Lois was in North Carolina during the week, working on cleaning my dad's house, to get it ready for sale. I was coming down on the weekends to help. This particular weekend, however, our house church group was coming down to help us build a deck, replacing the rickety one that stood at the end of the trailer. Midweek I was feeling unusual things going on with my heart and went to see my cardiologist.
She did an in-house x-ray and noticed a blockage that had her concerned. She scheduled a catheter procedure for three days later in order to check out the blockage. I was told to call before then if I had any strange symptoms. I called Lois, and we agreed that she should come back, and we would postpone the house church workday. I felt really bad that I had ruined our plans.
Just after midnight two nights before the scheduled procedure, I was awakened by what seemed a significant gas buildup around my heart. I called the cardiologist's answer service. I was told to go on to the medical center where my cardiologist was on staff. Lois drove me there. When we arrived, I was checked out by the ER doc and found to be doing okay. In fact, I felt okay by then and apologized for taking up their time.
The doctor said that my cardiologist's associate would be there doing heart caths in a few hours and that her office wanted me admitted so that they could work me in, given my heart history. Lois had gone back home to rest, and I was to call her whenever I knew the surgery schedule. They woke me up at 5:30, saying that they had a cancellation and could start the cath in about 30 minutes.
I called Lois to give her my "see you on the other side" greeting, but she didn't answer. I then called my daughter, who didn't realize that I was in the hospital. She said that she would get hold of Mom and let her know what's happening. The cardiologist completed the procedure and found another 95% blockage in a major artery. He inserted another stent. This time my recuperation was less painful (like the back pain I had with the previous heart attack).
It's now been almost eight years since that last attack. I'd like to attribute it to eating right, etc., but it appears to be due to a medical decision to treat my sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing many times during the night. Aside from excessively loud snoring, the condition can put a tremendous strain on your heart.
My sleep apnea was discovered through a routine trip to an ENT to have a nosebleed corrected. He noticed enlarged adenoids in my throat and recommended a sleep study. The study confirmed it, and the rest is history. I was fitted with a CPAP (controlled positive air pressure) machine, and my nights are snore-less. I still have atrial fibrillation (heart flutters), but the lack of insurance keeps me from having it looked at.
So much for my physical life. Let's move on to the most important spiritual change in my life since my original salvation.
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