December 3, 08--A Little Christmas Drama

Dear Friends and Family,

T’was two evenings before today and Paul went to the gym--to discover a little Christmas drama was waiting for him……

And this is how it went: He had a great workout lifting weights and running on the elliptical. On his way home he stopped to pick up some groceries to make a partridge and pear pie (okay—so it was raspberry and pear) and came home. While I was making dinner, he commented how good he felt after his work out. He then went to the bedroom to take a shower and get dressed. While showering, he discovered that his post-work-out-good-feeling was eclipsed by a growing pain in the bottom front part of his neck. He finished his shower, dried himself and by the time he was dressed, the pain migrated to his sternum and he thought it must be indigestion. When he walked into the kitchen he wondered if his esophagus was spasming, at which point the pain forced him to sit down. He leaned back in the recliner, rubbed his chest, twisted and turned a bit and strained, “, “Is this what indigestion is like?” I stopped cutting vegetables, walked over to him as he muttered, “I don’t know what this is….it’s getting worse….and… I really don’t want to go to the hospital.” So, I said, “How ‘bout if we just head toward the hospital and if you feel better we can always turn around and come home.” He liked the escape-option... and over the river and through the woods to the emergency room we went.

It turns out that on the first day of December, our SW Medical Center gave to Paul: one electrocardiogram, 2 nitro-glycerin boosts, 3 draws of blood and 4 doctor evalu-a-tions. On the 2nd day of December, SW Medical Center gave to Paul: one echocardiogram, a very important angiogram and a head-ache from the nitro-glyc-er-in.

And several nursing shifts and 4 hospital rooms later, we can now tell you that in this Christmas drama, Paul was not influenced by “a bit of undigested beef, a blot of mustard, or a crumb of cheese” after all, but he did indeed have a small heart attack—bah humbug. The angiogram identified 2 blockages—one artery was 50% blocked and the other was 70-80%. The doctors deliberated and felt that medication would be the best way to address the blockages (versus stints).

But there’s good news--Paul feels fine and is doing well. There appears to be no damage to the heart and his heart muscle looks strong. He’s in good physical condition which shines a favorable light on the future. But best of all, God is always on the throne.

God Bless Us, Every One!

Nancy--for all of us at the Jackson house