It wasn't the sudden catastrophic kind. It was the more subtle, don't feel a bit good kind. After 36 hours of feeling bad, she started having a hard time breathing, and we called for help. Within 45 minutes, the EMS folks took her to the Oklahoma Heart Hospital, the staff diagnosed the problem and completed the stint procedure to completely open up a 100% blocked artery. From 911 call to recovery was a total of 45 minutes. That's amazing.
She was in the hospital all weekend, resting and being pampered. I was up there with her, taking care of her house and dogs, intercepting calls from friends and family (how fast the gossip channels work!), talking to doctors, fetching chocolate pudding, worrying and contemplating life without her, etc. By the time she came home Sunday night, I was exhausted.
Our family has a history of leaving this world through heart attacks - the sudden kind that come from nowhere and are over as fast as they start. Mom's older brother died that way in 1996, and Mom's mother died that way in 1984. My mom has always said she wants to go that way, and even told the cardiologist that before they did the stint procedure. "I'm going to die of a heart attack. But not today."
The events of the weekend have caused some serious reflection, and some awesome circumstances surrounded the main attraction. More about those coming soon, I'm sure.
But for now, it's great that she's home and feeling better - and that I can get some rest.