Thursday, October 11, 2012

A Heartbeat Away


The telephone rang on Tuesday afternoon. It was my honey calling to say
that his Meniere’s Disease had flared up again, and he was feeling too dizzy
to drive home. (Miniere’s affects the 8th cranial nerve which controls hearing 
and balance.) I grabbed a snack and headed out into rush hour traffic. When I 
got there he requested that I take him to the ER.   Thunk...   His chest felt tight 
and his pulse was in the 40’s. The hospital was only ten minutes away and they
soon had him hooked up to an EKG. Blood was drawn. He looked drawn. Glen 
did not feel well at all. I was not able to reach any of our friends by telephone.

These moments are pregnant with possibilities. Glen’s Dad and all of the Uncles
had died from Cardio issues. Maybe it was stress from work, or just a Miniere’s 
thing? An ER room is a lonely place.

A decision was made to keep Glen overnight and to do further testing in the morning.
All of his tests came out looking good and I was able to take him home yesterday 
afternoon.

The experience has given me pause. How fragile we are; how suddenly life can
change! Truly, each of us is only a heartbeat away from Eternity.


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