The Quad

I didn’t think I would ever have a heart attack. This is something that always happens to the other guy. Here’s my first hand experience with the beast.

The Quad

 

On a Saturday in May of 1998, I was at home working around the house when I began to have chest pains which sort of alarmed me. Pam was working at Gan’s Mall so I called her and ask her to come home and pick me up and take me to the Emergency Room. I didn’t feel like I had time to drive to Tulsa. I went outside in the back drive way to wait on her to pick me up. I waited and waited and Pam didn’t show up. I guess she was so excited that she thought I told her to meet me at the ER. When I didn’t show up at the ER, she tried to call me at home but I was outside waiting on her so I couldn’t hear the phone. When I didn’t answer the phone, she got more excited and called the police. I was standing outside waiting on Pam and the police showed up. The policeman came up to me and asked if there was anyone in the house having chest pains. I told him no, but I was. He called the ER but by this time Pam was so excited she couldn’t drive. In about five minutes, a van I didn’t recognize pulls up and Pam got out of the passenger side. It was the lady that worked in the ER driving. The policeman left and the older lady headed for the ER with me in the front passenger seat. On the way, the lady missed a red light and ran right through it. We barely missed a car so I told the woman that if I wasn’t having a heart attack when I got in the van, I sure was now. We finally got to the ER, and they ran a heart calf test on me. The doctor told me I had four major arteries that were 90 % plus plugged. They scheduled me in at St Johns Hospital in Tulsa and Dr Blankenship performed a quadruple bypass on me. I was told there was just a little muscle damage and I should be fine as long I followed the new rules. I was back to work in one month.

 

if you start experiencing chest pains, get help as soon as you can.  Your  heart may be telling you it needs help to continue functioning properly. It might be wise to run through emergency procedures with your wife to prevent confusion and delays in getting attention.

I had four major arteries that were 90% blocked! No wonder I was having chest pains.

Thank you for reading The Quad,

Hawg Jaw Bill