MerrinDonahue.com

There are some days that you just can’t process, no matter how hard you try. I have a feeling that I’m going to look back on today (and probably the next few days) and not really *ever* be able to process it. You see, my husband had a heart attack today. He’s 34. He doesn’t smoke. He rarely drinks. He eats a fairly healthy diet.
Today started out fairly normally. We headed out to do our usual Sunday errands. That’s when we started having a problem. Kevin had his cholesterol medicine changed this week, and Kevin thought he was experiencing some of the side effects of the new medication. His symptoms seemed to be in line with those side effects, and he started feeling “off” about 24 hours after he started the new stuff, so we just chalked it up to that. Today was a little bit different. Of course, being Kevin, he downplayed it a little bit, but I knew something was really wrong when he asked me to take him to the ER.
Fast forward to the ER docs giving him nitro pills and talking about having to MedEvac him to the cardiac care unit downtown. They loaded him on the chopper, and I followed. By the time I made it to the other hospital, Kevin was being wheeled into recovery. He got cathaterized and had a stent put in. I talked to the cardiologist. He had a 95% blockage. He was lucky to be alive.

Right before we left the house, he Googled “heart attack symptoms”. He took an aspirin. He lived. The doctor said that 50% of the patients his age (34) that walk into the hospital don’t ever come out again. But he Googled. And we prayed harder than we ever have. God was definitely on our side today. God whispered in his ear, and Kevin listened.
Kevin is doing fine right now (as fine as can be expected). He’s resting tonight in ICU, and if all continues to go well, he’ll be moved to a regular room tomorrow. But the thing is, my husband is 34. And I had to watch him get loaded onto a chopper and be flown away. I’ll say it again. He’s 34. If you’ve never had an EKG (he hadn’t), go get one. Even if you think you don’t need one. And if you even THINK you MIGHT be having some heart trouble, take an aspirin.

I’m so incredibly grateful that my husband is going to be okay. He is my LIFE. I love him more than anything in the world, and for a fleeting second today, I thought that my world had ended. Get better baby. And sorry, no computer for you for a few days.