Heart Condition Part XVII
7/1/12
As I reached the kitchen I turned to my left and saw the cabinet where the aspirin was supposed to be. I opened the cabinet and saw the bottle of aspirin and was actually relieved when my eyes landed on the product. I continued my slow movements up to the bottle and took it out of the cabinet. I began a debate in my head of how many to take and I knew one or two would not do much so I decided on five or six and actually poured seven into my hand but that was just a guess because I was not in the mood to complete exact math at that moment.
I held the aspirin in one of my hands and I placed the cap back on the bottle and returned it to its rightful spot. I closed the cabinet door and then turned towards the sink to get some water to help the aspirin down. I had always known not to take aspirin on an empty stomach but at this moment I was not going to have an argument with minor details. I got some water in my glass that was on the counter and I took the aspirin. I was hoping that my iron cast stomach would not get upset and I have to repeat the throwing up scene that finished a few minutes before. I set the glass down and slowly walked back into the living room glancing at the food on the table and wondering if I should clear the table but I decided to continue to the living room. I noticed that Bear had not moved from his position on the couch which meant that I had to move him before I could sit down.
As I was walking towards the couch I continually was aware that all my pain was still gone and that my sweating episode had stopped. I bent over and picked Bear up and moved him a bit further down the couch. I then turned around and took his old position on the couch and it was not long that he returned and laid down right next to me. I was not moving much because I was afraid to and I did not want to upset the feeling of no pain in any way. My mind was racing about what to do next and I even contemplated going outside and waiting for Bonnie to return from town. Even though I was not in any pain I could feel that things were not right inside and that something was going on that was not normal. Many thoughts travelled through my head during those few moments, it is amazing what a person thinks about when something serious is going on inside their bodies.
I thought about calling work and letting my boss know that I was going to probably be late for work today but I dared not move because I did not want to upset the feeling better trend. A few moments later I heard the van pull up outside the house and then the van door close. Bonnie came in the back door and began to look for me which I was not hard to find. When she saw me she knew that something had happened while she was gone and I gave her the short version while I was sitting on the couch. I also pointed out that I was not in any pain at the moment, which she did not take to kindly too I might add. Bonnie said that my color was even worse than it was when she left and I did not argue with her since I had noticed some changes while I was in the bathroom. She asked if I could stand and I quickly responded yes and I got up like nothing was wrong with me.
Bonnie walked right beside me while we were leaving the house and made me wait at the back door while she locked it. I tried to get the door of the gate but she beat me to it and then gave me a glare when I said that all I was doing was trying to help. I walked through the gate and she shut it behind her and we both proceeded to the van. She opened the passenger side door and I stood there. I was going to make a comment about her getting in on the passenger side but I changed my mind with the gravity of the situation ongoing. I slowly climbed in the van and sat down in the passenger seat and she then closed the door. I put on my seatbelt and waited for her to get in the van which was only a few seconds longer. She started the van and we were off to the doctor’s office.
As we left the house I began to tell her what had occurred while she was in town and what actually happened. I still did not want to move very much because I was really not hurting and did not want anything to change that feeling. As we got closer to town I felt that some of my strength was coming back to me and I was actually feeling better than I did before I left the house. So this prompted me to begin to think everything was going to be ok and that whatever had just happened was over. Bonnie continued to watch me and the road at the same time which I pointed out to her was dangerous and that we could end up in the ditch if she continued to perform the two acts simultaneously. I also reminded her that it was just a few miles down the road to the doctor’s office and that I would be fin until we arrived there. Of course she did not like my statement and ignored me and did what she wished.
We crossed town without any difficulties and I continued to gain strength and felt better along the way, enough that I was actually sitting up straight by the time e reached the doctor’s office. For each bump in the road that Bonnie ran over she apologized but the bumps were not hurting me and there was no need for her apologies. The road to the doctor’s office and hospital has three or four large dips so that the water can drain properly and while these dips serve a purpose they can be rough if they are not approached with caution. We pulled up to the doctor’s parking lot and parked. I unbuckled my seatbelt and then opened the door. Bonnie got out and was already around the front of the van before I could step onto the ground. Soon the van was locked up and we were headed into the doors of the office.
I opened one of the outer doors of the doctor’s office and let Bonnie go into the building first. She in turn then opened the second set of doors that actually led into the receptionist’s area of the office. I walked through the doors and went up to the receptionist’s desk. She was already ready for me and I signed all of the necessary paperwork and then walked over to the chairs in the waiting room. I slowly sat down and began to relax a bit more since my pain was not returning. Actually at this time I was not really feeling bad at all and I could tell that my body was continuing its relaxing process. A few minutes later the nurse came to me and said it was time. I stood up from the chair and as I did the nurse said I looked terrible and began to talk to Bonnie asking for details. Being associated with the same organization for an extended period of time the majority of the employees know each other well which was the case in this instance. I was escorted back to one of the treatment rooms and I sat down on the exam table.
As she realized that I was secure on the table she asked me to take my shirt off and lay back on the table. She had my chart out on the counter and was getting things around and in order when the doctor came into the room. He said all of the pleasantries and then immediately asked me what was going on so I gave him the condensed version of the events. The nurse was busy trying to give him all of the information that she had at the moment which was not much since I had just arrived. The doctor listened to my chest and then poked and prodded on my abdomen. He asked the standard medical questions and then asked the nurse to go get the EKG machine. She quickly left the room and was gone for a few moments all the while he continued the Q&A session with both Bonnie and I.
In all of the hustle and bustle I had forgotten about how bad the pain had been in my chest and with the addition of his saying that to him it sounded like my heart rhythm was fast but normal I did not immediately think about that pain. The nurse then returned with the EKG machine and began hooking me up to the leads. This process always takes awhile so I laid there and watched her complete the task. I don’t have much hair on my chest so I really did not have any reason for anxiety for when the procedure was complete and it was time to pull off the leads, so I couldn’t use that as an excuse of anticipation if anything was abnormal.
It took a few moments before the machine began to print out its results. As the EKG was recording my heart patterns the doctor became very quiet while he was looking at the printout. He asked for the nurse to continue running the leads for a few more cycles which kind of concerned me and I immediately thought that something was significantly wrong with my heart pattern. He then asked me how I was feeling at that moment and I told him that I was a bit tired but I had no pain and that my strength was returning. The doctor then said he could not find any abnormalities on the EKG printout. He put the printouts down on the counter and then returned to me with the stethoscope to listen to my heart once again. After a few passes across my chest he asked if I could sit up which I did with no problems and then he listened to the back of my chest.
A few moments later he rose up and said that my lungs were clear and that all seemed normal from the outside view of things. He picked up my chart and looked at it for a moment. He then said that he did not think that anything was going on with my heart but would recommend that I stay home this evening and return to work on Tuesday. He looked back down at the chart and then asked the nurse what my blood pressure was and she stated that she had not taken it yet since everyone was in a hurry to get me in to be seen.
She then placed the blood pressure cuff around my arm and pumped it up. I have always disliked having my blood pressure taken not that I am scared of what the results would be but because of the way the pressure on my arm made it feel. Even we in the medical field have their quirks amongst us when it comes to certain procedures, and we can hide it for only so long before we are exposed. As she reached to what the pressure she thought would be adequate she gave a funny look towards the cuff. She then continued to pump up the cuff until the pressure was over two hundred, which was really making my arm feel uncomfortable. But as soon as she began to release the pressure on the cuff I understood why. I quickly began to feel my pulse as the cuff began to ease along my arm which meant that if she had to go that level on the scale then my blood pressure was very high. When all was said and done my blood pressure was 170 / 110 which was in the extremely dangerous category and when the doctor found out this result he quickly changed his mind and began the admit proceedings.
I then told bonnie that she should call over to the lab and let my boss know what was going on and to tell him that I was not going to be in that day. She could also tell him that I probably would not be in the next afternoon either but I should be ok to return on Wednesday since all it probably was that I had high blood pressure. Bonnie left the room to call my boss and then call my parents to let them know what was transpiring. After Bonnie left the nurse came back in and was finishing her paperwork in my chart. The doctor came back in again and began to recheck my heart rhythm and breathing patterns. He told me that he was finishing up his admit orders and that I would be heading over soon which answered my question if I was going to be allowed to go home and get some things before I went over.
We need to realize that every human being has a destiny that we have been destined to complete. This destiny is not an option it is a reality that has been implanted in us on a spiritual level and for us to ignore our destiny or to voluntarily blind ourselves to it we are allowing ourselves to be directed in the wrong direction. This misguided direction will eventually lead us into a path that will present the spiritual contents of our lives into the firing line of our enemy who will then chip away at our inner structure. It is our enemy’s desire that he isolate us into our own individual worlds that we become defenseless in our abilities to combat his attacks. In any battle a commander can give orders to the subordinate leaders but if further communication lines are broken and battle conditions warrant a change in tactics, then those who are without contact from the commander are cut off and susceptible to slaughter.
God does not want these conditions to occur in our lives so He sets up roadblocks to help us chose the correct path. God does not force us to chose His path but the roadblocks should be enough warning to us that we need to change our course of action and to be honest most of us climb over or go right around these Godly roadblocks and proceed on our desired course. Many of us have read in the Bible concerning tactics that God has used on some of the people in the Bible. Some even question God and His use of force and violence against these people but if we understand that from the beginning of the Bible the entire process has been for God to restore man back into communion with Him. And if we continue to ignore these roadblocks that God places into our lives, will we force God to act according to His word?
DLB
Part XVIII to follow……
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