As the week draws to a close I am assessing all the ways that I am lucky. I had a heart attack on Monday. Yay me! Not quite, but I am so lucky it happened the way it did.
It could have happened when we were hiking to find Geocaches (on Saturday) or while searching for fossilized shark teeth in Calvert County, MD (on Sunday). It could have happened any day over the last few months that I have driven solo to work or up to Baltimore for stressful security assessment meetings. It could have, but it didn't.
I had my heart attack at home, planting bushes in the front yard, while my sister-in-law, the doctor, was visiting. She had just come the evening before. By the time Rebecca got off the phone with 911 there was an ambulance at the door and I was on my way to the best Cardiac Care unit in the area.
The simple truth is this: I should have been taking better care of myself. I should have been more in tune with my heredity and my risks. If you have the family history (my Dad died of a heart attack at 43), or high cholesterol, or more than a few extra pounds, etc., do yourself a favor. Make sure you see your regular doctor, get one if you don't have one, get a cholesterol test and find out what your risk is. I hope you are lucky like me, but...
I am home now and on my way to feeling and being much better. I have mixed feelings about the events of the week, but I have no questions about how lucky I am. That said, being lucky isn't a plan you can count on.
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