We had Jasmine and Jaydn to stay with us for the weekend. It was a lovely visit.. we all went fishing and I sat under a weeping willow tree watching their excitement everytime they caught fish and wiping the slime off their hands and feeding them sandwiches and drinks. When we got home we played games of Ludo and Hotel and watched films so really not a stressful time at all.
Bank Holiday Monday
It was so weird. No one told me I was having a heart attack and it wasn't anything like you see on television. Colin was taking the children home as I wasn't feeling too good. I started to carry toiletries out from the bathroom as we are having the bathroom converted. I was feeling over tired and my chest hurt with a heavy sort of pain also at my left shoulder blade. No pain down my arm. I knocked on the wall to our neighbours but they were out and no one to be seen in the street. I knew something was wrong and rang for an ambulance. I couldn't remember our postcode nor our phone number as we moved into the bungalow just before last Christmas and I haven't rang the phone number.. silly perhaps but true.
Anyway, the lady said an ambulance was on it's way. I sat down and tried to relax and a paramedic arrived so quickly, he hooked me up to machines and just chatted to me. Nothing was said about me having a heart attack. The paramedic then rang my step-daughter Lisa to see if Colin was still there and was told he was already driving home. The ambulance arrived and the men put me in a chair and strapped me in, taking me out to the ambulance. The paramedic stayed to secure our home. In the ambulance I had a canular into my right hand and sticky dots connected over my chest then I was given morphine then more morphine. Colin arrived at that time but wasn't allowed in with me. The paramedic told him everything that was going to happen and that I was having a severe heart attack. With the blue light going we arrived at the new Norwich hospital and I was immediately taken into surgery. I was out of it by then until I opened my eyes now and then and saw monitors and heard bleeps and there was a large plastic tent over my body. The surgeon sorted out my artery.. saving my life, I think maybe he was talking to students as every move was described.
I was put into a cardiac unit in a room of my own with Colin beside me for hours. The only let down really was that the nurses didn't have time to answer emergency bells and when Colin did leave I need to wee and pressed the buzzer.. nothing. It seemed to take for ever till the nurse arrived with a bedpan. They rolled me on to it and left the room and eventually I managed to wee and wee and wee and wee. I rang the buzzer and again no one came. The wee flowed over the bedpan and onto the bed. In my drugged up state I started splashing my hand in my own wee. Yeuck! Then someone came and got me out of bed, rinsed me down and remade the bed. This happened twice. I was mortified when I realised what had happened.
The corridor outside my room was so noisy with machines bleeping and whistling - good noises and shrill flirty voices and laughter - not so good noises.