It started last Thursday.

A general tightening in my chest. Something that I assumed to be stress. Though given my current workload why I would be any more stressed than a sloth is hard to comprehend.

By Saturday I feel a little worse. Started doing some upper body work to relieve the tension. Skip yoga on Sunday.

Monday morning I go for a little two mile walk/run. Still recovering from knee surgery last fall, so 26 minutes with an 11 minutes back end mile was not bad for me. It feels good.

Leave the house to go to a client. Chest pain so bad I pulled off the road. Call the Kokomo Kid who is on the way back from Indiana with the kids. Head to the ER. Piedmont Hospital despite their current dispute with Blue Cross.

Walk in. Admitted rather quickly and taken to a room. Vital signs are good. Heart rate of 60 and BP around 125/75. Does not change much during periods of pain. Do the blood work (God, I hate needles). Give me an IV just in case.

Five hours later the blood series is complete. It looks good too. Pass the time watching Ted Talks. They release me.

I go back to my client. In a meeting. Call from the Kid.

Lance: Don’t call the insurance company just yet.
Kid: Piedmont called, they said you need to get back there as soon as possible and will be spending the night.
Lance: What?
Kid: You need to go back to the hospital now!
Lance: Stop joking me.
Kid: It’s not a joke, you need to go now, do you want me to come drive you?
Lance: No

I figure I can still drive though my pulse is most likely in the 130 range at the moment and I was feeling pretty weak.

Get to the hospital. Readmitted. Not quite so quick this time. Pulse is 143/89. Go to a case doctor that is looking at an EKG that screams LEFT VENTRICULAR BLOCKAGE in the upper left corner. Pulse hits 150

Take me in, wire me up again. Take blood sample. Give me oxygen.

Lance: Why are you giving me oxygen this time?
Nurse: It is required of all our potential heart attack patients. {Pulse hits 160.} Do you need anything else?
Lance: A glass of wine.

The Kid shows up with the kids. I get a little teary. They look scared.

The attending physican, Susan Kinsella comes in. Nice woman.

Tells me I am here because someone saw something on the EKG from the morning session that they did not like. Asks the routine heart attack, excuse me, infarction, questions that I have memorized at this point.

Dr. K: We need to do a stress test to make sure it is not heart related and we can’t do one until tomorrow morning. If you want to you can stay here, where it is loud, you have an uncomfortable bed, and people will be bothering you all night. Or you can go home, spend some time with your family, and get a good night’s sleep.
Lance: What if the big bad one happens.
Dr. K: The big bad one is not going to happen, and if it does 10 minutes is not going to make a difference.
Lance: What would you do?
Dr. K: Go home

After two margaritas at Uncle Julio’s Casa Grande pulse returns to normal.

Took the stress test on Tuesday. Passed with flying colors.

My chest still hurts, but the ticker is good.

UPDATE: I was diagnosed with Costochondritis I was prescribed a steroid to speed the healing. Victor Conte did not provide them to me.