complete this task. We made a few stops in town and then contemplated on going to Junction to complete our list but for some reason we decided to return back home for the day. On the way back to the house I received my first question concerning my health which I could proudly still say that I was not hurting.
When we arrived back home I helped with the bags of things into the house. I placed them on the table so that everyone could divvy their own goods accordingly and proceed to place them in their appropriate places. As I found my things I started to the office when a slight twinge of pain reminded me that I was not out of the woods yet. The pain came and went and I quickly turned to see if anyone noticed my hesitation which I realized that everyone was still engrossed in grabbing their items and no one noticed the event. I walked into the office and placed my things on the floor and sat down in the chair and began to turn the computer on when I noticed Bonnie standing at the doorway. She looked at me and then turned and headed for one of the bedrooms; I felt like a person who was under constant surveillance and rightly so looking back at things.
We had to do some things outside to clean up the garden since the growing season was over with the freeze that had occurred a few evenings before. Living out in the country we would enjoy the cool evenings during the summer but when fall began to arrive, our area was usually one of the first areas to freeze. I still am amazed when I remember walking around the property how one spot would actually feel warmer than another and where our garden was it seemed to be cooler most of the time. The end of the make-shift ditch to the irrigation ditch had to be sealed with dirt so that no other water could get to the frozen plants. Pulling up the plants usually took a couple of days to complete. Our garden was usually a large one that sprawled over the entire area that we called the front yard which was all dirt; the only yard we had was a very small back yard that was enclosed by a white picket fence.
We began to pull up the plants in the garden which was always a difficult chore to do since it meant that we had given up on saving the plants at night and that our canning process for the year was over. I did not participate in the canning adventures when I was a kid and with me living in the south most of my growing up days I had plenty of opportunities to watch and learn. But as I was older and had realized the importance of canning I became very fond of the process and really enjoyed helping out as much as possible, which I still do today. The plants meant a lot to us as we had great pride in our garden even though we were totally novices at our labors. The plants provided many fresh vegetables for us throughout the summer months and it was so satisfying to eat food that all of us knew exactly where it came from.
Pulling the plants by hand was a time consuming project since we had to pull the plant, shake the remaining dirt from the roots that was hanging on and then transporting the plants to the burn pile or to the dumpster. It was not a very complicated or technical detail but it was something that had to be done so that the front yard would not look tacky during the winter months, plus it would allow for more moisture to seep into the ground when or if we received any rain during the fall. All during the pulling party I was not in any type of pain and the numerous times that Bonnie stopped me and asked that famous question of hers I could honestly say that I had no pain. However, she did not ask me how I was feeling so that part of the issue stayed hidden within me. I felt ok but there was something about my inner physical self that I could not explain but I knew was something was not right, in addition to the fact that I was still tired and my energy level had not returned after eating and walking around town a bit.
The plant pulling session ended and we stopped to take a look at the empty garden. Both Bonnie and I felt like the garden was a success for that year and in some ways we were almost ready to start another one next week. We talked a bit about the plans for next year’s garden and how that we wanted to expand the garden some and add a few other vegetables that we had not incorporated yet. The garden conversation ended and we both turned towards the house and as I took my first step a dull pain shot through my chest and took hold for a few seconds. The pain was not sharp by any means but it did get my mind’s attention since this pain mimicked the pain on the previous night. I could feel my blood pressure and tension rising within my body, but as before I kept my mouth shut.
Not much activity was noted for the day. I sat at the computer for most of the afternoon trying to mind my own business and stay out of trouble. Bonnie would cruise by my office and look at me as she passed by, I did not look in her direction but from my peripheral vision I could see exactly what she was doing. So, after one of her passes I got up from the chair and closed the office door so that the next time she passed by she would not be able to see in the office. I quietly sat back down and waited to see what her reaction would be, which came pretty quickly when she went back through the living room. She pushed open the door and said “snot” and turned and walked away. I laughed a bit as she turned but she had no answers or other remarks at that time.
As the afternoon progressed I continued my web searching and just relaxing as much as possible. I had tried my best to ignore the uncomfortable sensation I was beginning to feel in my chest. I changed positions in the chair and the uncomfortable feeling would subside, but it would eventually find its way back inside my body a few minutes later. After about thirty minutes or so I was beginning to realize that I was running out of sitting positions since none of the previous positions that I had tried was now relieving the sensation. So, I did the next best thing and I stood up and continued my surfing the net. About this time Bonnie strolled back by and saw me standing at the computer and of course she stopped and said you are hurting aren’t you and I honestly replied with “just uncomfortable”.
As my words left my mouth and entered into Bonnie’s ears I could sense her blood pressure rising. I sheepishly stated that I noticed that she did not look that great and then immediately asked if she needed to go to the emergency room to see what was going on to make her blood pressure rise so quickly, Bonnie still did not find my humor in the situation funny at all. I hardheadedly sat back down in my chair and continued to surf the net for a few minutes longer and of course as soon as I got situated the uneasy feeling returned inside of my chest and this time it stayed with me, no matter what sitting position I tried.
After a while I could hear Bonnie beginning to make dinner but she had not asked me what sounded good to me so I knew that my luck was running out with her patience and that I had to do something to try and stay on the edge of her good fortunes. I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a table chair and sat down and asked her to turn around for a moment. She stopped chopping and looked at me and I immediately began by telling her that if I continued to feel this way after dinner then I would go to the emergency room willingly and would not put up a fuss. She pointed the knife at me and said do you promise? And I replied yes I promise. She then turned back around and continued chopping. Her actions confirmed my suspicions that she was totally fed up with me and that she was refusing any further nonsense from my mouth.
I slowly got up from the kitchen chair I was sitting in and began to return to the living room where I promptly sat down on the couch and was immediately joined by Bear who came up next to me and curled up close to me. He placed his snout on my leg and looked up at me with a look that only he could give which continued the assault on my stubbornness. Bonnie soon joined me in the living room and said that the only reason she was not happy was the fact that she wanted me to see a physician about my pain and that I should do it now and not wait till it is too late. She also stated that I had four girls to think about and how they would feel if I had the opportunity to get something fixed before a serious condition had the chance to run its course. I once again stated that if I continued to feel bad that I would go to the emergency room and wait no longer.
It may seem like I am dragging this out a bit but in truth I am not. This is exactly how I acted towards my condition and as my story continues you will see that the situation only gets worse.
DLB
Part VIII to follow….
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