I'm back

I just want to post this as a lesson to everyone here. I'm 54 years old and considered myself to be in good health. Two weeks ago on Thursday, I experienced a burning in my chest. I hadn't been doing anything other that starting the morning which for me involves checking my websites. I opted to allow my wife to take me to the hospital. Things were in and out after that but I have very vague memories of being placed on a helicopter. The following Thursday I learned I was at Penn Medicine without understanding a full week had been lost as I was in an induced coma. They tell me my life will return to normal with time but right now I am very weak. Had 5 minutes anywhere along my process been interupted. I may not have survived.

Welcome back mate and have a speedy recovery so you can get back on here with your expertise.
The old saying is very relevant here and that is "There but for the grace of God go I";)

Same here bloke take it slow & steady:)

Hi Aragorn, glad you did it and that you’ll be ok soon.
Take care of yourself as much as possible.

Welcome back...

You see? This is what happens when you exercise and eat good food. You should take up smoking two packs a day and driving to the mailbox at the end of the street. It's worked for me!!

Nah, I wish your family and you a speedy recovery.

Heart attack???
Thank Goodness you are in an area with great healthcare options!
Speedy recovery.

What Gil said.

I have been putting of a doctor visit. Think you may have spurred me to quit procrastinating.
Get well soon!

Similar story in my case, but at age 53. Wife drove me to the local hospital where we waited in line at the ER desk. Was soon on my way to the big city in an ambulance. Was letting stress get to me in those days, but deal with that differently now. Take it easy and welcome back! :thup: - Bob

Glad to know you didn't have any 5 minute interruptions. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Same here....... 20 years ago I had a heart attack. Lay down on my bed stupidly thinking that it'd go off in a few minutes but severe pain muddles the brain. Wife took me to hospital - one of the finest in England. Here I am today. Just take cars and relax more. And here's another thing...... Don't let anyone tell you that there's mild and severe heart attacks. There's no such thing. They kill you or they don't!

We all wonder when it's our turn after a certain age. Just never think it's today. Glad it wasn't yours. Take care.

Steve,
Its great to see you on the mend, but ironically this past weekend, I have been unravelling someones dead wifes digital pathway. She alone knew all her passwords and access pins to accounts. She didn't record them either in a book or on paper. Nightmare!!!

Money she had going from an App to a Santander Account for instance each month, that was just one item, it was hard but at least, he has a list now of where to go to ensure things are stopped.
Stop for a moment, and think about it. Even down to a Facebook account, access to it passwords etc.
Sorry to hijack your thread Steve, but thought it a good time for us all to have a re think about letting your partner know technical password stuff.

Checkup today went well. I don't go back for six months which I found really surprising. Confirmation I may return to work relatively quickly, I just need to pace myself. Another doctor somewhat amazed and pleased to see me. So, paced exercise continues. Shooting will not be a problem, nor hunting although I'm supposed to have someone else drag the deer out. I'll really miss that.

Come on, you'll get the fun, the other guy will get the sweat.
Not a bad deal!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

I'll really miss that.

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I know sarcasm when I hear it.
Great news !

Glad you made it, mate.


Bob

It's been 10 weeks now and I'm thinking a bit more clearly now. In answer to some questions, I did not have a heart attack. My aorta just above my heart was in the process of rupturing and in the process damaging the valve in my heart. The surgeon said that as they were opening me up, blood was just starting to seep through the aorta, thus the five minute delay issue. I have been going to rehab which I'm not sure I like very much and they are working me less than I feel they should but I'm trying to follow instructions. I'm walking quite a bit, yesterday almost 5 miles. Sometimes, I feel almost normal, usually when I'm moving around. When relaxing or standing, sitting, etc, I notice the pain surrounding my ribs and chest muscles a lot more. I don't quite understand why the muscles still hurt, the ribs I get but I still feel like mini charlie horses on the side opposite of the incision. I've been told this is from the stretching of my ribs during the surgery. I had an 8 week checkup with the surgeon two weeks ago and have fluid around my heart which they are trying to reduce with medication. I go back tomorrow to see if it's working. If not, another hospital stay of a couple of days as they remove it with a large needle. Not looking forward to that so hoping everything is proceeding well.

To fill in some gaps from my first story, I remember being told I did not have a heart attack by the emergency room doctor. They ran some further tests and I talked to my family for a while after that but my memory basically ends with the doctor. I even sent my family home at one point as everything seemed to be fine. Shortly after that however the hospital called them and said I was being prepped for life flight to another hospital. Our hospital does not have a helipad so an ambulance had to take me to a nearby fire company where I was placed on the helicopter. I was then flown to Philadelphia. I do have a very vague memory of being placed on the helicopter and taking off. Surgery was about 5-6 hours although I am not sure on this timeline. They say I had a mild stroke during the surgery and then were concerned that I would not survive, then would not come out of the coma and then would not have use of my left side. All these pleasant upgrades being told to my family at the time. I was in the coma for about 4 and a half days. The first few days after I woke up I do not remember well. Probably the drugs. I do remember some but was also really out of it at the same time. The second week I remember better, could barely walk. I was released after a total of two weeks. I had to be able to walk unassisted up a flight of stairs. I cannot access this website at the hospital. It is firearm related and thus banned. First day home, my walk consisted of one block out, one block back. Within a week however I was able to walk on my own without someone babysitting me and in four weeks i was walking a couple miles a day.

I had PTSD, at least that is what I was told. My church called me a miracle which I had a hard time accepting for a while. Was very anxious in large groups but that has now passed. I have no stroke symptoms. Left side of my body is working just fine. Doctors said whatever they were would most likely be gone in six months anyway.

Still don't know why it happened. I never went to the doctor much but I did check my blood pressure on a regular basis at the Walmart machines and the surgeon said they are generally pretty accurate. It was never high, usually normal, occasionally in the pre-hypertension range. Statistics show this happens to 3 out of 100,000 people, high blood pressure is the leading cause, after that, they don't know but suspect heredity.

One of the more aggravating things that happened not health related is my wallet was lost somewhere along this process. I had quite a bit of cash in it which was my "gun money" so that fund is currently gone. It was a bit on the low side anyway so not a massive loss. Getting my drivers license wasn't too bad nor were the credit cards which were not used so doubtful theft was part of this. But all my other membership cards are not worth the hassle of getting. I'll just wait until the new year. and renewals.

Now I am trying to watch my salt intake which is not easy considering how much salt is in everything. Not sure how long I will do this. I used to add salt to everything which I am no longer doing but avoiding some foods just does not seem worth it. I don't think my salt intake affected my blood pressure before so it shouldn't now. I plan to minimize it without going crazy about it I guess.

So that's the short version. I'm glad to still be here.

Good to hear your on the mend.

Follow directions and heal well. If not caught, that would have been disastrous.

Glad your on the mend, disaster can strike without warning at anytime in our lives despite that one feels healthy as a mallee bull my mother worked like a trojan helping make ends meet like all mothers do for their families without warning she had an aneurysm in her brain she survived that one but in the end some years later it took her. My brother at 43 YOA turned around on his wifes birthday saying he better get you b*stards a beer to his best mate & b/inlaw and dropped dead from a heart attack. Then a while ago when I was in the broken peoples home for back surgery my wife was sitting behind my sisters car at the lights they turned green & my sisters car did not move my wife got out of her car and went to the drivers door & opened it.
My sister was tapping her head and then just fell sideways in the car we waited the 72 hours as she was brain dead an aneurysm took her out so we turned off the life support, of the 7 of us there is just myself and my older sister left.

So I take each day as it comes for all the ups & downs it may have and appreciate the ones that are in my life as you never know when the chalk line is going to be right in front of you.

Go slow A and get well Dr's at times can be a bit of a pain but generally they know what they are about thank goodness they got to you in time any longer and we would all be missing you....!

Sounds like you had a dissecting thoracic aortic aneurysm. Scarier than a heart attack, (all are bad news though). To find it and fix it is miraculous! Good job on the rehab stuff for sure!

Public service announcement coming- I always say if the thought comes across your mind to call for EMS or go to the ER, don't second guess it for a minute - In most areas, EMS have a protocol to bypass smaller ERs in cases of a heart attack or stoke. Specialized units where time is everything. All EMS should have defibrillators. If you choose to drive. Sometimes things get worse and if it happens on the side of the road and help can't find you. Also friends or family driving will be put in a position of risk if they are not concentrating as much on the road.

Most important! If you or someone you know does not feel right, just call EMS to come and do an assessment. In Ontario, it is of no cost and they have some basic tools in their bag of tricks to rule in or rule out some cardiac/health issues. It's not perfect, but sometimes things are found just by asking a few questions, hooking up a cardiac/heart monitor and looking at the ECG. I am only mentioning this as probably like a few in here I am stubborn too, rarely go to my doctor. It's your choice to drive or not to drive and call 911. Just some low salt food for thought. Jeeze I love salt and bacon too!

I only live 5 minutes from the hospital so it wasn't a big deal for us to drive there. It's not really a small hospital either but for what I had, only a few hospitals in the country are capable of handling them, Philly being one of the best.

Steve,
The same or similar conditions have knocked down athletes in their prime.
All of us are glad you pulled through but..........
As stated by others: Take your time, take it easy and work your way back slowly.
Stress and worries will bury you.
We pray for your future and hope your loved ones can overcome their worries.

If I can add, ribs can be sore a lot longer than the Doctors expect them to. A horse I owned proved that to me.

VR,

Boy, I'm glad you made it and with so few side effects!


Bob

Another adventure in your life successfully navigated. Glad to hear you're doing well.

Steve,
Good to have you back in the land of the living mate, and many more years to come.