I was driving up to Charlotte on Sunday morning in the late 90's. I was planning to visit the used record stores. It was in the summer. My car had air conditioning, but I had to use it sparingly, because of the strain on the motor. I was reluctant to open the windows to get the hot air in my car, so I was driving some of the way with no air.
As I was going up I-77, I began to have chest pains. The pains got worse, and I was having a hard time breathing. I started to panic. I was close to Rock Hill, SC and saw a sign for a hospital. By now, it was around 12:30pm. I got off of the interstate and headed for the hospital. When I pulled into the parking lot, I stopped the car and opened my car door. I immediately threw up. I was sweaty. The chest pains had gotten worse, and I thought I was having a heart attack.
A security guard saw me in distress and called for help. They brought out a gurney, and rushed me into the ER. I looked around the waiting room and saw many people waiting for help. I was moved ahead of all of them. I felt sorry for them, but the nurses said that people with chest pains are a priority to be seen. That was good to know. They rushed me into an examining room and started taking vitals. I was in a lot of pain.
After triage, they started working on me more. The tests came back negative for a heart attack. They did more tests and had me drink something. Soon, the pain subsided. I was there three hours, when the other results came back. It turned out I had a bad attack of acid reflux. The doctor gave me a prescription and asked where I lived. I told him that I lived in Columbia. He told me I could drive back home, but I had to take it slow. I had been through a real ordeal. I drove back taking two-lane roads and driving 35mph. It took about three hours to get home.
The next day, I went to my doctor's office for a follow-up. Just to be on the safe side, my doctor said he was going to do another EKG. The nurse came in to put on the sensors. After a few minutes, they all came back to me in a panic. They told me that I had had a massive heart attack. I had no symptoms of one. I knew that from my father's heart condition and what happened to him when he had a heart attack. They called a cardiologist who was sent the strip. He told my doctor that a large portion of my heart was missing and that I needed to be rushed to the hospital. I felt fine. Just before the ambulance came, the cardiologist ordered another EKG. Another nurse came in and replaced the sensors. The results came back that my heart was fine. It turned out that the first nurse had put the sensors in the wrong place on my chest. The doctors called off my trip to the hospital. When I went back a week later for another follow-up, that errant nurse had been fired. They all apologized to me for upsetting me. You think?
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