The bit that has changed since then is the 2nd heart attack in January… Was running short of breath, thought it was because they changed my meds. Doc told me to go down to the ER and get checked.
Troponin was elevated again. Well, fuck. Having a heart attack right there in the ER… and the power goes out. January remember? This was right in the middle of the ice storm.
They get me checked in, get me an angiogram, tell me I need a stent but they can’t do it at Mount Hood, I need an ambulance ride to Good Sam, and the ambulance system is over loaded.
So, first night at Mount Hood, I wake up around 6 AM and am screwing around on my phone. Nurse comes in…
“Hey, were you asleep?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Your heart rate dropped to 40.”
“. . . Is that bad?”
Yeah, apparently bad.
They tell me again, ambulance should be there around 10:30 that night.
Same deal… Wake up around 6 AM, on the phone… nurse comes in…
“Were you asleep about an hour ago?”
“Yeah, my heart slow down again?”
“No, your heart stopped for eight seconds.”
“Uh, thanks? I guess? I don’t know what to do with that information. But wait, the machines didn’t go off, aren’t they supposed to go off or something?”
“Alerted us at the nurses station.”
Anyway, the ambulance showed up that morning, got me to Good Sam and I got stented.
4 days, 2 hospitals, 1 ambulance ride, $2,100 after insurance. Big difference from Kaiser.