the heart is the only broken instrument that works…

… first let me start off by thanking every one for their kind emails, phone calls, prayer requests and genuine concern for my well being. I was deeply touched by the out pouring. Thank you all tremendously.

I am recovering at home for the time being and taking it easy the next few days.

Over the past week I had been experiencing chest pains which I dismissed as heart burn. The pain got progressively worse and I continued to ignore it; stupidly. I figured I was too young for any serious heart problems.

Around 3pm Saturday afternoon I felt my worst but I also had urgent need to go to confession and mass. At some point during mass my chest hurt so bad that my jaw started to throb. My face got flush and my upper left arm started to burn. I prayed to God just to get me through mass so I could receive the Eucharist. He kept his bargain and I kept mine; driving myself to the ER immediately after mass.

A quick EKG showed some abnormal activity and my blood enzyme test was positive for heart stress. Well, if you are gonna have a heart attack and die what better place then in mass after receiving communion. Yes, I can joke about it now but I was scared when they admitted me and told me I need to have a heart catherization to check for damage.

I felt like a fox hole Catholic, holding my rosary for the first time in 3 months.

I got lots of phone calls from concerned friends checking on my progress and keeping my spirits up. It was good to hear from so many people, especially the ones that mean so much to me.

The heart-cath revealed a torn artery and a severe blockage caused by a clot that formed around the ruptured arterial wall. I had angioplasty to clear the clotted area and a stent put in place to fix the tear.

I am glad the ordeal is over.

Ladies, not every heart attack feels like a stab in the chest with obvious signs. Sometimes the symptoms are mild and slowly build up. Sometimes the pain is felt in other areas of the body like the neck, between the shoulder blades, the face and arms. Do not ignore it. I am only 34 years old, so you can never be too young to take any of the signs flippantly. Have it check out!

We never figured out what caused the tear but the doctor thinks my heart pressured cooked and weakened from over exertion, lack of sleep, periods of insomnia, anxiety and LOTS of stress.

So here I am; forced to simplify my life to reduce stress and anxiety. That’s not such a bad thing; so there is my silver lining.

Thank you again, everyone.