A Sock Stuffed in My Chest

Posted on September 5, 2004 in Coronary

Yesterday, I pushed myself hard to prove that this disease wasn’t going to get the better of me. I dashed about doing shopping and skimped on naps. By day’s end, my chest felt as if someone had stuffed it with a sock and then turned it inside out. No intense pain, but much worry. A friend of mine wrote to tell me that her cousin just died after electrocuting himself while installing a street light. The charge cooked him inside and out: he lingered for days. The “accident” that has befallen me moves much more slowly but likewise moves me towards death, more swiftly, however, if I do not mind the heat and allow the sharp edges of sugar to corrode my insides.

This blog may become tedious as I plod through the days before I meet with my physician to discuss the treatment of the disease. If my HMO and the doctor’s ego allows, I may request my care transferred to an endocrinologist who is up on information regarding the efficacy of angioplasty vs. bypass surgery (also here and here) and understands the risks associated with the angiogram. I want to follow the best route for my care because I want to live.

I can understand why this wasn’t caught before: blockage of the arteries around the heart doesn’t affect the heart muscle right away. When I was taken in for heat exhaustion, my EKG and blood pressure were both good. I might have been blundering about with this for years predating the onset of my diabetes. They could be unrelated as far as origins, but now they grotesquely complement one another.