So I figured out how to make Android Auto work. I think there was a bug in the software that got resolved by a phone OS update, I'm not sure but it's working now so I'll take it. So far the new phone has worked out well, hopefully it'll last me a few years. I also finally finished up the toolbox project. It's not perfect, but it never was meant to be perfect to begin with. I learned some things along the way with this project - most importantly, don't do what I did if you value your time and effort! I expended too much time and effort into this project for the outcome I got, I should've just bought a new toolbox that I was satisfied with and left it at that.
In other news, I was in the hospital this weekend. I had a "cardiac issue" that necessitated an overnight stay at Washington hospital. Long story short, I'm okay. It all started on this past Thursday when I was leaving the gym, and I noticed some pain in my chest, like my heart was being squeezed a bit. It was mild, so I just went home and made dinner like usual, but after I went to bed the pain got worse and spread to my left arm, so after not sleeping hardly at all I sent my work an email letting them know I wouldn't be in that day and took myself to the VA outpatient clinic in town. They checked me out, ran an EKG on me, and basically told me they weren't equipped to handle chest pains and that I should go to the emergency room. They offered to get me an ambulance but I decided to drive myself there instead, as the pain wasn't too bad at that point.
By that time the pain in my arm had subsided, so I figured I'd be okay to drive the thousand yards or whatever to get to the hospital. I parked outside of the emergency ward and went in, told them I was having chest pains, and they went to work on me right away. They took my vital signs and got me a bed in the emergency ward, took some blood for testing and ran an ultrasound on my chest. It was weird seeing my heart moving on the ultrasound from so many angles. X rays were taken, my blood pressure and other vitals were checked again, and after a while, maybe an hour, I spoke with an urgent care doctor who told me it was most likely a heart attack. Apparently there's a hormone called troponin that gets released by your heart muscle when it's damaged, and my troponin levels were elevated 100% beyond what is normal for a healthy person. The doctor told me they would have to run a catheter through an artery up to my heart to check for any blockage, and then they moved me upstairs to the 3rd floor.
I got moved into a room all by myself, the nurses took more blood for testing, inserted two IVs in my right arm and after a while the cardiologist came in to talk with me. I had called my mom from the emergency ward and let her know what was happening, and she had asked to be on speakerphone when I talked with the doctor, so I called her and let the doctor explain the procedure to all of us. He said they would put a catheter in the main artery that feeds blood to my right leg, run a tiny camera up to my heart and check the blood vessels there for any blockages. He explained there was a small risk of stroke and even smaller risk of death from the procedure, but was rather reassuring (for me, at least). We hung up and the cardiologist left, and they scheduled me for surgery. The nurses prepped me for the procedure and moved me to the operating room, they explained again what they were going to do, slid me onto the operating table and got ready. The cardiologist came in and ran the catheter into my leg, which I did not feel - the only pain I felt was the prick of the needle with the painkiller. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and it was over. The cardiologist told me the procedure was a success and they had not found any blockages. He left, and the nurses moved me back onto the gurney and took me back to my room. I called Mom again and let her know I was okay, and then I passed out for several hours. The nurses woke me up for dinner, which was bland like hospital food seems to always be. I went back to sleep right afterward.
So that was my Friday from about 9:00 am to late that night. I woke up sporadically throughout the night. I couldn't get comfortable because of the two IVs that were in my right arm, so I didn't sleep well that night. The nurses had to wake me up a few times throughout the night to take more blood for testing. By the time the sun came up I was exhausted, so I pulled the pillow up over my eyes to block out the light and rested that way until they brought me breakfast. Bland food again, but I didn't mind. Afterward the nurses came in to check on me a few times and took more blood. Another doctor came in and told me that the blood tests came back normal, and I would most likely be discharged that day. A physical therapist also came by and walked me around the nurses station, down the hallway, and back to my room to make sure I could walk unassisted. After that, around 11:00 the nurses got word that I was formally being discharged, and they came in and took all the wire leads off of me that had been there since almost the beginning. I got dressed, the nurse removed the IVs from my arm, and she then walked me back downstairs to the exit. I got in my truck and drove home, cautiously, got inside, went to bed right away and stayed there until Sunday morning.
I slept pretty well that night, but was still feeling a little weak after getting out of bed. After having some coffee and cereal I got in the shower and got cleaned up, and went for a walk in the park later that day. Now I'm back at work with a story to tell, most likely multiple times. I have bruises on both arms and in my groin from all the needles, plus some swelling where the procedure took place, but other than that I feel okay. This was my first encounter with modern medicine in a hospital setting that wasn't an outpatient visit, and I must say it was a mind-blowing experience. One I don't care to repeat. I have to make a follow-up appointment with the cardiologist still. I'm left wondering exactly what caused this to begin with, since they didn't find a blockage anywhere, so I'll have some questions for him at our appointment. I'm not sure what I learned from this event yet. It's got me thinking about mortality in a kind of abstract way, and makes me wonder what to do with the time I have left. I have some thinking to do on this still. If I come up with anything useful I'll let you know.
