That Day I Almost Died

Did you ever survive something traumatic? I did and this is my story.

In July 2015 my husband and I were camping in the Black Hills in South Dakota. The elevation was more than one mile high. We weren’t used to that and we both struggled to breathe while we were hiking. I will admit that I struggled more than he did.

After our return home, we took one day to relax before heading off for a weekend trip within our state. On the first day, we stopped for lunch. I was full after just a few bites and I was sick to my stomach. I felt better within the hour and we continued our adventure. We took a ferry to an island where we attended an outdoor festival and climbed a lookout tour. The day was passing quickly so we canceled our plans for a second ferry to an isolated island.

Several hours later, the sickness returned. We stopped at a local drug store for antacids. I quickly chewed a couple and felt better until the wee hours of the morning. I chewed a couple more and went back to sleep.

I was awakened in the morning by the light coming through the space where the curtains didn’t quite meet. I played on my phone because the light was not bothering my husband and he was snoring softly beside me.

At one point, the room darkened like a cloud went over the sun and things became burry. I blinked my eyes a few times to clear the blur. A few moments later, I woke up from what my husband described as a seizure. I’ve never had one before and I felt fine immediately after so I promised my husband I would call my doctor when I returned to work the next morning and we continued with our plans for the day.

I also described to him the way the room darkened before I lost consciousness. I explained how peaceful that was. I even wondered aloud if that is what it is like to die.

Although I assured my husband I was fine, I knew something was wrong. I was in denial.  I knew I needed medical care but I called a friend instead of an ambulance. I described what had happened and said I was starting to think I was having a heart attack. We were both confused about the seizure though. I promised her I would pay attention to my body and seek medical attention if I felt any worse.

Driving home in the late afternoon, I noticed I could not stop yawning. My fingertips and my lips were numb like I had been drinking but no alcohol had crossed my lips for weeks. My father had complained about numb fingers a few days before his bypass surgery. Heart attack was becoming a very real thought hanging out in the forefront of my mind instead of the back.

I told my husband I needed a hospital. He drove me to the one nearest our home and dropped me off at the Emergency Room doors while he parked. Things move pretty fast when you walk into a hospital and say "heart attack." I was seated in a wheelchair and ready to be taken to a room in the few minutes it took him to park. I refused to be taken back without him. As soon as he joined me, we were off to an exam room.

The EKG leads were quickly connected and all hell broke loose! I had suffered a minor heart attack so I was admitted. I required emergency bypass surgery. I spent five days in the hospital and returned to work at the four-week mark.

My heart attack symptoms were non-typical – even for a woman. Even the seizure is rare. For the inquiring minds, that is caused by an arrhythmia. I consider myself very lucky I still recognized what was going on and sought help.

That is my only advice to others – know your body. Know when something isn’t right. It’s better to be sent home with heartburn today than to not wake up tomorrow morning.