Markwbird: It was 18 years ago yesterday at the UT- Wyoming game in Knoxville, TN. We had lunch at a new restaurant with our son, a student at UT and I was hungry when we got here. They brought a basket of various breads and I ate quite a bit. I ordered a cheeseburger with fries and while driving back over to his condo to park and walk to the game, I had a large dose of indigestion. I had ulcers, lived a bad, stressful lifestyle, so kept Rolaids and Tagamet with me all the time. Incomplained that my wife had let me eat bread with garlic ( I had not). I ate 3 or 4 Rolaids and took a Tagamet and began walking 2-1/2 miles to the game. It was a very hot day and Knoxville has large hills. I was walking along, getting hot and near a Walgreens and my wife looked at me and thought something was wrong. I felt terrible with the heat, the indigestion, and what I felt was a gas bubble on my chest. We went into Walgreens and it was wall to wall people. We left, walked about 1/4 mile and went into the lobby of one of the dorms. It was cool and I wanted to just cool off and I thought I would be better. My wife asked if I thought I was having a heat attack and I said absolutely not! My ego would not allow me to have a hear attack! I told her that even if I were, I'd rather be at the stadium where they had EMT's and laughed it off.
We stayed for the game, walked back the 2-1/2 mikes to the car and when I got there, I told her I was too exhausted to drive the 3-1/2 hours back home. She drove until about 2 AM, pulled off and woke me and I drove the rest of the way home. I taught Sunday School at 9 AM, went him after church and crashed. We usually would have drive. To the lake (1-1/4 hours away) and sailed our Hunter 260. I told her I was too tired to go. Labor Day I was still too tired and just laid around and watched TV. That was totally not me. I burned the candle from both ends and was never tired. Next day she called her Internist at St Thomas Hospital in Nashville and got me an appointment for Thursday. I was so mad she did that as I blew the whole thing off. She absolutely made me go. They put me on a treadmill with an EKG and I went 8 minutes and 46 seconds until they stopped it, took me off and gave me nitroglycerin. I got a prescription for nitro, was set to see (now my Cardiologist) and had an appointment for the next morning at 9 AM. Had to take another nitro in his office and they did an immediate Arteriorgram. Was diagnosed with 2 - 99.9% blockages referred to as Widow Makers. Was on the Operating Table by 1:00 PM. Two bypasses and a lot of other stuff and here I am today.
Anybody with similar symptoms GET YOUSELF TO THE ER ASAP. Sorry to be so detailed but I am very lucky to be here and I hope that this may keep someone with my very dumb previous attitude to go get a checkup. Most men would rather die than admit they could have a vulnerability. Not me anymore. I see my Cardiologist every 6 months, my Internist every 4 months, My Electrophsiology Cardiologist (Defribilator) every year and am wirelessly monitored every day in my home. I could possibly make another 18 years. I've had stents twice and am on my 3rd Defribilator as I am sitting here on my boat writing this reply.
