Long Three days

It's been a long three days.

When you were growing up, did you do the game we did where you would nail a friend with a knuckle . . just as hard as you could right in their upper arm muscle? (If not, you have NEVER LIVED . . but, I digress.)

I was watching TV Saturday afternoon, Well, really I had the TV on while I crocheted and checked everything I could online. I got this pain right at the bottom of my sternum . . if felt EXACTLY like someone had nailed my sternum with their knuckle. Actually, it was below the Xiphoid Process.

I would have sworn there was a bruise there . . and I kept feeling around the area to see if there was some type of a small lump there . . . very weird feeling.

About two hours later it came back. Made me wonder if it was more than a pain. Lately I have been hearing so much about "when a woman woman has a heart attack they symptoms aren't the same as with a man."

About 4:30, we headed out to the local hospital ER . . . sure wish it had been during the week so I could have gone into the wellness clinic our Dr's office has started . . to let their patients same some $$$ by not going to one of those emergency medical places outside of a hospital.

Got in quicker than the time I showed up in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack. Guess writing "chest pain" down as my symptom got their attention. An aspirin, EKG, blood work and chest x-rays were done quickly. Found out I had elevated Liver enzymes.

Since they didn't know what caused it, and it could still be something with the heart, they "booked a room" for me in the "24 hour observation" suites . . and I say "suites" tongue in cheek.

8:05, I enter room 535 . . . and waited until 8:20 for anyone to come in and check me in . . . then, it was the head nurse . . she comes in and says, "I'll be right back."

I looked in the drawer of the bedside table to see if I could find any info about phone and TV . . wanted to let the husband know I FINALLY made it up to a room . . I had sent him home earlier . . still don't like him driving with one good eye at night.  I couldn't believe this . . the drawer was empty, the cabinet part was empty and so was the closet . . . GOOD GOD! Our  hospital in our hometown had a binder that had all kinds of hospital and room info . . . I got a sheet of paper folded in half to make a "table tent" on the table saying "Welcome to DeGraff Hospital!"

FINALLY, the nurse, I mentally called her "Nurse No Personality" came in and did just the amount of work that she could get by with. I kept asking her questions so she had to work. When I told her I couldn't call out on the phone, she was put out, but did call, wherever they have to call, to get the phone and TV hooked up. Found out that since I was on "observation", they would be free.  SHIT, again, in the hospital in my hometown, he TV and phone have been free for years . . I know, I know, nothing is free, but they are part of the room price.

Should have known this wasn't going to be a good visit. But, I carried on.

Remember I got to the hospital about 4:30 and it is now a little after 9 when the aide comes in. I asked her if she could call down to the cafeteria to get me something to eat.

"You mean the ER didn't order you anything to eat?"

I so wanted to say, "Yeah, they did and it was so delicious I wanted more." Instead, I politely said, "No,, they ordered something for the man next to me who was there before me, but never said anything to me."

(And, as a little aside, he was going home where he could have gotten something to eat . . . but I was nice.)

Well, their cafeteria isn't like ours at home that always has someone on duty to put something together for anyone who gets admitted late . . . might just be a salad and turkey sandwich, but you get something. I had a choice of a Lean Cuisine chicken parmigiana or a pot pie . . . well, I HATE pot pies so I had one choice . . . scarfed it down because I hadn't had anything since breakfast . . was not tasty at all. Now I think I know why . . I searched all over the Lean Cuisine web site and no where is there a picture of what I had . . . so God only knows what kind of chicken, pasta, broccoli (which is at the bottom of my food choice with cooked cauliflower) and about 3 1/3" pieces of apple in some type of sauce . . . .

Get the idea of how my Easter started out this year?

The next installment . . . Easter Sunday in the hospital.