Not much death to talk about death as I've been very lucky. But some close calls. It seems everyone I know is having a heart attack. The most recent and most scary, my uncle, had a massive heart attack and his heart stopped for 3 minutes. He walked into the ER complaining of chest pains. They took him to the lab for some tests (echo cardiogram I think) when his arteries blocked and his heart stopped. They used CPR to keep him alive until the defibrillator unit arrived and they shocked him back. But he was practically written off as dead, as when his wife arrived the first person to talk to her was the Chaplin. And when the Dr. did talk to her, he pegged his survival rate at around 30%. But my uncle is a tough SOB and he fought his way back. He's walking around now like nothing happened. But damn did he give us a scare.
My girl friend's mother's partner had a similar incident. Felt chest pain, and ended up calling an ambulance. Half way to the hospital they turn on the lights and start driving real fast. He had a second attack on route, but lucky for him he was already under supervision and the medics kept him alive. His initial plan was to just drive to the ER. That would have had a different ending. Scary stuff.
Then there's my friend Angelo, 5 years younger then me. He's a diabetic and has all sorts of issues. Had a mild heart attack. Luckily he didn't do what so many others do and just assume it's heart burn. He knew the signs and checked himself in right away, and a good thing that he did. I can understand old people having problems, but guys who are in their early 30s?
All of this happened this year. But what's got me really worried is what's happening tomorrow. My mom got the call from her heart surgeon, they need to
replace her valve and it's happening tomorrow. Not much time to prepare at all. It's a scary operation and it's one that I will one day face as I have the same valve defect. But having more then a day and a half notice would be nice. I'm hoping my sis will be able to pull herself off her heavy call schedule so she can be there. Some comfort is that my sis knows the surgeon doing the op and assures us he's the best. Still, the thought of ripping your chest open and cutting off your aorta is unnerving to say the least. It goes with out saying that there's a fair bit of anxiety associated with all of this.
I've just seen too much of the inside of hospitals lately. I hope this is it for now.
