One More Night
Just to be on the safe side
This morning, the good news was, my Troponin levels that were high last night hadn’t trended any higher. (Troponin can be a marker in the blood of something happening to the heart). They knew this because they drew blood every few hours throughout the night to check it. The concern was still that it was high at all, and though it hadn’t gotten higher, it hadn’t gotten lower, either.
Not to worry, they scheduled me for an Echocardiogram, just to rule out any heart damage. That’s a form of ultrasound that takes pictures of the heart to confirm its condition inside its walls, or chambers, so to speak. No problem — take the pictures, if they look good, I go home. If not, we go to Plan B, whatever that might be. I feel fine — just tired of this room!
They scheduled me for that test at 10 a.m. I waited — and waited — and waited some more. I read, ate some lunch, watched some TV, took a nap, they drew blood, I read some more, gazed out my window, and they informed me that the Echocardiogram takers are way backed up, today. I’m clearly not the only one here for heart issues. I’m not alone!
Morning turned to afternoon turned to evening, I had dinner, son JB brought me a real cup of coffee and change of clothes, ear buds, shampoo & conditioner, and a couple of books to read, just in case (what a great son I have!)
Then finally at 7:00, a doctor came by to tell me it ain’t happening today. I get one more overnight stay, breakfast in bed in the morning, and hopefully an early test.
Kathy likes that I’m in here, with lots of people to take care of me if something isn’t right, as opposed to being at home, where there’s not much she can do for me if things go south again. I see her point — but don’t really share it.
I just wanna go home! This is not my idea of fun! But I am all for exercising an abundance of caution, and doing my best to deal with all this laying around, waiting.
I feel like I’ve been here for days, though it’s only been 29 hours. I can manage one more night — maybe I’ll manage to sleep through the blood draws.
The good news is, I’ve written and posted more stories on the Story Hall in Medium during this whole deal than I had in months. While I’ve dealt with this adversity, my storytelling muse has rediscovered me. She’s been missing for awhile.
Hello!
