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So this is how it all went down :D


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

vzWjKEU.jpg

 

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.

NG1cAw9.jpg

 

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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Oh my, that tubes down your throat really does sound incredibly uncomfortable and suffocating. Glad you're okay now, hope you'll recover totally and soon. I wish you all the best!

That scar looks badass btw :)

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Lol..yeah...you look wasted : D you got to listen to your body...I had what I call a lope in my heart years ago ,which actually was that it would pause and then start beating again..decided to see a doctor for first time ever for a checkup..had to be put on drugs and diet to make it stop..doctor said i was lucky...now 15 years later I'm still ok...rest and feel better soon

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Oh my, that tubes down your throat really does sound incredibly uncomfortable and suffocating. Glad you're okay now, hope you'll recover totally and soon. I wish you all the best!

That scar looks badass btw :)

Yeah the tubes were terrible, even though they were breathing for me, I felt like I was suffocating and dying hehe..  Hahaha well you're the first person to say the scar looks badass, but I like what you said the best, so I am going with that haha thanks :D

 

 

Lol..yeah...you look wasted : D you got to listen to your body...I had what I call a lope in my heart years ago ,which actually was that it would pause and then start beating again..decided to see a doctor for first time ever for a checkup..had to be put on drugs and diet to make it stop..doctor said i was lucky...now 15 years later I'm still ok...rest and feel better soon

You better keep getting that checked, don't wanna end up like me hahaha.. Thanks :D

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Damn, I was wondering why you left me! I didnt think it was serious when I saw the ":D" and then I read this. My buddy getting a surgery scared the crap out of me, but Im glad you are okay. Hope to see you again so we can spam the chat box!

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Hmmm, very bad experience for you.

Take care and have a good recovery.

Thanks my friend :D

 

 

Damn, I was wondering why you left me! I didnt think it was serious when I saw the ":D" and then I read this. My buddy getting a surgery scared the crap out of me, but Im glad you are okay. Hope to see you again so we can spam the chat box!

Yeah it was crazy, I went from chest pain to open heart surgery hehe.. I am getting better though and will be back soon in full force, and we shall spam again!

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I'm just grateful all went well, and that you on the road to recovery.

Thanks man, it was a miracle indeed!

 

Take good care of yourselve m8 ...God bless!

Thanks a ton :D

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Man reading this brings a lot into perspective. Glad you made it and are recovering great my friend. Makes me think maybe I should get my chest pains checked out by a cardiologist this time instead of just an ER doc who said all looked fine, gave me 800mg naproxens and sent me home and told me to schedule an appointment with a primary car doc.

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Glad you are doing OK!..I would suggest to anyone..get EKG and have them do a stress test on a treadmill..not shoot you with drugs to simulate running..and if need be a electocardiogram

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Man reading this brings a lot into perspective. Glad you made it and are recovering great my friend. Makes me think maybe I should get my chest pains checked out by a cardiologist this time instead of just an ER doc who said all looked fine, gave me 800mg naproxens and sent me home and told me to schedule an appointment with a primary car doc.

Dude you should totally look into that with a cardiologist.. Just to make sure

 

Glad you are doing OK!..I would suggest to anyone..get EKG and have them do a stress test on a treadmill..not shoot you with drugs to simulate running..and if need be a electocardiogram

Thanks man, and that is a great idea

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Aww man, congratulations on the recovery and wish you the best of luck! Take care.

Thanks man :D Will do!

 

Man, I am glad you're still with us dude. Take it easy and don't push yourself too hard.

Yeah, I'm glad too haha..  Thanks for the kind words

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Dude you should totally look into that with a cardiologist.. Just to make sure

 

 

I should, yes. Heart conditions run in the family, pace maker in my grandpa, emergency heart surgery and 4 stents in my uncle, and my dad had pains for a while. But when I went in the first time to the ER for chest pains, they ran the EKG/EEG/ECG scans, chest xrays, and what not, and the doctor said well you're young, and blah blah blah, you shouldn't worry about it. And for a while I did, would get a shortness of breath and my chest would compress and get lightheaded, but now for the most part it's gone (2 or so years ago). Occasionally I will get mild discomfort to a little harsher chest pains, but that's all. And taking a break from whatever I'm doing makes it go away.

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I should, yes. Heart conditions run in the family, pace maker in my grandpa, emergency heart surgery and 4 stents in my uncle, and my dad had pains for a while. But when I went in the first time to the ER for chest pains, they ran the EKG/EEG/ECG scans, chest xrays, and what not, and the doctor said well you're young, and blah blah blah, you shouldn't worry about it. And for a while I did, would get a shortness of breath and my chest would compress and get lightheaded, but now for the most part it's gone (2 or so years ago). Occasionally I will get mild discomfort to a little harsher chest pains, but that's all. And taking a break from whatever I'm doing makes it go away.

I was the same way man, I would have these bad pains, but if I sat down and took a break it would go away, but one day it did not go away, and boom, quadruple bypass.  Ekg  can only tell them if you are at the moment having a heart attack, and a chest xray doesn't see it all, what you need to do is have a heart catch done, that way they can see your arteries and so on..  

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Take care of yourself. This sort of stories always stays unbelievable and show how strong people are. Have a good recovery and we will see you soon!

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Take care of yourself. This sort of stories always stays unbelievable and show how strong people are. Have a good recovery and we will see you soon!

Thanks man :D

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I was the same way man, I would have these bad pains, but if I sat down and took a break it would go away, but one day it did not go away, and boom, quadruple bypass.  Ekg  can only tell them if you are at the moment having a heart attack, and a chest xray doesn't see it all, what you need to do is have a heart catch done, that way they can see your arteries and so on..  

Once I get health insurance again (technically I have "ACCHHS" or whatever this Arizona healthcare shit is), I will get some things checked out. But since it has been relatively "mild" compared to how it used to effect me, I haven't really been as worried about it...

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Once I get health insurance again (technically I have "ACCHHS" or whatever this Arizona healthcare shit is), I will get some things checked out. But since it has been relatively "mild" compared to how it used to effect me, I haven't really been as worried about it...

Just make sure you address the issue.  I have learned that it can all be over in just the blink of an eye, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to keep you around hehe :D

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Be careful with movements that stretch the sternum, this can be quite painful in the first few weeks :P

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Be careful with movements that stretch the sternum, this can be quite painful in the first few weeks :P

Yeah it has been pretty tough so far, but I am slowly gaining my mobility back :D  Thanks

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