…because it was a heart attack.

On Thursday, January 12, 2012, I went home to take care of my dogs and then get ready to go to dinner with my friend Amy. Everything seemed fine when I walked in the door. As I walked through the house to take care of my pooches and kittens I started to feel a tightness in my chest.

I thought I had heart burn. I popped some Pepcid.

I finished caring for my pets and noticed that my arm was hurting below my elbow. The pain in my chest grew and grew. It was almost unbearable, like Kano in Mortal Kombat had punched a hole in my chest and was about to rip out my heart.

I got cold, pulled a blanket over me and lay on the couch. My dogs and cats decided that there was something wrong and all three dogs and both kittens huddled near me. And I fell asleep, clutching my chest with my arm stretched out in pain.

When I woke up, Angela had just got home and I told her what happened. She asked if I was ok and if I needed to see someone. I brushed her off and thought it was all said and done. The next day I felt two dull pains in my chest. My coworkers said I didn’t look so good. I said that I always looked like that. Finally, I left work early to go see my doctor.

I wasn’t going to see her and I sat outside her office debating whether or not I should go. I finally put on my big boy pants and went in. It was there that they looked at my EKG and said they wouldn’t let me drive. I could either call someone to drive me to a hospital for a blood test or they’ll or get me an ambulance.

To cut a long story short, they found the enzyme in my blood which indicated that I had ‘an event’, most likely a mild heart attack. And that, my friends, is where I’ve been since Friday.

Today, January 16, 2012, I had a cardiac catheter, an angioplasty and a stent put in one of my arteries. During the procedure they told me that one artery was 95% blocked with plaque while another was about 60%.

And that is how I spent my long weekend. Hanging out with three different roomies, chatting with my nurses and their assistants and laying in bed, getting stuck with needles, making a mess sweating like a pig in my hospital gown.