Take Me By the Heart

 My brother wrote a song in honor of our wedding called "By Heart".  It starts with the lyrics, "Take me by the  heart, then we can start our lives together". . .I had no idea how much the heart would be part of my past week's experiences.  All in all, everything is fine, but a trip to the ER and then even (one) night's stay in a hospital is enough to give one perspective.  I'm at the hospital all the time, and I probably visit Brandon Regional more than any.  It is 1/2 mile from the church, and I've been to all sections of it.  It didn't occur to me that I might at some point be there as a patient.

  After a few days fighting what was diagnosed as strep throat (and I believe it was), I began to feel some pressure in my chest, shoulders, neck, head and arms.  If it was coming and going, I probably would have done nothing about it, but it was not subsiding, so I drove myself to an urgent care place.  But it was after 10pm and few of them are open late.  So it was off to the ER.  When you mention anything with the word "chest" you have a golden ticket to the front of the line.  EKG, chest x-ray, start the IV (thanks--"Dusty the paramedic"), some children's aspirin, then eventually some morphine, some nitro paste, and something to help the nausea.  I must have met 15-20 different people through my stay, all very nice and caring.  Our local hospital doesn't always get the best reputation compared to some neighboring care centers, but they've done well by us with two children born, and now an overnight stay by yours truly.

  With elevated troponins (heart enzymes), the signs pointed to heart attack, but I wasn't a candidate with history, age, etc.  Other things can cause these high levels, which essentially show that the heart is in distress.  In my case it was the ongoing fight against strep that had started to affect this lower area of my upper body.  I had a heart catheterization at 9 am and it revealed healthy arteries.  A Echocardiogram revealed no fluid buildup.  Pericarditis (inflamation of the sac surrounding the heart) was the diagnosis, attributed to my strep infection.  Treatment includes some ibuprofen to control the inflamation.  I don't know if my body was so run-down that I was more susceptible to this infection than usual, but it really did attack more severely than I thought it had.  I'm grateful for those who took care of me, and especially for Kelly, who managed to balance the need to be a mother and a wife all at the same time.

  On this day when we are remembering the events of 9/11, with swirling escapades of Koran burning, in a world that has both become smaller and more divided, my gratitude is a bit closer to the heart today--for health, family, and as I'm interrupted in finishing this--for little boys who take the initiative to poop on the potty.   We have to go to McDonald's.  Gotta love it!