So my friend who had "The Episode" spent two days in the hospital being poked and prodded, imaged and screened. He had bloodwork done, an MRI, a CAT scan an ECG and EKG. The good news is. He is fine. He has no blockage or build up in his arteries. Everything checked out perfect or nearly so.
What caused it? The Doc says it was either a migraine episode, which he has had in the past but never like that, or a TAI (mild stroke). Okay to me those seem vastly different in severity. They don't really know what it was or what caused it. It seems so strange to me that in the age of technology in which we live that sometimes they still just shrug their shoulders and say "We don't really know."
Oh yeah, and they found a hole in his heart! "A WHAT!!" There is a small hole in his heart covered by a flap. Apparently about 16% of the population has one, but most people never even know it (so how do they know 16% have them???). It doesn't cause any problems and is not related to what happened it is just a new and interesting fact to add to his medical records. The Doc says it shouldn't interfere with his life or activities.
Doc says you've got a hole in your heart, what do you do? I asked him if it freaked him out at all, as I would be paranoid, he said "Let me put it to you this way, there are 64 steps between my office and the lunch room. I usually take them two at a time. Friday I stood at the bottom of the stairs and thought 'do I really want to do this?', I took the elevator." So it freaked him out a little.
After a couple of days to let it sink in, he decided he had to live his life and couldn't let fear of the unknown, unknowable or maybe-possibles run his life. The next time he faced the mountain of stairs, he took them two at a time, like always. He passed a fellow co-worker who asked him "Are you sure you should be doing that?" To which he replied "I guess we'll find out, if I die you might want to get out of they way of my falling body I'd hate to take you out on the way down."
I think he'll be fine.
2 comments:
You know my mum has that same "hole" in the heart and it seems i have it too. I hear it runs in families; it is from birth. Sort of a different body configuration... And yes, as strange as it sounds, i have been told it is completely benign.
By the way, I discovered your blog thanks to Professor Batty and i enjoy reading you a lot!
I'm glad to know someone else who has a "hole" and has been told, it is no big deal. Thanks for stopping by and reading. Ah, Professor Batty, the common link in so many of our chains.
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