A very interesting 24 hours...

... to say the least!
Tuesday morning started off pretty routinely... I sprang out of bed (as I usually do), went to the kitchen and put the electric jug on for a coffee, turned the TV on (the 6.30am news is just starting), I open all the curtains across the front off the house then... my heart gave a sort of flutter ... and it didn't stop! It was beating 90 miles and hour, thumpety, thumpety, thump! I sat on the couch and you could see my chest being moved by the heart beats.
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I guess I sat for about 10 minutes - I had no pain and could breathe fine... then Gus came out of the bedroom to the kitchen saying how he would have to race to get to his doctors appointment at 8.30am. I said 'Um, I think I might need an appointment too - I'm having a big heart palpitation.' He came over and could see me physically being rocked by the heart beats! Still, I waited and gradually they subsided until my heart felt normal again (in other words, I couldn't feel it beating inside me). I guess all this lasted close to 30 minutes. Gus suggested we ring our hospital for advice and I agreed - I had never had this happen before and it was not normal.
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The hospital suggested we ring for an ambulance rather than Gus driving me in, in case I got worse on the way - so we did. We live just outside of the town limits and it took 15 minutes (!) for the ambo's to arrive (no lights or sirens, thank you!). They had trouble finding our house! By this time, I had dressed and was sitting on our bed, feeling quite faint and washed out. The ambo's came in and got me wired up to the ECG machine, took my pulse and temperature. They said I was still tachycardic, meaing my heart rate was still elevated over 100 beats per minute. After a few minutes they said it was settling down but suggested we go to hospital. I asked.. 'do I have to go with you guys?' They said 'no, you are stable enough to go with Gus if that's okay with him. We'll follow along in a minute and hand in your paperwork.'
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So off we went - I didn't pack any clothes etc, thinking I'd just get checked over then leave....
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(Ouch!)
But instead, they admitted me - I needed to wait to see the on-call doctor (who wasn't there yet - by now it is just after 7.30am). I was shown to a room which had another lady in it who was hooked up to oxygen and a drip. Being a small country town, I knew the lady.
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I sat on the bed then a nice nurse, Kim, came in to take all my details. Once the paperwork was filled out, she said she'd take some blood to test for certain things - cheifly a test to see if I had had an actual heart attack!
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The troponin test measures the levels of one of two proteins, troponin T or troponin I, in a blood sample. These proteins are released when the heart muscle has been damaged, such as during a heart attack. The more damage there is to the heart, the greater the amount of troponin T and I there will be in the blood. Thankfully, this test came back negative a few hours later! Phew!
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While taking the first lot of bloods, she also inserted a cannular in case I needed fluids by drip later. This would save having to stick me with another needle again! Any other blood tests are done on the other arm.
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So now it's nearly 9am and I am just sitting in bed, twiddling my thumbs, listening to all the noises that go on around the ward. They are busy and I can hear alarms going off, beeping from machines, domestic staff bustling about, quick steps of the nurses and they flit around...
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It is after 11.30am before a doctor comes to see me. She is a little Asian lady called Dr. Koh and is very nice. She checks my paperwork and explains about irregular heart beats then tells me she would like me to stay in overnight for further observation, just to be on the safe side. My mind spins, thinking of all the paperwork I have to do at work and it's pay day - I do the wages - no one else knows how to do them! Erk! Gus tells me not to worry! They will manage without me... calm down! Also, I was meant to take my Mum to the hairdressers... and shopping in Mt. G tomorrow and to an eye specialist appointment! Sheesh!
I send him home to get some clothes and pyjamas for me, plus all of my make up and toiletries... OMG I am so high maintenance! I text him with a whole list of stuff and where to find it - the dear man didn't forget one single thing - he even packed my comfy pj's without me saying which ones! I did forget to tell him to bring my pillow - drats!

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I got Gus to re-run the wages from last week and pay them via internet banking so at least they got paid - I'll just have to sort it out when I get back.
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One of the girls from the kitchen had taken my meal order so around 12 noon a lovely big cold serve and salad arrived! How good is the food here? I was absolutely starving because I missed breakfast! I soon scoffed it down with a piece of bread and butter and a cup of tea. My sister, Sue, works in the kitchen so she made sure the meal was kept nice and chilled. Thanks, Sue!
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So this is my bed, a very boring place to be when you feel quite well - which by now I did.
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Later, my sister Marilyn visited with my Mum and my great-niece, Tayla. She bought me a lovely single rose in a vase - so pretty!
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Dinner was Tuna Mornay with a side salad and trifle for dessert. Huge servings! Once again, I inhaled it all - it's a hungry business just sitting in bed! Dinner was over at 5.30pm - it's going to be a long night!
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The trifle (?) - sort of a yellow jelly whip and two fruits set in cake with jelly. Yummo! Is it wierd to like hospital food??
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I settle back to watch TV for the evening - Biggest Loser, My Kitchen Rules, some pay-TV shows. All the while, my next door neighbour is 'comentating' on what I am watching. She is in with a lung infection and makes the most horrible phlegmy noises, wheezing, coughing and spluttering all the time. Nice! She tells me that I will enjoy the kerfuffle when they give her the next lot of anti-biotics at midnight, all the swapping and changing etc. Great!
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I am woken at 2am for observations and they connect me to a heart monitor. The nurse (Alana) tells me that it hasn't been working too well and hopes it won't 'beep' too much. It does! Everytime I move or roll over - beep beep bip! My neighbour delights in telling me I snore really well, lying on my back! Two hours later the nurse removes the monitor and says it's still not working correctly. I doze in and out of sleep until they wake me at 5.50am for more obs and another blood test and ECG. Such fun! I am wide awake now so I turn on the TV and watch the morning programs. My sister Sue visits and tells me breakfast is at 8am. I am hungry!
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Breakfast arrives, delivered by the cheeky ladies from the kitchen. The lady in the next bed gives them lots of cheek but they give just as much back. Funny! I enjoy my very cold, wangy toast with vegemite (which I think was made in 1987!), a cup of tea and an orange juice. I head off for a shower and get myself tizzied up for the doctors visit and my escape.
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This is the view outside my window - they have nice gardens.
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I ponder the menu for the rest of the day - hoping I don't have to stay in much longer. Hmm, meat loaf and vegetables for lunch and Savoury meat balls for dinner...
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I wait until 11am before a doctor comes to see me. It is a different on call doctor, a young woman names Pip. She tells me I can go home but must make an appointment to see a doctor within the next week for further checks and tests. I will need to have a 24 hour heart monitor attached to me to see what my heart is up to.
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I am quite amazed - they didn't weigh me when I was admitted, no one spoke to me or asked me about diet, exercise or if I was a smoker (I am not). I finally checked out at 11.30am and headed for home. But there is work to do so I buy a sandwich and head for work. I was very pleased because something was waiting for me when I got there!
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My Down to Earth book had arrived! I am looking forward to some relaxed reading this weekend - I can't wait!
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Today I am feeling fine, after a good nights sleep in my own bed. I will keep you updated on any other news after I visit the doctor.
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Cheers - Joolz