Wednesday, June 27, 2007

We had a bit of a panic here last night. I was eating supper last night when I had some unbelievably excruciating chest pain. The long and the short of it was an ambulance (although no trip to hospital, thank goodness), two extremely nice paramedics, a cat chewing a heart monitor, a trip to the GP, two EGCs and a blood test. And absolutely nothing is wrong with me. But I tell you, it was frightening. It was so painful that James couldn't get me out of the door and into the car to take me to the hospital. Anyway, I've slept today and feel much better so don't worry. Anyway, in some ways it has been positive. I had a blood test. Remember my meme? I'm terrified of needles and have avoided blood tests thus far. When the GP told me she was going to take blood I burst into tears. The poor woman looked so hurt and assured me I needn't have it if I didn't want to! But, I composed myself and for some reason found myself telling her to just do it. I hadn't had a week to build myself into a spin (what usually causes my fears to be at their worst). I think I surprised myself. She was very kind, was really quick and assures me she took as little blood as possible. Well, anyway, it wasn't nice, but then I suppose it wasn't going to be was it? But it was OK. Believe me, the stabbing pain of last night was far far worse.

So, I've come some way to conquering my fear. And once again I find my self feeling unbelievably priviledged to have the NHS. How fortunate am I to live in a society where an ambulance (and two cheerful paramedics) turn up in just a few minutes, when you're struggling to breathe, and then spend half an hour or so making sure you're OK. I appreciate lots of people in the world are not this lucky. I then get to see a doctor and a nurse within half an hour, the next day. Not to mention the fab dental treatment I've also had today (I know, all in one day!Woe is me!!).
Thank you too for everyone's kind birthday wishes on Monday. Here, on facebook and by email. More about that later!

10 comments:

Dame Wendy said...

Oh wow! Take care of yourself sweetie! That's just too scary.

Anonymous said...

Goodness, sounds really scary. I'm glad you're ok, Nell. Take care of yourself. Sarah x

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Batty said...

How scary! Have you ever had panic attacks or bad heartburn? The first time I had acid reflux, I thought it was a heart attack!

Take care of yourself. Don't hesitate to call the ambulance again if you're not feeling good.

Liz said...

Yikes! I'm glad it all turned out ok. I think it was smart to have them do the bloodwork quickly, though!

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday Nell!! :-)

I hope you will have a wonderful year ahead (with NO MORE ambulance calls!).

I know how the needle phobia is. I usually have to have a friend hold one hand, and I cannot ever see the actual needle. I have to keep my head and eyes averted.

Which of those girlies needed the chew toy! Bad kitty! :-)

Take good care, and again Happy Belated Birthday!!

Amanda (gr8aunt)

Sarah Ditum said...

Blimey Nell! I'm so glad you're ok. That's a very frightening experience to go through. Glad James was there with you - and that you held things together in the middle of such a fearful thing. Look forward to seeing your birthday booty!

cranberry said...

Oh my! I'm sorry to hear about your chest pains and am glad to see that you're feeling well.

Happy belated! I'm a bit pants when it comes to remembering birthdays (especially since you've been lovely in remembering mine). Hope you had a good one!

dancingnic said...

Hey Nell,
I really hope you're feeling better! What a scary thing to happen! I agree with you about the NHS - yes there is a lot of nonsense that goes on, but at the end of the day we are so priviledged to have a free health service. Last Christmas my throat started to close up and I was in hideous pain, I phoned NHS 24 and was in a hospital bed with antibiotics within an hour - even though it was the middle of the night!

It makes me really angry when people disregard it and think that it's crap.

You take care of yourself and happy belated birthday!

Annie said...

I'm so glad you're ok!!

I know the NHS has some downfalls, but you didn't get an enormous bill did you? Here, they don't cover ambulances a lot of the time, even with insurance, and you'll get a bill for a couple thousand...

I'm SO glad you're ok, and good for you for getting past the needle terror!