In a Heartbeat

 It was a dark and stormy night…… Just kidding

My story starts on a beautiful day in Hocking Hills, Ohio.

Our family all met together down south of where I live, in the beautiful county of Hocking Hills, Ohio. My husband Dave couldn’t join us due to his work schedule. I traveled three hours to meet up with our daughter, her husband and 3 children and our son, his wife and their four children, where we all stayed in cabins and agreed to meet up the next morning at Cedar Falls, one of the gorgeous falls in the area. We had a wonderful time hiking, wading and climbing. All the kids got along great with each other, whom they hadn’t seen in way too long, and between 5 adults constantly counting 7 children, we felt safe letting the kids climb and explore the caves and caverns in the area. We eventually went to Ash Cave and ended our hiking that day at Cantwell Cliffs. 

I remember when our son announced our last stop for that Thursday was to go to Cantwell Cliffs, I remarked “that should be an area we start the day with, not end with.” 

You see, I grew up playing in these parks. My paternal grandparents lived in South Bloomingville, Ohio where the intersection of Routes 56 and 664 meet. From there, it is only minutes to the majority of these now popular tourist parks. As a kid I, and my siblings, would take turns spending a week or more at our grandparents house during the summer. They would take us to the various parks where we climbed around on the rocks and had fun in the many creeks and falls. I’m sure our grandparents needed us to burn off energy and to keep us entertained for their sanity!  Even years later when Dave, the kids and I lived in the Chicago area, I would bring the kids to visit family in Ohio and we almost always hit at least one of the parks before making the trek back home. 

On our family outing that day in August, I knew that Cantwell Cliffs was going to be quite a steep hike and a tiring trek at the end of a day. But, off to Cantwell Cliffs we went! On the climb back up and out of the gorge, I asked my son who was in the lead, to wait up and let me catch my breath. I was huffing and puffing much more than I remember doing before but I didn’t really think much of it at the time as it had been a couple of years since I had done any real consistent exercise and I knew I was out of shape. When we made it to the top and were headed in the direction of the parking area, I noticed a burning, tingling sensation down the inside of my left arm. I wasn’t alarmed, but I do remember thinking, “I should probably get that checked out when I get back home,”  

A bit of history… my primary doctor had started me on high blood pressure medicine shortly after my father was diagnosed with Alzheimers. We all chalked up my high blood pressure to the stress of my father’s disease and my role of taking care of him. Dr. Miller had been encouraging me to find a cardiologist to take over that particular issue, and I just hadn’t gotten around to it. 

Back in Hocking Hills… On Friday, we all agreed that we would meet up back at our house, where our son and his family had planned to stay with us a few days before heading back home to Wisconsin. Our daughter, her family and myself had stayed at one of the beautiful Whiskey Ridge cabins, whereas our son and his family stayed at a different cabin. Our daughter wanted to show her family Rock House before heading home but our son had already visited Rock House the day before we all met up, so our crew headed off to Rock House and our son’s crew did their own thing and we all headed back to Cleveland at our own pace. Once home, we had a nice weekend together. Our son and his family left Sunday morning, and my husband and I took the day to relax. We both took naps that afternoon which is something we rarely do, but we were tuckered out.

On Monday I was planning on starting a new challenge I had signed up for. It was Day One of a 40 day challenge called 40/40. This is a personal reflection challenge where I was to walk one mile a day for 40 days and reflect on God and His word like Jesus did when he walked and fasted in the desert for 40 days while talking to The Father. The bible states, “When Satan tempted Him with food during his fast, Jesus said  “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3). With this as my direction, we were instructed to walk and meditate on the scripture shared daily. I not only was ready to get back into walking, but I was really looking forward to getting back into a daily devotion. Unfortunately that Monday I had business to attend so I didn’t get my walk in. The challenge had allowed for timing issues and instructed us to make up our missed miles by walking extra when we could. I had determined that I would walk at least 2 miles on Tuesday to make up for missing Monday. After all, when I used to walk consistently, I would walk 3.5 - 4 miles in the morning, several days a week. 

Tuesday morning, August 15th came and I was ready! I had laid my workout clothes out the night before and was hoping the weather would hold out. It was cloudy that morning and somewhat humid. I remember thinking the air was thick as I got started on the road. I started out at a slower pace than I had in the past as I knew I needed to warm up and take my time getting back into the swing of walking. I have a route that I walk in my neighborhood and adjoining roads. I know roughly the mileage of each section that I walk. I knew that I only wanted to walk about 2 miles that day, and if I walked down to the end of Baker Rd, turn around and walk back to the house that would be a little over 2 miles. I was good with that. I had taken a selfie in my challenge T-shirt in order to post on Social Media, and even had the good fortune to take a video of a doe that I encountered on my walk, who, allowed me to get really close to her before she walked off into the woods just feet from where I was walking. Right after that encounter, I had to walk up an incline in the road. I have done this walk for several years and almost always approach it at a faster pace as it seems to make it easier to climb. At the top of the incline, I was breathing pretty hard.  Just like in Hocking Hills, I didn’t think anything of it, after all, it had been awhile since I had walked and I knew I was out of shape. I slowed my pace just a bit and turned onto the road I live on. Almost home!

Once home, I met Dave in the sunroom. He was on the phone when I left that morning and I didn’t want to disturb him, so instead I left without saying anything to him. Once back home, we talked a bit. I told him where I had gone and shared the video with him of seeing the doe on my walk. 

I hadn’t eaten before I left and he was ready to eat, so we both headed to the kitchen to prepare some food.   While we were pulling out the food and equipment we were going to use to prepare our food, I noticed that heavy feeling I had in my chest earlier (thinking heavy air before) was increasing.  I didn’t say anything then, but as we continued to cook our food, I finally mentioned to Dave that I wasn’t feeling “very good”.  He asked, “what do you mean you’re not feeling good?” I told him the symptoms I was having and he said, “And you’re standing there flipping an egg when we should probably be going to the doctor.”  I replied, “ Well I haven’t eaten all day and I’m hungry”. He said, “Hon …?” He then gave me the husband “look”.  You all know that look that your spouse gives you when you’re being stubborn and they know they’re right.  So, I pushed the skillet off the heat, and said “At least let me go take a quick shower.”  Cuz, you know we women won’t go anywhere without being clean and putting on make up!

So, off to the shower I went!  As I was climbing the stairs to shower, I noticed the pressure on my chest getting more intense. I knew this was going to be a quick shower, then we would head to urgent care.  I had no sooner gotten into the shower when, in a heartbeat, there was a decisive pain in the middle of my chest. I quickly finished up my shower, grabbed a towel and while still dripping wet, went to the top of our stairs and hollered down to Dave. He didn’t answer, so I went back to dry off. I once again hollered down and went back to get dressed. Dave heard me at that point and came up to the bathroom door and opened them. At that point I was holding my chest and in severe pain and said, “Call 911!” He went back down stairs to grab his phone and rushed back up where he met me at the top of the stairs and helped me downstairs. Once we reached the bottom of the steps, I knew I needed to lay down before I fell down, so I went down to my knees and laid out on the carpet. The next thing I knew there was someone at our door.

  Dave later told me that from the time he called 911 until the police arrived was 6 minutes. Two minutes later the ambulance arrived. I remember them asking if I could get up or should they bring the gurney in. I told them to help me up.  The two men then each grabbed an arm and helped me stand and walked me outside to our sidewalk where the gurney was. Much of what happened next is a blur, but I remember them starting an IV and doing an EKG while still in our driveway. The next thing I remember is hearing the siren as we began to drive away. 

Once we arrived at Medina Hospital, the EMS team wheeled me into a room with a bunch of people inside it. Again, everything happened so fast, I remember seeing a doctor standing at the computer at the end of my room with a nurse looking on. There were nurses all around me moving equipment, talking, putting something in my IV…. The next thing I remember is Dave showing up looking very concerned.  He kissed me and told me he loved me. Then they wheeled me out of the room. 

Dave told me that as he was driving to the hospital, which is only 10-12 minutes from our house, he saw a helicopter flying to the hospital.  He remembered immediately that my younger sister was flown via helicopter from Chillicothe Ohio to Columbus back in 2015. She coded on the flight there.  She never made it.  He said he thought, “Oh God, don’t let that be for Mindy”.  As Dave arrived and checked in at the desk to see me, the lady behind the desk looked me up, stood up and said, “We have to hurry, they’re about to take her!”  It was then he realized the helicopter was for me.

Immediately after Dave came in and we got our kiss and, “I love you”,  the helicopter team wheeled me out of the room and out to a bright and shiny sun soaked deck on top of the hospital. They warned me that the entrance was about to get tight, but that once inside I would have more space.  As they pushed the gurney into the back end of the helicopter, I was actually excited that I was going to be in a helicopter! Odd, I know, but I’ve always wanted to ride in a helicopter.  They told me very quickly that they were going to put ear protectors on me and that I was to give them a thumbs up or down as they checked in on me during the flight. They were sitting behind me, so I couldn’t see them, but they tapped me on the shoulder a few times during the flight and I would indicate with a thumbs up.  At one point the pain began to get intense again and I gave them a wavy hand motion.  I think they put something in my IV again and we continued.  I realized that I had a window over my right shoulder and I wanted to see out. So I cranked my head around as much as I could a few times to get glimpses out the window. I wasn’t disappointed with my views. 

The helicopter arrived on the roof of Cleveland Clinic main campus in downtown Cleveland. The flight took maybe 20 minutes from Medina and once we arrived, they wheeled me straight into the Cath Lab. From there it was like ants on sugar. I had so many people doing multiple things to me at once.  One person starting putting twilight into my IV, another was swabbing my wrists and taping them down to some sort of bolster, and yet another was pulling my pants off, swabbing my groin area, then shaved me, “just in case”.  I remember the needle sticks into my right wrist to numb the area and yet I still remember feeling the beginning of something being pushed into my right wrist and feeling it up until my mid-forearm before going to sleep. 

At a few points during the procedure, I would open my eyes for split seconds. At one point I remember seeing plastic covered monitors over my head. Another time I was fortunate enough to see a huge monitor screen off to my left. I saw what looked like a black tree limb going horizontal across the screen and suddenly saw what looked like a black lightening bolt shoot down from that branch! I actually got to see the second the stent was inflated and the blood flow begin into the Left Anterior Descending artery (LAD) which was, up until then, 100% blocked.  They had to use two overlapping stents to open the blockage. My eyes closed right after that life saving moment and I didn’t open them again until I was being wheeled out from the Cath Lab.  From my understanding, that’s just about the time Dave arrived and was told I had what was called the Widow Maker, but that I was fine. 

              

     

                                                                        Before                                                    After

While Dave was waiting on me to be brought to a room, he began to research what just happened to us. A widow maker heart attack is immediately life-threatening, with just a 12% survival rate. The LAD artery provides about 50% of our heart muscle’s blood supply and an ER team must race against a clock to unblock it . They have about 90 minutes from the time the attack occurs to restore blood flow. If not, at best, it can do permanent damage to the heart. At worst, death. I thank God, that Dave was home, not traveling, that he responded quickly to call 911, and that all the medical teams that took care of me that day responded quickly to get me the help I needed. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Hebrew word translated as “plan” includes our words of thoughts, intention, and purpose.  This scripture isn’t a promise to immediately rescue us from suffering or hardships, but it is a promise that regardless of our current situation He has a plan for our lives. He KNOWS the plan, we don’t. His plan is to work through it to prosper us and THAT gives us hope!

I spent a total of 4 1/2 days in the hospital. While I was there, Dave was there every day. I thank his boss David, that he allowed Dave to take time off to be with me.  I had other visitors while I was there. Thank you to my church family staff Tony and Melody who came to visit, encourage us, and to pray with us. Thank you to my dear friends Laura and Robin who came to love on me. Our daughter visited me almost daily and brought her kiddos a couple of times.  Her oldest didn’t like seeing me with all those “things in her arm”, so the 2nd time they came I had to introduce them all to the bed that moves. Boy, did they all enjoy that! My son and his family sent beautiful flowers the very next day after I arrived and Donna, another friend, sent a gorgeous basket of flowers.  

My heart attack occurred on a Tuesday and on Friday, my now cardiologist sent me back to the Cath Lab for another procedure. Two more stents were inserted in my Right Coronary Artery which was 90% blocked on the top and 80% blocked on the bottom.  They had to go into my left arm as my right arm was terribly bruised from the emergency procedure on Tuesday. Saturday afternoon I was finally released and able to come home!  

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                                    Before                                                                                         After

Our dear friend Mishalene had already organized a Meal Train while I was in the hospital and I want to thank all those who participated in the meal train and visited me once I got home.  Mish, you are the best! Thank you Rosalind, Angie, Jessica, Jeanette, Angela, Julie and Kathy and Christine D! (I have so many Christine’s in my life and love them all!) Your support, meals and friendships mean the world to me. 

Rehab has already started at this point. I am to go twelve weeks, 3 times a week and at the time I write this, I am eleven visits in on a thirty-six visit schedule! When we did my first follow up in September, diet and exercise were mentioned.  Dr. Cho, my cardiologist, recommended the Mediterranean diet, which I already do minus the meat, and thanks to rehab, I am getting back into exercising on a regular basis, and I plan to keep it up. Up until Covid, I exercised pretty regular. Since Covid, which I contracted right before the US heard of it, I’ve been taking care of my father with Alzheimers and have lost my oldest brother to the exact same thing I just survived. Those life changers are routine busters to say the least. 

Melody asked me a question when she visited me at the hospital. She mentioned that God had plans for me and wondered if I had any idea what that could be. I didn’t hesitate and told her Yep! God told me to write many years ago, and since then Satan has made sure that my life became so packed with "stuff" that I wouldn’t have time to write.

I’m sure some of you have followed my blog, which I haven’t written on for way too long. But I’m praying that God help me carve out time to begin to start writing again. Many of you have asked me to tell you about what happened, so I’m taking advantage of those requests to write. 

If anyone is interested, here is the link to the article I wrote when God spoke very clearly to me to write.  
https://howellblessings.blogspot.com/2014/07/getting-real.html

Thank you again to all those who blessed our lives during this time, even those behind the scene who prayed for me. God knows, and He knows the plans He has for me.