On October 24, 2011 I went to the doctor for what I thought was only a cold. The doctor's office did an ekg on me and it showed I was having a heart attack. I was given a nitroglycerin pill and an adult aspirin in the doctor's office while we waited for the ambulance to take me to the hospital. I was terrified my wife was trying her best not to break down and cry and be strong for me. On the way to the hospital the paramedics said I wasn't having a heart attack but gave me another nitroglycerin pill. Once at the hospital I had a series of blood work done, along with more ekgs, an x-ray and a chest CT. The doctor's didn't really like to keep me informed as to what was going on. Which anyone would be frustrated being scared and not knowing the next step. I laid in the hospital bed for over ten hours with nothing to drink or no iv fluids. The ER doctor told me everything my blood, x-ray, ct scan, ekg all looked great.
Later we would find out different. My wife called our primary care physician and asked for the results of the hospital tests. That's when we found out about the Emphysema. My wife immediately called and set up an appointment with a pulmonary doctor. While my primary care doctor's office was scheduling a series of tests to make sure my heart was indeed fine.
On October 27, 2011 I filed for disability. I have worked over 35 years of my life and not working is one of the hardest things that I thought I had to face. On November 7, 2011 I had a treadmill stress test for my heart. That test seemed fine. So, on November 10, 2011 I had cardiac echo to make sure I didn't have a hole or something else going on with my heart. I also met with my pulmonary physician on November 10, 2011 for the first time.
That was a day I will never forget. My pulmonary Dr told me that according to my chest ct I have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (C.O.P.D). What C.O.P.D is the combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema combined. I also have asthma. I also have a spot on my right lung. I looked at my wife and she looked at me. With no words said we both could see the fear in each others eyes.
I have been smoking for over 30 years. I'm bound and determined to quit but it's extremely hard after all these years.
No comments:
Post a Comment