So this is how it all went down :D
Entry posted by Chameleon
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As most of you may know, I recently had another heart attack, and as a result ended up going through a quadruple bypass surgery. It was crazy but I survived. So I figured I would post this blog to give a bit more detailed idea of how it all went down..
I Had been having some chest pains through basically all of march, but that was nothing unusual considering I had had a couple of heart attacks in 2011, and even some stents. The reason I didn't worry as much was, as soon as a rested for a moment the pain would go away, and all went back to normal again.
Well early on the 3rd of April we were having a downpour here where I live, and the water was up really high. Normally I wouldn't think much of it, but considering all the flooding we had been having I was keeping an eye on it. As the water rose I decided I would walk out to the creek and have a look, so my lady and I put our shoes on and headed out. By the time we got to the water, which was well less than 1/4 mile from my house, I was out of breath and having bad chest pains. Again I caught my breath, and everything seemed to be okay. We decided we would come back to the house, jump into the suv and go for a drive, and check out how high the water was in other places. Once we walked back to the car, I had to run in the house to get the keys. My chest was hurting again, so I sat down to catch my breath, but this time the pain did not leave, and I couldn't catch my breath, which made me more than nervous.
I walked back out with the keys and told Teresa that I thought we should goto the ER and have this checked out. I still didn't think it was anything serious, but I can't lie, it was worrying me.
We get to the ER, and because of my history they brought me straight back. After an EKG, and the usual things you do to check for heart issues, my Cardiologist who happen to be there recommended a heart cath. For those of you who do not know what that is, They put you on this table, give you some goofy drugs and then run a wire through your arteries and look for blockages, the goal being to find them, place a stent and keep the blood flowing through my body.
Well turns out the heart catch did more than find a simple blockage, it found 3 100% closed off and 1 that was 99% so they realized indeed I was having a heart attack, and a massive one at that.
The doc informed me of what he found, and informed me that I had to undergo surgery. By the time we had gotten to this point, it was Saturday the 4th, and the surgeon that should have been there had taken a vacation, so we had to wait for another to arrive. They scheduled my surgery for 9am Sunday morning, which can give you way to much time to think about having your chest cracked open, fortunately because of the pain, the kept me doped up on morphine and painkillers.
Sunday morning rolled around, they put me under and went to work. It only lasted around 5 hours, and then I was out and straight into recovery, which was pretty sucky because, if your oxygen levels aren't right, even though you may be breathing on your own, the keep the tubes ran down your throat. Now it was bad enough that they had all sorts of tubes stuck in my chest, and a pump in my leg to keep blood flowing, but now I was awake with a giant tube in my throat, which prevented me from talking, or drinking anything at all, not to mention that I constantly felt like I was suffocating. I understood that I was breathing, but the machine was doing it for me, and let me tell you, nothing can ever feel more suffocating.
Later that evening they started taking all the tubes out of my chest, and out of my throat, which was awesome no matter how bad it hurt when they did it, and man did it hurt.
I stayed in the hospital a few more days and they were amazed at how fast I was recovering, so they decided I could come home, which I was far far beyond excited hehe. I have been home for a week or so, not sure on the timeline as I have been on painkillers this whole time, all I know is I am home, and alive, both of which almost never happened. The Doc said I was very ill when I came in, and told me it was more than a miracle that I was alive, and that is awesome and the scariest thing at the same time.
I am doing pretty good atm, I stay tired and am unbelievably sore which is to be expected, I mean, they did saw through my chest bone, crack it open and work on me hehe..
Anyway, I am alive and getting better, and maybe soon can rejoin FA on a regular basis, heck, I even got some COD in today, and man did it feel good..
I am posting these pics just because I think you can see where I was to what I became.. I am so thankful to be alive, and so thankful to have all of you my friends here..
This pic is right before I went in for the heart catch, and I think you can tell, I didn't seem all to worried hehe
This pic is after I had all my tubes removed after the surgery, I think you can see here what a toll it took on me, not to mention the awesome scar haha.
With all that being said, I am thankful for being alive, for all my friends and family, and I truly do love everyone of you!
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