Thank You for Your Aid and Support

On February 17th, at about a quarter after nine in the morning, I had a heart attack at the age of 45. This wasn't a shot-across-the-bow sort of attack, zingers and go get checked out; this type is commonly called the Widowmaker. The pain was intense, and I was in a cold sweat. Although I hoped it was just heartburn from Hell, I knew better from my own First Aid training. Even though I don't smoke, very rarely drink, and my normal diet is pretty good where fats are concerned, my family history on my dad's side is a wreck when it comes to the heart. So it was a shock, but not particularly a surprise.

Anyway, my coworkers (yep, I have a real job, too) fed me an aspirin, called 911 and took care of me until the EMTs arrived. After running their tests, the paramedics whisked me over to Mercy Fairfield, where the ER staff got me stabilized and prepped for the Cardiac Catheterization lab. About 45 minutes after entering CardCath, I'd had an angiogram, a balloon angioplasty, had a stent put in, and was on my way to ICU. From the time I had the first pain until I was in recovery was just a shade over two hours. Incredible!

As I said, this would've been a fatal heart attack if not for the attention of many people, whom I can never thank enough.

• First of all, thanks and praise to God. You give me strength and courage in Your Grace. From You all blessings flow and in You all miracles reside. Thank You for sending an angel in my time of need and for guiding the hands of the care-givers. Amen.
• Thanks to Ken, Valerie, and my other co-workers at Union Central. If not for your immediate response I would certainly have sustained a far greater injury than I did.
• Thanks to the Forest Park EMT staff. When those elevator doors opened and it looked like about 40 of you waiting, I really felt like everything was going to be OK. (The squad DOES ride like an old school bus, though!)
• Thanks to Dr. P, Hal, and the ER staff for getting things squared away to pass me down the line. Sorry I made it so tough on you, Hal. I was just teasing about you losing points when you couldn't get any bleed out of me.
• Thanks to Dr. John Held and his team in the Mercy Hospital Cardiac Catheterization lab. Your confidence was infectious. I knew, regardless of outcome, that I was getting the finest care available.

I know that I'm alive today because of your caring and dedication. But there are others who I must thank as well:

• Thanks to April, Roxanne, and the rest of the ICU staff. You made my very first overnight in a hospital under extreme conditions more comfortable than I could have imagined.
• Thanks to Tom and the staff in Telemetry. You answered questions I hadn't even realized I should ask.
• Thank you to Dr. Kirkham for taking care of me while I prep for the rest of my life.
• Thank You to Gloria. I'm sorry for the fear you must've felt, but I'm so happy we didn't have to say goodbye. I can still look forward to getting crinkley with you!
• Finally, thanks to all my family and friends, my SOSARD team mates, my Buckeye Search and Rescue dogs team mates, my Blue Rock bandmates, Union Central coworkers, and all the others for the support. The cards and flowers were beautiful, and I look forward to seeing all of you as soon as I can.

God Bless all of you!

—Eddie