Gang I just wrote this e-mail to my friends at work and I thought I would share it with you all here. I consider many of you my close friends so I thought I’d keep you in the loop of what happened to me this week.
Gang,
I told Leisha I’d write up an e-mail explaining what happened to me on Tuesday night and about the surgery I’m going to have next week. So here it is. If this were a pkg, Megan would be upset cause it’s going long.
Ever since I was a teen I’ve noticed I sometimes get a rapid heartbeat. It usually goes away within five minutes. There’s no telling what sets it off. I generally didn’t think anything of it since it usually only happens maybe once or twice a year. Evidently I was born with what is called
Woff-Parkinson’s-White syndrome. I’m sure they named it after all the docs that discovered it since it doesn’t really flow off the tongue.Here’s a link
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001206
Basically I have an electrical problem in my heart. You are only suppose to have one electrical current that sends out a signal to beat your heart. I sometimes get two signals. Usually the heart just fixes itself and will go back into normal rhythm. Mine on Tuesday night didn’t and it got caught up in a loop. So the electrical signal kept sending out two signals to beat the heart at twice the speed. It started about 8pm on Tuesday. I went to bed that night around 9 since I was exhausted thinking it would fix itself like it has in the past. I woke up around 7am and it was still beating fast.
The sheets were drenched with sweat like I had run a marathon. I took Alyce to school and then waited in the parking lot for ten minutes for Urgent Care to open at 8am. When I got in there they pretty much all freaked since my heart rate was incredibly high. So they called Freeman ER and sent an ambulance to come get me. They gave me some drugs on the ride but that didn’t do anything to slow it down.
My heart then went into some sort of rhythm where it wasn’t pumping as much as it was pulsating. So they put me out and shocked me with the defib. I was unconscious but I imagine that hurt like a mother.
The defib was able to get the electric current from going in a loop and just make the one electrical signal to start pumping my heart regularly.
On Wednesday I visited the Freeman Heart Institute and met with a doc that specializes in the electrical work of the heart. He said that if that loop of electric and gone down into my lower chambers of the heart and started going haywire I could have died. Which scares the hell out of me.
He said I have two options, I could take meds for the rest of my life or I could have a procedure done that would close off that second electrical signal from shooting anything else to my heart. He said he doesn’t recommend the meds because I had such a severe reaction this past time. So on Wednesday Feb 23, the day after my birthday none-the-less, I’m going to have it done.
They will use a device that goes into a vein near my groin and twist and turn until they get to the spot where the spark happens. The doc says that he’s had a 90-95% success rate with it and I like him so I have that going for me. lol.
So Leisha, I’m going to need to take Wed,Thursday and Friday off next week. Wednesday I’ll have the surgery and he said to rest for a couple days without lifting anything heavy and just relaxing so I don’t open up the incision etc.
I’ll be at work on Thursday, Friday and Monday and Tuesday of next week. The doc has told me to take it easy and not to drink any caffeine. So I’m 48 hours off of Diet Mt. Dew so I’m real shaky. LOL.
I appreciate all the calls, texts and prayers. You all truly are like family and that’s why I enjoy working here so much. So I’ll see you all Thursday morning. I’m off to bed.
BD
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Your in our prayers Brad get well soon.
Will be praying for you, hombre.
I quote Kang the alien from “The Simpsons”: “HOLY FLERKING SCHMIDT!”
I’m so sorry to hear about what happened with your heart, Brad. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family, buddy, and I wish you guys nothing but the best. Good luck with the surgery and I hope to see you make a full, speedy recovery. Take care.
Don’t you die on me, dammit. I need you!
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a successful procedure!
Wow that must have been scary. I’m glad they were able to get it under control and that there is a surgical option that sounds promising. I will be praying for it to be successful and you to have a quick recovery.
Best wishes Brad!
Take it easy, BD! Here’s to a speedy recovery.
Get well soon Brad!
My family will definitely be keeping you in our prayers. You can make it through dude just believe it! =)
Oh don’t worry Brad
me and my wife will be praying for you
our hearts and souls are with you
Get well soon Brad! Don’t worry about the crawlspace for a while, you’re health is more important 😉
Wishing you all the Best to Get Well Soon.
Best of luck, my thoughts and prayers are with you!!
Scary. You’ll be in my prayers BD. I’ve been having my own health problems as of late. We’ll have to catch up and swap horror stories.
“They will use a device that goes into a vein near my groin and twist and turn until they get to the spot where the spark happens. ”
Ack! TMI! TMI!
If you had just waited – after a few more years of marriage the spark in that area would have gone dead on its on.
In all seriousness, good luck BD and here’s to your health.
Good luck my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Hey Brad.
Yup, get that ticker fixed up right quick. You need it good and strong so Ava can break it for you in 22 years or so….
Wow, this puts a lot of stuff in perspective…I’m sure you’ll pull through just fine, glad you caught this before it was too late. Good luck with the surgery!
I echo what everyone else has said. Hope everything goes well.
Holy crap! Good luck Brad, I hope you feel better soon!
Woah, I truly do wish you the best of luck my fellow Spider-fan. Please do get well as you’re in my nightly prayers for a long recovery. 🙁
All my prayers are with you big guy. Keep fighting :3
Best wishes
A Speedy recovery good sir
good luck hope we have a speedy recovery!!
Best of luck to you BD. Get well soon. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
It’s so sad seeing friends get sick. Take care of yourself Brad! *Sigh* =(
All the best mate and take care of yourself
Good luck, Mr. Douglas. Like everyone, I’ll be wishing you a speedy recovery. Take care.
Good luck to you Brad ! Hope you have a speedy recovery
Best of luck to you Brad, and I’ll be praying for your successful operation.
Thinking of you dude, hope all goes well.
Wow…thanks for being honest with us, Brad.
I hope everything goes well for you, and I’ll say some extra prayers for you and your family.
@Spiderpr – Or the power of love, that could work too.
But in all seriousness I hope you pull through Brad, my thoughts and prayers go out to you kind sir and your family. Were all pulling for you!
I will keep you in my prayers BD, for as long as it takes.
BD…my prayers are with you my friend.
Best of luck to yea Brad.
good luck to you, and thanks for telling us.
BD, sorry to hear about this. Hope everything works out for the best. Get well and stay tough!
PS: Although you live in Missouri, good thing you aren’t a big Cardinal fan right now! This and the Pujols thing might have been too much!
Oh man BD I wish you a speedy recovery.
Take it easy BD and my prayers go out to you and your family. God bless.
Best of luck and a speedy recovery!
fight through it!
Wishing you the best, BD.
Good luck, Brad! We’ll all be pulling for ya!
Damn that is scary. But if this was the 60s and we were living in comic book world, two electrical pulses to the heart would have given you some crazy super powers. Take care, be well and come back to the Crawlspace soon.
Oh wow man. Sorry to hear that. I wish you the best.
Best of luck on a speedy recovery Brad. Get well soon!
Wow that’s crazy brad I will keep you in my prayers and my associates at bprecords also pray for you you did a lot for us and we thank you for that just hope for the best I know the crawlspace will also pray for you as well GET WELL BD.