OK----I already posted this on Facebook, but it can stand to be said again.....................
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE
if you have chest pains..........GO TO THE ER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not----I repeat----DO NOT WAIT!!!!
I received a VERY scary phone call Tuesday afternoon.
Earl's boss, Larry, called to say he had taken Earl to the ER.
I'm not sure I heard the next few sentences.........
Larry probably found himself repeating things because I wasn't processing things very well.
Earl had been having pain at work. Didn't say anything about it....he is stubborn that way.
Larry noticed he was rubbing his chest and acting like he didn't feel well, so he insisted on taking him to the hospital.
That must have been one INTERESTING trip.
Larry is from out of state....
Neither of them knew where the nearest hospital was....
Thank goodness someone was able to point them in the right direction.
So, I get the phone call and Larry doesn't even know what hospital they are at, just that it is by Bangerter Hwy. Its a good thing he had me talk to the nurse, because I would have headed to the absolutely wrong place.
Larry said he would stay with Earl until I got there. The nurse said he was doing OK, and that helped alleviate my fears, but I still had to get there.....and FAST!!!
Luckily my most amazing, wonderful friend, Mindy, was able to come to my rescue. She was working at the school, but left and practically ran all the way to my house because she didn't have her car. I don't know what I would do without this amazing woman in my life.
I also called the awesome people who we carpool with (to the charter school) and they made arrangements for someone to pick up all of the kids that afternoon.
I also had to call my sister-in-law, Heather, and ask her to find someone to pick up Calton from Kindergarten.
Once the logistics were all worked out, I hit the road.
I arrived at Riverton Hospital to find Earl hooked up to an IV and monitors. True to his word, Larry was still there waiting for me to arrive.
We stayed at the ER for a few hours while they observed Earl and made a few blood draws to evaluate his heart enzymes. The doctor came in to chat with us just before they let us go.
They had cleared him of heart attack (phew---we got lucky with that one), blood clots and pneumonia. But did find some pulmonary nodules. These will have to be evaluated to make sure they don't get any bigger but were not the cause of the pains, and probably won't cause any issues in the future.
Wednesday morning, Earl went to Alta View Hospital for a stress test.
He did GREAT!!!
Since his heart is looking good, we are feeling pretty relieved. Still a bit nervous....but mostly relieved.
My personal opinion about the cause of the pains?
Earl's asthma has been really bad for the past month or so.
Even with new controller medications from his doctor, it isn't clearing up.
I think his poor chest has just had enough of the coughing and struggling to breathe.
So, we are doing all of the follow-up stuff with his primary care doctor.
Other than being VERY tired (we both are) he is doing MUCH BETTER.
BUT..............
He got a stern lecture from his ER nurse, another from me, and probably more from people at work....
not to ignore those pains.
It just isn't worth it.
I know it can be a tough decision to make.
You're not sure what the pain is from...
muscle strain, lung issues, even indigestion, but if you feel those pains,
PLEASE GO!
I would rather go to the ER and find out it is his asthma than not go and be trying to find a way to live my life without him here.
And that goes for you all too!!!!
I have truly been amazed by all of the love and concern shown by our family, friends, and ward members. They are the greatest!
It brings tears to my eyes to think of all of the offers for meals and babysitting. And mostly.........
ALL OF THE PRAYERS.
That is what gets us through these things.
I wasn't going to tell more people than I ABSOLUTELY had to, but I found myself calling, texting and talking to many more people than I intended. Our sweet neighbor, Jon, came over to talk to us about something else....we had just come home, so I filled him in.....a member of the bishopric happened to be across the street talking with our neighbors....I kind of figure that was Heavenly Father's way of saying----Tell them so they can pray for you!-----I'm trying to listen to the spirit and let it guide me. Hopefully it doesn't have to hit me over the head too often.
Sometimes we don't tell people the scary things in our lives.
We don't want them to worry, we want to know results before we tell them, we don't want their pity...
but without the strength of all those prayers...........
...neither Earl or I would have slept Tuesday night. (We were worried about his stress test.)
...our kids wouldn't have been as calm. (They were worried and clingy, but calm and loving.)
So, if you are one of those people that I told when I wasn't sure I wanted to, THANK YOU!!!!
Thank you for praying for us.
Thank you for ALWAYS praying for us.
I need those prayers.
Not only for the scary times, but for the everyday times as well.
THANK YOU, MERCI, GRACIAS!!
