All Hallow’s Eve started out as a regular day…

I have a loose idea of a bucket list. I have been crossing things off this so-called list ever since my kid sister Brenda passed away in 2004. I have been doing things in and around my life that sometimes I am afraid of, or things I hate, or things that I have always been curious about. Ride in an ambulance as a patient has NEVER been on the list not even a little, but I got to cross it off the possibilities list just last a few months ago. I am now a proud card-carrying member of the Red Hat Society (IYKYK). I am a woman of a certain age, GAWD, how I loathe that expression. I am post-menopausal. I am angry. I belong to the IDNC Club. I just want to give a half-assed attempt to my everyday life. I want to find joy in the simple moments of my life, and I want to be content with who I am.

My heart is having none of it. I have been experiencing rapid heart rate of unknown origins for a while now. My episodes started happening more than a few years ago but they only seemed to happen when I didn’t get enough sleep, or my life became overrun with STRESS. NOW? I can be sitting reading a book, not a care in the world. I thought maybe the left side of my thyroid decided to pack it in, nope. It has been more than four years since I had the right side removed. Happy to report my levels are all fine so LEFTY is doing a wonderful job keeping me alive. So, you may be wondering as am I what the hell is going on? I got to wear a heart monitor for two weeks. Everything about that screamed SVT. A benign heart arrythmia that only requires the most basic of watching; some meds and plenty of hydration. A few lifestyle changes but nothing too taxing. Joke on me.

Funny, no matter how many times you tell people a detail, they don’t LISTEN! A detail that turned out to be quite important. I was having chest pressure and or pain that radiated to my back sometimes with shortness of breath and dizziness. I sent a message through my healthcare portal. Immediate response? Nope. In fairness there is a disclaimer on the site that warns you of a two day turn around on response. I did not feel like I might be in danger, so I sent the message. When something doesn’t sit right with me, I can’t ignore it. I need an answer. Day three of no response I called the office and spoke to someone. I got a call back within a few hours. Pain? Pressure? Is this new? NO! I have been saying it ever since I visited the ER October 30th. Suddenly everyone is listening. An appointment for a nuclear stress test is acquired. I have a knee that is failing; no tread mill for me. I need a knee replacement; but that as the saying goes is a whole different ball of wax.

December 9, 2025, I reported to UMASS campus in the Woo. I am there for a four-hour test drive with my heart brought on by NUCLEAR medicine. No food or drink after midnight, you know the drill. I am there promptly at 8 am. After a brief chat with a tech and a nurse I get my EKG leads attached, an IV placed in my right forearm, and introductory take up meds which consist of a small amount of radioactive tracer. What follows is the most boring hour-ish wait, then a ride on a high-tech chair that slowly revolves while a computer/Xray machine takes snaps of my heart at rest. I got to wait some more but I finally got to have a drink and a tasty snack. More to move the tracer along than quench my thirst. I brought a book but really, I should have brought a lobotomy as I was going out of my mind people watching. The book I chose was horrible. I stopped reading it and donated it later so I wouldn’t have to think about its blandness ever again.

The second part of my day long wait wasn’t so bad really. In fact, after a period of time I got to lay down. And here is where the fun begins. I got to meet the NP that would administer the STRESS part of my test. Meds in my IV, vitals captured before and after the tracer is given the second time. A two-minute test. It was the weirdest two minutes of my life. In a heartbeat, literally, I felt flush, with a side of nausea, chest pressure and a headache like after a night of heavy partying which dissipated as fast as it had come on. The nurse sat me up as soon as the test was over which helped clear the side effects quite speedily and move the tracer along so my heart would start to destress itself. My IV was removed. I was given more snacks and some diet Ginger Ale again to move the radioactive stuff along. MORE WAITING… after about an hour I got to ride in the Xray chair again. More images were taken after my heart post “workout”. I got to finally leave that 626 experiment around 1:30 in the afternoon. JOY.

I failed the test. There is something wrong with my heart. Next up? Angiogram in the very near future. I am not allowed to lift anything heavy, or go to the gym, or fly on a plane, or be stressed (LOL). Life changes slowly when we are comfortable in it. Mine changed in a heartbeat. No pun intended. Watch out for the fast ball it has a mean curve to it.