Once I was ready for the day, I didn't accomplish much for the rest of the morning. Around 10 a.m., two plumbers came by to install a filering system at the well house. For this, of course, they had to shut off the water, so I was glad I'd already showered by this time.
Just before 11 a.m., we headed out to the hospital, first stopping by a pharmacy to pick up prescriptions.
We got to the hospital in time to find a table convenient to the buffet counter, so that it would be earsier to serve Mother. Today's lunch was baked chicken, corn medley, and mashed potatoes topped with (yes) yellow cheese and crumbled bacon, a roll with margarine, and fresh fruit medley. I dug under the cheese and bacon topping to get the mashed potatoes.
The featured speaker was a cardiologist, who talked about STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction) heart attacks, which need immediate medical attention...they must be rushed to the cath lab for treatment. In non-STEMI cases (like mine), there is no rush to get catheterization. Instead, the patient is given clot dissolving drugs, beta blockers, and nitrates, and then are treated by inserting a stent in the blocked artery.
As with all talks about heart attacks, cardiologists stress the importance of not ignoring symptoms, and not delaying getting treatment. But under no circumstances should symptomatic patients try to drive themselves to the hospital, or be driven by someone else.
Call an ambulance, because perimedics can begin treatment as soon as they arrive, and symptoms can be relayed immediately to a physician, who can call in cath lab technicians, and the cath lab can be prepared ahead of patient arrival to prevent any delays in treatment. This is extremely important, because in STEMI cases, stent treatment must take place within 90 minutes of the attack to prevent heart damage or death.
Signs of heart attack include:
We were cautioned not to mistake these as symptoms of flu, or indigestion. The doctor said that autopsies of people who died of a heart attack many times reveal a stomach full of antacid tablets.
He also advised us that a normal cholesterol test does not necessarily mean we cannot have a heart attack. I'm evidence of that, since my cholesterol levels always tested normal.
If a heart attack is suspected, chew an aspirin and call 911.
Back home, Mother went to her jigsaw puzzle, and I ran errands. Hubbie chose to stay home in case an electrician came by to repair the pole outlet that the camper plugs into. He discovered yesterday that the camper was getting no power.
I began my errands at the library, where I dropped off four DVDs and chose two more. From there, I went to the bank, and then to the Chamber of Commerce to pick up new state and local maps and other literature. Went to a dollar store after that to get two-for-a-dollar greeting cards for kids. My last stop was to check and see if the farmer's market was operating yet. It isn't...or at least is wasn't today.
Came home after that. A few minutes after I arrived, the electrician called to ask Hubbie if the camper had power now. Seems he had dropped by and fixed the outlet while we were gone to the hospital, and Hubbie didn't realize it. If he had, he would have run errands with me.
Later, I heated leftover chicken spaghetti for supper, which we had with salad and French bread. Hubbie accompanied Mother home afterward, and then he and I watched TV.
In the middle of the first show, there was a knock at the door. A young couple had stopped to ask for ice water. Seems they had walked several miles from the place where they were staying with some other folks, in an effort to get away from the noise of a family with small children.
Their plan was to go swimming at a creek, but since they are here from some other county, they weren't sure where it was, and they ended up traipsing about ten miles on back roads on this hottest day of the season so far, until they circled around to our house. They were short of the creek by two or three miles.
We gave them ice water, and then volunteered to take them back to the house where they were staying, which is about four miles from our house. There is something about our house that draws stray folks, folks with car trouble, and auto accidents.
Back to watching TV...in the middle of the second program, the power went out. So Hubbie suggested we go to the WDCS to pick up a few groceries. But as I was shutting down my laptop, the power returned.
Around 8:45, we got an automated call from the power company advising us that 1,641 homes were affected by the outage, and that it was due to be restored around 11 p.m. I guess they weren't aware that ours was already restored (thank goodness). There was no mention of why the power went out.
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