Dec 9...3 Paramedics saw my boobs...

Ok... I know that's a little vulgar, but I had to get your attention somehow! haha.

I had a fun few days in the beginning of December that I would prefer never to repeat. A little after 3:00 in the morning on Tuesday, December 9th I woke up with chest pain. Having heard that it can be indigestion or gas, I got up and popped a couple of gas-x tablets and went to the bathroom, but the pain kept getting worse. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I woke up Clint and told him that I felt like I was having a heart attack (I know that sounds silly now, but I was starting to freak out). He got up, and while he was checking "webmd" for symptoms, the pain was intensifying and going over and down my left arm. It started feeling like something was crushing my chest and the pain in my arm was alarming. Then my left hand went completely numb, and I started feeling like I was gonna puke. That's when Clint decided he was calling 911. The paramedics were there in just minutes, but it felt like forever cause of my pain and panic. They checked me out and placed sticky monitor things on my chest (can't remember what they're called) to do an ekg thing. It came out good, but with all my symptoms and crazy high blood pressure numbers, and my wonderful family history (yes, having heart attacks at a fairly young age runs in my mom's family) they took me to the hospital. Clint called my parents to see if they could come watch the kids. He had to wait for them so I went in the ambulance by myself. The paramedics sprayed some nitroglycerin under my tongue a couple of times on the way to the hospital and it really helped relieve the pain. When I got to the hospital I was ecstatic cause Clint was already there. He said that a guy in our ward was out running at 3:30 in the morning (crazy) with another guy, and they saw the ambulance and came over. They volunteered to watch the kids til my parents got there! Thank you Aaron!!!!!

Anyways, when I got there the nurses put a nitroglycerin patch right over my chest, and almost immediatly the pain subsided..... oh, and the morphine helped a lot too. haha. Throughout the day I had another EKG, and an ultrasound of my heart (very cool to see), a doctor and a cardiologist came to visit me, and I had blood work to check my enzyme levels (they take 3 blood samples 6 hrs apart). I was scheduled to go in for a stress test that afternoon. The first blood test came back low and normal. I was feeling pretty good and the doctor said if all the tests were normal I could go home the next morning. My chest started hurting and becoming sore again several hours later and when they changed my nitro-patch it got better. (I loved those things!!)
The ER was CRAZY BUSY that day, and Clint and I had some pretty "colorful" neighbors. haha. We saw a lot that day in the ER... even a combatant patient that they had to call the police on. :) As I was waking up from a nap, Clint and I heard one of the "not so quiet" nurses call out, "cancel the stress test for Campbell due to elevated levels!" That didn't make us feel quite so positive anymore...

The doctor came in and told us that my enzymes had elevated quite a bit. It was such a big jump that the doctor thought it might be a lab mistake... so I got the third blood take, and they told me I probably wouldn't find out til the next morning. I also got the word that if the levels were higher than the second test then they wouldn't do a stress test on me, but instead go straight to the angiogram (which I was terrified of having). btw- elevated enzymes means some kind of muscle damage. The reason they take 3 different tests so far apart is because right after a heart attack it's too early for the damage to register, but then damaged parts release enzymes into the blood and hence the elevated levels later on. (I learned a lot in the hospital. haha)

Well, by this time it's about 7pm and I'd been in the ER since before 4am. I was a little sick of it, but didn't want to complain. I have to do a shout out to Tom Ferrera of the HPD. He was a Godsend for us. He's over the Police Officer Assistance program (that's not the name of it, but it's something like that). He stopped by to check on us that evening. We visited for a while (he is the nicest guy) and he tried to convince Clint to let him pick up some dinner for him. He then found out we had been in the ER since 4 that morning and excused himself for a few minutes to make a few phonecalls. Within 5 minutes (I'm not making this up) I was in a wheelchair on my way upstairs to a room. Thank you Tom!!!! I was initially wheeled to the "regular" care floor, but then was refused a room. I was told I was too high risk due to my enzyme levels and would have to be put on the intermediate care floor. (Lots of cardiac patients on that floor). I loved being in a room and being able to have visitors, a tv, and the internet, (thanks everyone that came to say hi! I loved it), and being in a sweet, high tech bed. The thing adjusted all by itself, and it was always confortable (well, as comfortable as you can get in a hospital). Clint went home to stay with the kids that night, and I did get a pretty good night's sleep (considering the oxygen in my nose, the bloodpressure cup on my arm, and the painful IV in the other arm...haha). Early the next morning the nurse came in to check on me and I asked if the blood work was back. She told me it was and that the numbers were even higher than the 2nd, and that they were scheduling me for an angiogram later that day. I had been feeling pretty confident up til that point, and with Clint not there I was feeling pretty scared and alone. After the nurse left, I put my face in the pillow and had a little quiet cry and then a very good talk with my heavenly father. Afterwards, I felt better. I felt even better when Clint showed up and gave me encouraging words. A little later on a nuclear med tech came in and told me he was going to inject me with the radioactive stuff for my stress test. I was confused and told him that it had changed and I was having an angiogram. He went and checked and he was told to go ahead and inject me cause the final decision hadn't been made yet on which test they would do or to do both of them. I was injected and than after that I was told the final decision was to do an angiogram... I was told the radioactive stuff wouldn't get in the way.... so fun.

At 1:00 I was taken to the cath lab and was laid on a surf board with a blanket wrapped around it. haha. Seriously though, that's what it looked like. I thought my jiggly, smooshy, naked body was going to roll right off either side. haha.... but then they put up some sides so I felt more stable. I was drugged, but was still pretty coherent and awake for the procedure, and I gotta say, it was pretty cool to watch on the screen. The only thing that hurt was the numbing of my groin where they insert the tube that goes into the heart. Crazy stuff! Only minutes later the good news came from my wonderful cardiologists mouth... "your arteries are clear"!! Woohoo!!! So awesome!! My heart was beautiful! I was so relieved. The crappy part came after when I had to lay flat on my back for 6 HOURS!! I wasn't even allowed to lift my head or move my legs. I asked, "what if i have to pee?" to which the answer was given..."bedpan". No thanks! I held it. Thanks to those that visited during that time and had a good laugh! haha. After I was checked several times and was slowly able to sit up, I was given the ok to be released from the hospital that night. I was on bed rest for a few days and I couldn't exert myself in any way or lift anything for 6 days after that. BORING! and not good timing since I hadn't even started christmas shopping... oh well.

You might be wondering, "So what in the heck was the problem?!" I ended up having pericarditis. The lining/sac around my heart was inflamed.... no reason why. I felt a little silly after all these things were done to me and that's what it ended up being, until the doctor told me that it can have the same symptoms as an actual heart attack. So... I didn't feel as dumb after that. I was sent home at 9:30 that night with anti-inflammatorys, and my strict rules to follow.

Thanks to everyone who visited and laughed with me and gave me such support through texts/emails/visits, etc. Thanks to all the awesome nurses (every one of them were great!). And thanks to the wonderful doctors and techs that took care of me and calmed my nerves. And Thanks so much to Bro Johnson for assisting Clint in giving me a priesthood blessing on the spur of the moment! I am so thankful for that and for you!

I feel so much better, but now get to see a cardiologist once a year and be on some medications... oh- did I mention I have abnormally low HDL's... that's good cholesterol... the one you want to be high! Oh boy- fun times ahead... i just know it!

taken a little before I left the hospital... yep, it's the only one I got.