[Tired of Waiting]

November 20, 2013 was a rough day for Mrs ToW and Myself.

I had gone hunting across from the house and was 1/4 mile in the woods when I knew something was wrong. I'm a trained first responder and all the training I've had was key for my survival. Yes, I was having a heart attack.

It started out as a slight squeezing pressure inside the chest. I sat down thinking it might pass as a simple Angina attack. But after a few seconds I felt the "slightest" sensation of a tooth ache in the left jaw. That told me I was truly in trouble. Less than a minute had passed so far.

I took out the cell phone but had no reception and Mrs ToW was still in bed so the two way radio at the house was not on. I set a plan and executed it. I used my GPS to take a direct line to the road and watched the phone until I had reception. As soon as the phone worked I called Mrs ToW and had her activate 911. I needed to do this has she had the Topo map of where I was and could give it to the responders if I didn't make it out of the woods. I told her where I was and the path I was taking out. About 10 minutes had passed so far.

I made it to the road edge just before the police arrived. That's when I broke into the cold sweat. 15 minutes so far. The police started O2.

Long story short: The ambulance arrived, packaged me up and took me to the best cardiac care hospital in the area. about 40 minutes so far but the last 20 with O2, IV and asprin on board.

The hospital was amazing. They had me in the O.R. in under 5 minutes of arrival and placed a stent in less than 15 minutes of arrival. I had a blockage in my Right Coronary Artery.

The overall results, because of I my fast recognition and action on my part they were able to abate any major damage to the heart. According to all the tests my heart is functioning in the middle of the normal range even though there is some slight damage to the mussel.

I guess the moral of the story is know the symptoms of a heart attack and don't hesitate to activate 911. The doctor at the hospital told me he wished all people had my training. He could save so many more lives if folks would react as I had at the earliest sings.

And for all you outdoors people, be sure to leave a Topo with someone of where you are going to be.
Although we didn't need it this time it could have been instrumental in getting me help if I had not made it to the road.

ToW