Yesterday morning I was feeling a little stranger than usual. Most people know I take an SSRI for anxiety (runs in the family), and it does a good job, but for some reason I had a massive panic attack that didn't seem to be subsiding. That and a little twinge of pain in my chest prompted me to ask Steve (rootbeer1) to drive me to the ER. I figured maybe my blood pressure meds needed adjusting or something.

Well, when you go to the emergency room and say you're feeling dizzy and weak and have any kind of chest pain, they usher you right in, wire you up and start the EKG. Normal, as it always has been, but they wanted to check the blood proteins over a few hours, so I was there for a while. Plus, just to make double-sure, my ER doc (named after a famous Viking explorer) called in a cardiologist (named after a famous soup) to reassure me. And to make triple-sure, the cardiologist ordered a stress test and 3D heart imaging, which meant I was going to be there all day and have to come back the next.

I have to say, the staff at Davies are wonderful--straightforward, reassuring, funny, and so very nice. One of the funniest events of the day was when I was just lying on the gurney waiting for the next blood test, and my nurse came in and offered to get me some more magazines.

"Yes, please-these weren't too old, compared to the ones in radiology," I replied.

"Oh, we try to bring them in from home to supplement the ones here," Nurse Mary replied. "The other day, I was with an elderly woman patient and she was reading one of the magazines.
'Excuse me,' she asked, 'exactly what kind of magazine is this?' She was reading a copy of OUT Adventures.
'It's a gay travel magazine,' I said.
'Oh, that explains all the nearly naked young men in swimming trunks,' the patient replied.
'Would you like me to get you something else?'
'Oh no, I'm enjoying it!!' "

I was just filled with affection for this City.


BTW, I had the rest of the stress test this morning and everything is perfectly normal--with my heart, anyway. So I'm going to work on the anxiety some more, and Steve and I are trying to eat a whole lot healthier and get to the gym more.

Nothing like middle age for waking you up to good health habits!