Late-Night ER Visits

My husband will tell you that if at all possible, I avoid going to the doctor. However, on January 15 I could not avoid it. I woke up about 11:30 p.m. with what I initially thought was indigestion.

However, the pain kept getting worse, and my husband said, "I'm taking you to the ER." At that point, there was no argument from me. The ER was not very busy, but I still waited for at least 20 minutes before I saw a doctor. It was a painful 20 minutes. In fact, I said something like this to my husband, "If I die of a heart attack before I see a doctor, sue the hospital!" I think it was the pain talking!

When I finally saw the doctor, I received very good care. My blood work showed no sign of a heart attack; however, my EKG was "not a normal EKG." The doctor said the abnormality could have been there for a while, but since I had no previous EKG for comparison, he wanted me to stay overnight to be monitored.

By this time it was about 3:00 a.m., and I didn't get to a room until sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. The nurse hooked me up to a heart monitor, and I finally fell asleep, only to be awakened around 6:00 a.m. for a repeat blood test, which again showed no sign of a heart attack. Praise the Lord!

The doctor ordered an abdominal ultrasound to check my gallbladder. That didn't happen until early afternoon, so I didn't get discharged until about 2:30 p.m. Boy, was I glad to get home!

I saw my doctor Monday, and she ordered a stress test, not just any old stress test, but a nuclear stress test. Yes, I had radioactive dye put in my veins. No, I did not glow! I will tell you about the test in a later post.

The ultrasound and the stress test were normal. What a relief! My blood pressure has been borderline high for some time, so my doctor put me on meds that hopefully I will be able to discontinue after I lose more weight. Regular exercise also should help.

After all the tests, however, there is still no answer as to what caused the problem. And I'm hoping it never happens again!

I feel like this was a wake-up call ~ a rather frightening one ~ to really stay serious about losing the rest of the weight I need to lose and also to exercise regularly.

Most importantly, it was a reminder of how important it is to keep my eyes on Jesus. Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." I have trouble with the "Do not be anxious" part of that verse, but I'm working on it.

I was also reminded of how blessed I am to have friends and family who held me up in prayer and to have a church where I can be anointed with oil for healing, as it says in James 5:14, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." I was anointed before I went for the stress test.

With all the tests and doctor's visits, I just did not feel like posting. But I wanted to let you know where I've been and what's been happening.

I hope your week ahead is blessed!

Wanita