The doctor’s voice came through the phone firmly. “Do not drive yourself. Have someone drive you directly to the emergency room.”
Before my cell phone rang, I had been going thru musty boxes of old photos, notes my wife had written before she died, college notes, writings, etc. Each box was being reduced to a handful of things I thought would be nice to keep for the proverbial day of sitting in the rocking chair in my old age reflecting back on life someday. Since I flew back to Dallas for Easter, I thought I would take a few hours to clear out some of the “memory boxes” taking up storage space.
I stayed over an extra day and had some extra time. Had a routine CT scan the day before related to slightly bulging disk that gives me a little discomfort periodically. No big deal.
My cell phone rings with a NO CALLER ID on the screen. Probably a telemarketer I think putting the phone back down. The NO CALLER ID is either a junk call or a very important call. I decide to answer. It’s the doctor. “I have good news and I have bad news.” I immediately assume he is setting me for a joke since I know him.
“Okay, good news first,” I say playing along.
“The good news is the spot we were watching is not a problem. The bad news is you need to go to the hospital … to the emergency room … immediately. You have a blood clot … a pulmonary embolism. Do not drive yourself. Have someone drive you directly to the emergency room.”
“You realize of course,” I said still with my sense of humor radar out and not comprehending what he was telling me, “I don’t have time for this.”
“John, you’ve heard of a widow-maker … well, ah, you have a serious situation … and you are lucky to be here. You could die on the way to the hospital. Again, do not drive yourself and do not delay,” he stated authoritatively to drive the point into my thick scull.
“I get it … I hear you. I will leave now.”
His words bounced around inside my head. An out-of-the-blue bit of shocking news.
A surrealist moment walking downstairs where my son had just entered. He drove me to the Presbyterian Emergency Room. I was still processing the phone call. My son was also.
Hospitals are not my idea of a place to hang-out especially if you are sick. The Emergency Room was filled with cold and flu sufferers. People coughing, spitting into cups and an occasional moaning. I felt for all of them, but the whole place struck me as a Russian Roulette germ exchange.
So, boring details aside, I went through questioning, a series of tests, scans and, of course, several blood draws. I’m convinced it’s a scheme by the head nurse to take enough blood to weaken each patient into submission. Just a hunch.
When the ER doc appeared, the verdict: Blood clot or clots had passed through the right side of my heart, then into my right lung, lodging there. "You are lucky to be alive," he said.
The next day, after more tests, scans, and, of course, more blood drawn I got the best of the bad news. My heart was NOT damaged. A little stressed, but no long term damage. What damage it caused was in the right lung and it would heal as the clot dissolves with a new med. Had the clot been slightly larger it would have stopped at my heart. I could have dropped dead on the spot. The fatality rate is as high as 80% with this type of condition depending on factors such as the size of the asteroid, or rather, the clot.
This one apparently came from my leg. It can happen to anyone. Take note if you are going on long flights or long car rides. The sitting/driving part for long periods in ARGO this year put me in the high risk category.
I didn't want to write till I was sure I was in the clear. I had been in intense pain, but was trying to power thru it. My daughter gave me a stern lecture about not doing that again when she came to help me. She is a good caring daughter and I pay attention to her advice.
I am out of the hospital and laying low. Good news: There is no long term damage to my heart. So, instead of a game over scenario for me, it's back to where I left off. Flying back to Florida to continue my American discovery journey project as I mental process my near miss with the staircase to Heaven. Grateful I can continue the project of talking with folks across America and filming stories for the documentary.
So the take away from this for me, AND FOR YOU: 1. Stay hydrated by drinking extra water (as a double benefit the extra water will motivate you to get up sooner) 2. Stop at least once an hour and walk around if you are driving or flying long distances. 3. In between stops, rock your feet back and forth and wiggle your toes. . These simple things help will move the blood around to help you avoid a blood clot. Not doing so puts us at risk for blood clots for a few weeks following driving/flying long periods.
I found that out first hand. Even though I have no history of any clotting or heart problems and I work out regularly … it happened to me.
Fortunately I get to hang around a bit longer to continue my project Discovering America One Story At A Time and my blog: JohnButlersBuzz.com.
“Life is a near death experience.”
- George Carlin
