It has been 3 months since I had a health scare that landed me in the ER for 9 hours! What they found that night was two things. One, I have very high blood pressure that needs medication. Two, I have a thickening in my aorta. I was referred to a cardiologist who isn’t sure what is going on. He ran a whole series of blood tests on me. I was tested for everything from hepatitis to scleroderma. Thankfully, everything is fine. The majority of my blood might have been drained, but my blood work is good.
Of course with that all being fine, the question remains, what is wrong with my heart? So, today, I am having a cardiac MRI. I was pretty calm about it, until last night. Now, I am getting a little scared. It doesn’t help that I am terribly claustrophobic and this is going to be a two hour procedure. My husband is going with me. He won’t be able to hold my hand during the procedure, but I know he will be in the waiting room for me when I am done. Claustrophobia set aside, I am actually starting to worry that they are going to find something wrong with me. Given the heart procedures my dad has had this year, I am scared I might have to have the same thing done to me. Most of the time, I feel like I am pretty strong. But today, I am not really feeling that way.
I had planned on skipping the procedure. I told myself that I was going to skip it because it was unnecessary, the blood work told me I am healthy. I also used the excuse that with our high deductible insurance, this was not fiscally responsible, which is ridiculous of course. I was going to skip it because I just didn’t want to know. Ignorance is bliss and all. But, after long discussions with my husband, parents and some really good friends, I realized that in this case it is better to be proactive today rather than reactive in several years in a cardiac crisis.
So, off we go in a few hours. When we return, I will be enjoying a glass of wine.
Life In The Falls 