This too shall pass . . .

...or dissolve I guess. A blood clot. Here is the story, while I was working on this shawl in blood red (Red Velvet)

One Monday evening recently, on the way back from work we picked up some Jalepeno poppers and onion rings for a tea time snack with all four of us at home. My single most weakness are these fried goodies, since childhood. Street food, mirchi bhaji (meNsinakayi bonDa) and onion pakoras were a regular at home growing up. We enjoyed it with murmura (puffed rice), and finely chopped raw onions aka manDakki kara. So every time we make do with the alternatives here, I am reminiscing, sharing stories from cool summer evenings, enjoying the almost ritualistic endeavor of sharing those with family sitting on a mat (chApe) out in the front porch of the house.

When I developed a heart burn that Monday night, (Jan 13th, 2020) I went down the guilt trap of having relished these, albeit just a couple, earlier in the evening. I have had acid reflux episodes before so did the usual, took antacids, slept in a reclining position for most of the night etc. The heart burn seemed unusually severe though. My left chest continued to hurt throughout the day on Tuesday and I kept thinking that the heart burn was so severe that it is taking longer to feel completely back to normal. Wednesday morning as I was driving to work, I distinctly remember the moment, at the intersection of Tadmuck Rd, feeling like I needed to clear a little something that was stuck in my chest and as I did that feeling the pain spike. And thinking that I should probably get it checked. And every time I took a deep breath it continued to hurt on the left side of my chest. I got engrossed with work all morning and picked up the phone at around 2:00 PM and called the doctor's office to speak with a nurse to see if I should make an appointment to get checked or just wait till my previously scheduled annual physical at the end of the month. They don't take any kind of chest pain lightly, she booked an appointment with my doctor for later that evening, so I stopped by there on the way back home from work. After examining and hearing about my symptoms, the doctor suggested that I get a blood test and a chest X-Ray immediately. I said to her that the insurance considers the lab at the facility at the hospital as out of network, so I'd do it in the morning when I found a free standing lab that I could get this done at. The look that followed on her face as she said to me that she was suspecting a blood clot in the lung and that it was important to get that done asap, made me rush downstairs, the lab was to close in 30 mins. Got the X-Ray of the chest and had blood drawn for testing and drove back home.

Fixed up dinner for everyone, and enjoyed a game of cards which we have been doing a lot lately now that the girls are more accessible and we got hooked to it during our China trip last July. The doctor called around 9:45 saying that my blood results were not normal and that I should go to the emergency room immediately. It felt so weird, I anxiously got ready in just a few mins (trying to figure what to bring to the ER, maybe the book I was reading at the moment, "Becoming", or my hobby bag, toiletries etc, joking with M if I needed to pack makeup) and all four of us headed to Emerson Hospital in Concord in two cars, just in case we had to go back and forth, not knowing what the treatment plan would be, whether I'd have to stay in the hospital, and if so how long, and whether there was surgery involved etc. Hadn't heard of Pulmonary Embolism up until this point, so had not looked up or done any research to learn more about it yet.

I was thinking how the last time I was in the hospital was when I delivered my second (and last) child 20 years ago. Oh wait, there was one other ER visit after my wisdom teeth extraction, when the children were very little, but that was all my doing, forgetting completely to nourish myself throughout the day, busy caring for the little ones and catching up on weekend chores before heading back to work on Monday. And had ended up with the worst headache ever, as I was dehydrated. Huge doses of pain killers and IV fluids and a solid 6 hours of sleep at the ER and I was fine and back to routine upon return from the ER.

So, back to this ER visit, after another ECG, repeat blood test, chest X-Ray and a CAT Scan with contrast, they confirmed PE in the left lung and started me on blood thinning medication and was released to go home at 4:00 AM. I am grateful and relieved that I got this looked at in a timely fashion. The things they tell you that could go wrong otherwise is very scary. Glad that the treatment plan this time is non disruptive, with no surgery, hospital stay etc. And most importantly jalepeno poppers and onion rings had nothing to do with this, so I can still enjoy these ;-) Yet another jolt to remind how things can change in an instant, to not take anything for granted, and realize what a miracle this human body is and how many zillion little things go right every single day for us to wake up and love life.