§ February [and March in My Case] is Heart Month....

Eight years ago today, I had a heart attack. I'm thankful for the help and "cure" for my blockage of arteries! When Bud called for an ambulance, and all the vitals were taken here at home, and on the trip to ER, I remember when we arrived, the entire night staff was outdoors to greet us and rushed me into the examining room, eventually telling me: "You are in the middle of a heart attack". That was the last thing I remembered until I came to after the stent placement surgery was complete! The cardiologist surgeon, a nurse [female] and the anesthesiologist was at my side. Once the last of the stents were placed, I was partially awake by then and I could feel my blood flowing once again....the best feeling alive to this day!! And I will never forget. Now, the anesthesiologist was compressing my inner thigh roughly! I now know that was to stop the blood from being lost after the tube for the procedure was removed...to stop the flow. While he was doing this, my first words were: "It's FREEZING in here"! He assured me he'd help me out when it was time to release the pressure on my groin! Then, a heated blanket was draped over me and I was whisked away to recovery!! Eventually, when all my vitals showed complete recovery, I was released to go home. The area where the artery catheter was inserted bruised to the size of a watermelon!!! Feb 28th 2015 midnight thru March 1st 3 a.m....The worst day of my life, and yet, the BEST day of my life!!!

§ Blogger Interface is a Challenge These Days...

I started out the morning after breakfast, working online in Blogger. The "newer" interface is not the friendliest. I feel I'm pretty proficient with coding. Yet, I can get tangled up in HTML for hours. I really shoulda just forgot the whole thing and gone birding. But no! Stupid me. I worked for hours and took a lunch break. Yes, hours. Then, I ended up getting the finishing touches on both of my blog templates for March after lunch. The most frustrating features [or I should say LACK of features], are the customized backgrounds...they don't work as they should [covering only the top few inches without being a complete filled in page! And secondly, the header! Each time, even after resizing it to fill the width, it comes out aligned to the far left! Not centered. I worked and worked. Finally, got it figured out, and made notes for next month's updated design. At least I hope.

As I said, I shoulda gone birding!

§ Tombstones....

Today, I have a 'birthday'....three years ago, 2015, on March 1st I survived a heart attack with the help of the hospital ER staff and cardiologists!!

Finally, the sun is making longer appearances these past few days, and Bud and I are doing some long awaited [since Thanksgiving] work in the back yard where all the damage was done back in August of 2017. We built a small deck area for our trash bins so they are no longer sitting in mud with the torrential rains we get. That's something we needed to do even BEFORE the hurricane, but now that the new fencing is up, we were inspired. lol Then, yesterday afternoon, we did some lawn work and I noticed that the Tombstone Roses [aka Lady Banks] are in bloom!! For sure, with those beautiful tiny blossoms, Spring has arrived!!!

...It's gonna be a busy time the upcoming days in March, I'll try and post more as I find more 'free' hours in the day to be on the 'net.



Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word. What am I?








answer ...empty

§ Hello....

If ever you experience this in your lifetime, I hope the best outcome for you!! I'm sure you've read by now that when a woman experiences a heart attack, the symptoms are very different than that with a man's symptoms of doubling over with chest pain. That is correct. At least it was in my case. And I thought I'd share it with y'all so you can be a bit informed from me, one who paid attention to the symptoms, and hopefully, maybe, I can explain, in a layman's terminology, for a quicker understanding...

It started with a bit of tender, worn, muscular tension. Within a half hour the dull, tight-muscle pain radiated to the back, lower-left ribcage. It wasn't excruciating, it was just uncomfortable, like pulled tendons from overworking the area. Before the night was over, I had no chest pain, but the lower back pain, between the bottom of the ribcage and the left hip, remained. Then, more distressed areas...but, still just offensive, nothing like a bending-over, debilitating, pain....the left side under the arm...to the left breast...they became tender. And, with massaging, I felt a bit of relief. My upper left arm from the shoulder to the elbow was like sore muscle. No spasms; just felt strained.

I always assumed, wrongly, that if a heart attack is coming on, the pains remained constant and steady...persistent. That's untrue. It will, and can, subside. I went to bed. The pains I had early Saturday evening, around midnight, they returned. Still, it wasn't, at least to me, startling. More or less a bit disturbing. I couldn't get into a comfortable position. Tried going back to sleep on the couch; even the floor. Nothing worked. But, I musta dozed off once again, only to be awakened to a very frightful situation. Not only did the same back, shoulder, arm and front breast pain return, one more symptom was now added to the recipe for heart failure....a cold, clammy, sweat. I tried to dry myself off, and NOTHING would take away the damp, cold skin.

I knew then, a heart attack was coming on...if not coming on, I was perhaps in the middle of HAVING a heart attack!! I woke Bud up, he called 911 - fire truck and ambulance arrived shortly. Within the hour after Bud called, I was informed I was in the middle of an attack, and wheeled into the Cath Lab for the stents to be placed. The particular artery that was fully blocked is dubbed the 'widow maker'...or so I was told....it is on the back of the heart, unseen without the proper instruments of modern technology---yet the EKG performed in the ER showed the cardiologist the blockage.

Now my experience in the Cath Lab...

Heart Artery with partial blockage and stent placement

COLD!! Icy room!!!! The x-ray slab placed under my body was even colder if possible!!! I was freezing, but 99% aware. I stayed awake during the operation for the most part...from the get go of taking the guide wire up through the groin, to the heart; following the 'balloon' that opens the artery and the stents placed on the monitors. I must say, when the last of three stents was placed, the soreness and discomfort WAS GONE...instantly.

Tho, even today, the groin is heavily bruised by the catheter, I feel very well.  I'm sure there will be bouts of anxiety in weeks, months to come.  But for now, the worst is over.  I HOPE!  The road to recovery is a long one, but I pray, with no speed bumps and valleys I can't climb.

Thank you all for the comforting words and prayers extended to me and Bud.  I feel loved!!  By my immediate family...to my extended family - my blogging buddies!!!



I am being cautious for now, taking life easily for a week or more.  I'll be back - God willing.