a new experience 1 - the beginning

i've had a bit of a novel experience which started with an admission to hospital via A&E and an ambulance - it has been hugely reassuring to be on the receiving end of the brilliant service the NHS can provide - we hear too many horror stories and it was nice to know that the good guys are still doing their jobs

i've been diagnosed with a heart muscle problem (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy late edit: confirmed as Takotsubo Cardiomypathy, but lack of clarity during my hospital stay was a bit of a problem)  and spent 6 days on a cardiac care ward - i've had some good laughs, spent time with some lovely women going through a tough time  and i am really glad to be home - there will be more out-patient appointments and stuff but i will be fine - now i have an even better excuse for not getting up in the mornings!

in the past i have wondered how i would react to really bad news, i think i may have had a taste of that when a doctor told me i was having a heart attack - there didn't seem to be much i could do but sit back and let everyone do their jobs, the only thing i could do to help was relax .... and i think i did

having my heart looked at from the inside (during an angiogram) was really interesting - i was able to see the screen which the doctor was watching while manipulating the equipment and found it amazing that i could actually see what was going on in my own body at that moment ..... wow! the good news was that i wasn't having a heart attack and that my coronary arteries were in good shape - so no need to cut back on the cream cakes!!!

the next procedure helped to confirm that i had a problem with my heart muscle and also showed up a clot inside my left ventricle, but the screen was behind me this time so i couldn't see the images - but at least i could vaguely picture that and it helped me to know that i understood what was going on inside me

i'm going to be using my blog to process what happened over those few days and i hope eventually to put something onto cloth