SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY EACH DAY

Last week my day had begun like all others. Except for one difference.

It was one day until summer was going to begin and I was going to have my office to myself.

I greeted the day like I normally do. With my Chai Tea and was laughing with co-workers when I began to feel "weird".

Weird in a bad way, like I needed to take a deeper breath. Weird in the way that you feel when your asthma is going to cause you problems during the day. No matter, I was getting used to it since the heat wave had gripped the DC area earlier in the month.

I decided to give my gut feeling a nod and go check with my nurse. Just for my own satisfaction.

She checked my blood pressure and was 'a little concerned' but not overly. She gave me some aspirin and told me to come back.

A little backstory: I rely on my school nurses and trust them over anyone I have every talked to. Even my own doctors.

When I went back at 10:12 AM, she took my blood pressure again and said, "Go to Patient First, right now".  I walked back to my office and gathered my things and said, "Apparently I need to go to Patient First".

I walked in, sat down but my school nurse had already called. They came and got me and while performing the 'check in process' the nurse came and said, "We are going to send you to the closet hospital".

Two days later, I was released after having a cardiac emergency.

I tell you this for one reason. No matter what you are doing in your life, SLOW DOWN and ENJOY each day.

Not knowing if you are going to walk out of a hospital is a very sobering thought.

Being put on a heart monitor and taking blood pressure readings six times a day, along with Heparin injections and nitrogylcerin pills is also the sign that you need to slow down.

My writing will continue and so will my tiny house build but I am enjoying each day and nothing is more important to me, right now in this moment, than slowing down and realizing that I was given a few more moments to enjoy the world around me.

Medical Alert....Did you know?

Did you know that men and women have different symptoms for heart attacks?

I didn't. I thought the same, pain in the middle of the chest, numbness of the arm (never sure if it is the right or left) and shortness of breath; were the universal signs of a heart attack.

Wrong.

Women should know the 6 signs of heart attack and why we need to take heed.

Of course the number 1 sign is still chest pain or discomfort.

However, women may have 'fullness' according to the director of Women cardiovascular services in California.

Symptom number 2; pain in our back, neck arms or jaw. Yes, the jaw; so make sure you take notice of the pain in your mouth if you haven't had it before.

Symptom number 3; Stomach pain. Yes, sometimes people think that the pain in the stomach is heartburn. Women will feel severe pain, like an "elephant sitting on their stomach".

Symptom number 4; shortness of breath, nausea or lightheadedness. If you feel like you ran a marathon but haven't done anything; seek medical attention

Symptom number 5; sweating. If you break out in a nervous, cold sweat. This could be a sign. It will NOT feel like sweating after you work out. You should get this checked out if it happens, especially if you haven't had hot flashes before.

symptom number 6; fatigue. Women will become extremely tired for not reason; even if they have been sitting all day or haven't moved around much. This is a sign that you need to have checked out.

The best way to make sure you are up on your health is to have that yearly physical. Set up that physical for the same time, every year. It will get you in the habit of being at that same place.

We will plan for a vacation a year out, why not do the same thing for your health?