From Breathless to a Broken Heart-A Paratrooper's Tuesday

That sounded cheesy didn't it?

It all started last Wednesday with the mother of all respiratory infections. I doped myself up with a Z-pack that I had acquired and decided to soldier through. Things didn't improve by Friday so I hit it with some real good allegy meds. On Sunday I attacked it with Asthma medicine. Nothing. I was too sick to get out of bed on Monday but troopered up and went to work on Tuesday. I was much more focused on getting someone at our hospital to fix me than churning out a bunch of completed workorders from the bucket list of old projects that hang around awaiting inspiration.

Walking was much harder than expected. I finally staggered into the Emergency Room gasping like a fish after 20 minutes for 300 meters. The ER group jumped on me and started checking me out. They ran every test I knew and a couple I'd never heard of.

The X-ray said walking double pneumonia! That sounded like big trouble. I knew tough people who had died of pneumonia! The Doctor in charge looked serious enough. The students following him made the appropriate faces of concern. (cherries)

Unfortunately, the EKG said I had an extreme Atrial flutter, pulse of 150, and abnormally high BP. Nobody cared about the pneumonia anymore. Cardiac docs and students muscled the pulmonary docs and students out of the way like stormtroopers knocking over elderly security guards.

Could I explain it?
Nope.
Did my chest hurt?
Nope.
Was I dizzy?
Nope.
Any cardiac history?
Nope.
BP meds?
No, but I can't breathe.
That's just pneumonia. Don't worry about that.

Labs came back. Every single one OK except for white blood cells were up from fighting the pneumonia. Whatever they were looking for cardiac related wasn't there so they ran them again. Same results. The young cardiac doctors were placed in the back row by senior cardiologists. The students disappeared.

This Thursday. Through antibiotics and diuretics the pneumonia is pretty much gone and my lungs are much clearer. I still need supplimental oxygen but not as much and then only when moving around. That should clear up in the next couple of weeks. I thought pneumonia was more serious than that. Evidently its a piece of cake when holding up cardiac doctors.

My heart was found to be running at full speed like a chainsaw with the trigger wired down. This might have been going on for months, according to the docs. The added strain has depleted efficiency to only about 35% of what it should be and my heart has swollen considerably from all the exercise. My dad died of sudden cardiac failure from an enlarged heart only six months after passing a flight physical in the Texas Air Gaurd. That fact was not lost on me.

Tomorrow, I will go into surgery. An echocardiagram probe with be ran down my throat to give the docs a better look at my heart. Afterwards, two catheters containing electric torches will be inserted in the main vein and arteries in my groin. These will find the missfiring nerve cells causing the issue and burn them out.

I have been assured that my heart will still fire after the process. 70% chance it will even fire correctly. Accidentally poking holes in my heart or slashing my viens and arteries is only 2-3% chance. I'm sure it will be fine.

If ya'll are the praying type, please pray for the group doing the work tomorrow and for my family. My family are all being very supportive and uplifting but they can't quite smile with their eyes right now. I know they're worried and I love them for it. I wish they weren't going through this though and ask for your help lifting them up.

And ya'll please take a second to check your pulse from time to time. If I had caught this quicker I would have had easier solutions available to me. This is thought to be triggered by an episode of both heavy physical strain and some adrenaline pouring situation. I can't remember it, you might not either if you wait too long.

Message complete.

Zimmy out

 

Lots of news in that post @Zimmy. I will say prayers for you and keep you in my thoughts. Amazing how you never knew about your heart but thankfully this pneumonia may have saved your life. Science is amazing. I have never heard of the burning out misfiring cells. Can't believe they are doing surgery so soon after pneumonia.

Prayers

 

Wish you a complete and speedy recovery.

 

Wish you a complete recovery and we are praying for you. Wife had open heart surgery, multiple bypasses and it scared the sh** out of us. The best thing we got out of it and we hope you will feel the same, is they caught it before she had the heart attack and treated it and she has been fine now for 5 years, rather than finding it in the autopsy after the heart attack. It is really nice to be able to run the tests, set up things, etc, rather than trying to do it cold at 4 AM on Sunday in the emergency room and with additional damage to the heart as they are treating you..

 

Praying for a complete and total healing!

 

Zimmy, keep pluggin' away. Too good to die, but just bad enough to keep livin' and breathin' some more.

Hope your recuperatin' exceeds your discombobulatin'

 

Holy chit Bud!!!

Major sky pilot time from me and u r now on the prayer circle list

As far as Adrenalin rush ..... Airborne!

 

Zimmy, Wishing you the very best and a speedy recovery, Pray that things pass well for you!

 

My thoughts and prayers out to ya, for a fast recovery.

 

Wishing you a fast and speedy recovery. Prayers sent your way

 

May angels stick by your side until you are clear of all this and healthy and happily free of the hospitals and all those pokers and probers. Prayers sent as well. Keep us monkeys informed

 

Welcome back from the edge.
FWIW, that sounds about like me in 2000.
Good Docs and proper Meds saved you and me.
Now it is time for you to listen to the Docs.
Just so you will know, this is the time to put any problems aside and plan on your recovery.
You missed being part of the zipper club but that too could happen.
Good Luck.
HK

 

Stay strong and have faith all will be ok very soon. Fair Winds my friend

 

Praying for you Zimmy. Don't need to be losing anymore friends. Hang tough.

 

Prayer sent for a full and speedy recovery.

 

Prayers for you and your family! Keep us updated! Best wishes for a quick, full, and speedy recovery.

 

Thoughts and prayers for a full recovery, Zimmy.