Last weekend, after I came home from the land, I had trouble getting and staying cool. I worked Sunday for nine hours preparing for a meeting regarding one of my cases. The next day, I worked again until after 9:00 p.m. when my wife ran me off the computer. On Tuesday, I met with our attorney in Nashville and before she arrived, I kept sweating. We met for a couple of hours in preparation for another meeting on Wednesday morning. When I picked her up from the hotel, I was already sweating and felt uncomfortable. When we arrived at the solicitor's office, I carried two cases and a box into the meeting room. I was already hot but felt better when I found that we had control over the thermostat in the room. However, our attorney was already cold so I couldn't make it any cooler.

The other attorneys arrived and the meeting began. I continued sweating but eventually, I cooled off. About two hours into the meeting, I started to sweat again and now a pain began in my chest. It was hard to stay focused on the meeting and what I was talking about. I found that I was stumbling over words but was able to complete the points I needed to make. While making my points, I tried to think of what was going to happen because of the chest pain. I did not want to stop the meeting or say anything about the chest pain for fear that someone would want to call an ambulance. After the other attorneys left, I talked with my boss and our solicitor just enough to know they thought the meeting went well. My boss left and I took the solicitor back to my truck and loaded her heavy bag and my heavy boxes into my truck. As we started out of the parking lot, I advised the attorney that I have been having chest pains during the meeting. She suggested I should have it checked out. Nothing else was said because I dropped her off and she was getting driving instructions back to the interstate. I drove off with pain in my chest, trying to think of what to do. I did not want to go to the VA again because I just did not like the hospital. So, I drove down the interstate with thoughts of going to a local hospital so my wife would feel more comfortable if she had to visit me.

I arrived at the hospital emergency area and got out of my truck, trying to decide if I would go into the emergency room. I stood outside my truck, just looking around and trying to decide if this was something I had to do. At one point, I got back in the truck to leave but the thought of another person came to mind who didn't do anything when he felt chest pain and he died. So, I walked into the emergency room and no one was waiting, which was great for me. When the receptionist asked what she could do for me, I just said that I was having chest pains. She pushed a piece of paper in front of me and asked for my name and social security number. Within a few minutes, I was in a back room being wired for sound. Doctors and nurses came in and out, hooking me up to oxygen, an EKG, strapping me with an IV and taking blood. I was then taken for a cat scan and later returned to the room. All the tests were normal but they insisted I stay the night so they could track my tropopnin levels over night and have me in for a stress test in the morning. I reluctantly agreed.

Throughout the night, I was poked and prodded. But, under the circumstances, I did sleep pretty good. The next morning, I heard the nurse tell someone that my troponin levels jumped overnight and the attached EKG showed some irregularities so they probably would not do the stress test. Elevated tropopin levels are a sign of damage to the heart and the EKG confirmed something else was going on. When the doctor came in, he wanted to do a heart catheter right away. After some discussion, I agreed. The nurse them came in and made sure I understood what they were doing. I also had to sign more papers. Soon thereafter, I was wheeled out and into the cath lab. I received a shot to make me a little drowsy but it had no effect. I was fully aware of the shot to my groin but outside of that, I didn't really feel much other pain. When it was finished, I was told the main arteries were free and clear and there was no plaque. The only thing mentioned was that a blood vessel or a vein may have detached. Nothing serious so I could go home but go for a visit next week to the cardiologist.

Unfortunately, this will cause me to miss the first day of bow season for dear hunting which starts tomorrow. Oh well. I will rest a few days and head back to the cabin on Tuesday, maybe.

One of the reasons I love to go to the land is because it is the main source of stress release for me. Just being alone and able to do whatever I want, without anyone telling me what to do, is a real comfort. With these current circumstances, I may have to put off any strenuous hunting activity for a while. So, I may just get to use my new digital camera for the first time and spend the day taking pictures. Then, I might just submit the nature pictures for approval for sale on istock.

Anyway, the bottom line at this point is that I've had a bit of a scare but plan to continue going to the land and enjoying its peace and tranquility. I will continue to take pictures, make tapes and write stories about my experience because some day, I will not be able to get to the land at all. So the only way I will be able to reminisce about my time at the land, will be by keeping pictures, smells and sounds from the cabin, for when I can no longer can do so in person.

Everyone needs to have some place they can call their own, where they can spend time alone and do whatever they want. Everyone needs a cabin!