Beavers Bend looking iffy - - -
Had a funny (as in strange, scary) episode last Sunday (Easter) morning.
Awoke at 1:36AM instantly, completely, from a sound sleep. Took me a minute or two to figure out what was going on, then realized I was having trouble getting a full breath. Could take deep breaths but felt like I wasn't actually utilizing the air & each time I felt as if there was a tight band across my upper chest.

Got out of bed & even stuck my head outside trying to get some fresh air; didn't work! After a few minutes the symptoms eased slightly but were still there & I still felt I wasn't getting the air I needed. Fooled around for a while longer (even visited T&TTT on the 'puter) 'til finally my Darlin' Wife (she's a retired nurse) said, "enough of this sh!t, you're going to the ER, NOW." She'd taken my BP & nearly went ballistic when it was 189/87 (normal for me is 120-130/70), so we dressed & hied ourselves to the local ER a little after 3AM.
They immediately attached to me a myriad of wires, clips, & assorted monitors that indicated my BP was 170/100 (bad), blood oxygen saturation was 100% (good!), pulse 68, etc. They started oxygen, applied a nitroglycerin patch, took blood samples, an EKG, & a chest x-ray. Within just a little while my BP was approaching normal & I was breathing some better. Shortly afterwards the ER Doc told us they were gonna "observe" me for a while so after the 7AM shift change they 'hauled' me upstairs to the CCU 'stepdown unit' where I was again hooked up to more monitoring equipment than my local mechanic uses on our vehicles.
For the next 36hrs or so I wuz poked, prodded, & subjected to various indignities (a HUGE vial of blood drawn every 6hrs, injection of Lovenox, a blood thinner, in my belly every 6hrs

, an ultra-sound of my heart on Monday morning, etc.). I'm soooo glad the ER nurse inserted an IV since they were able to use that rather than 'sticking' me for each blood sample. My BP wuz running 124/65 consistently & I wuz again breathing normally by mid-morning Sunday, & the chest tightness subsided by noon; but they still insisted on holding me hostage 'til Dr Hatch, the cardiologist was satisfied I wasn't 'next to death's door'. Every test result showed normal function & the Doc said no evidence of a heart attack

. Late Monday PM he said "I'm gonna kick you out but we'll schedule a Nuclear Stress Test for later in the week as outpatient." He sent me home with a new medication (Tiazac) added to the short list I'm already taking (for other reasons), & strict orders for no heavy lifting or strenuous exercise 'til further notoce.
Thursday I spent 5hrs in his clinic office doing the stress test

. He wasn't able to review the pix immediately but the Tech said the Doc would call me with results in a day or three. She's a licensed Radiological Technologist(?) who's been doing these tests for 10yrs or so & knows what the pix are supposed to look like so I ain't actually too worried since they didn't seem overly eager to set me up with more tests or further restrictions. I'm still on 'light duty' pending the Doc's word, hopefully by Monday.
Anyway, if he don't give me the go ahead for extended driving & mild exertion such as hooking/unhooking the TD, raising the EZ-Up, etc., we may miss the gathering next weekend. We're hoping for the best & will keep you informed.
