It's been several days since I posted. Several very busy, eventful days.
As scheduled, Pam flew out of Portland at 5 a.m. on Saturday headed to Chicago, and from there to Grand Rapids, MI. I left 30 minutes later for the first leg of my flight to Puerto Rico with a short layover at DFW - Dallas/Fort Worth.
I fell asleep about 15 minutes into the flight and woke up shortly thereafter not feeling right. I knew what could come next because of previous incidents and did my best to fight it off.
Open that little air vent above my head.
Take off my hat.
Breath deeply.
[This isn't working. Better hit the call button.]
The next thing I remember I was laying on my back with an oxygen mask on my face and looking up at some very anxious people.
Yeah, I passed out again. No seizure this time, but they said I was out for 4-5 minutes, a little longer than has happened before.
I talked them out of putting down in Boise, convincing the two doctors on board that I'd be OK. They helped me back up into my aisle seat with a whole bunch of wide-eyed passengers staring at me. A few minutes later the lady sitting next to me said one of those doctors began chest compressions when they couldn't get a pulse. "It's my birthday, and I prayed, 'Please don't let this guy die on my birthday.'"
(No wonder they were all wide-eyed!)
They ushered me off the plane before anyone else and I was met by a cadre of EMT's and firemen. They could see I was 90% recovered but still hooked me up to a 2-lead EKG and took my vitals. They eventually told the American Airlines suit that I was good to continue on, so I continued to my next gate. Ten minutes later I was called to the counter to talk with another employee who told me they would not allow me to fly again until I had a certificate of clearance from a doctor.
This was at 1:00 or so, and the next flight to PR was at 4:00.
I'll spare you the details, but I took a cab to Baylor Medical Center in Grapevine, TX, went to the ER, was seen by a dr., and was *this* close to getting his signature when he got my blood work back. I had elevated troponin levels, a possible sign of a heart attack. No signature.
I was admitted to a telemetry room on the 4th floor and spent the night. Blood draw every four hours, vitals every two hours, and a stress echocardiogram at 7:30 a.m. My troponin levels stayed the same and my echo was clear, and by 8:00 I had my certificate.
Got a cab back to the airport as fast as I could and got the. last. seat. on the plane. The last one available and the last one in the very back of the plane. This flight went fine (as most do) and I arrived in PR exactly 24 hours after I was supposed to.
The seminar I was supposed to do Saturday morning has been rescheduled for later this week, so Thursday (I think) will be pretty full. This morning I preached to an extremely (!) responsive congregation with Pastor Miguel interpreting for me. It was great fun, I fed off their energy, and pray that my presentation of the gospel hit the mark.
I'm staying at the camp right on the beach on the south side of the island. It's beautiful. Tomorrow morning after doing a radio gig at 10 a.m. I'm headed up into the rain forest for a hike that includes a jump off a 10' cliff into a 15' deep pool. (I might pass on that part.) Tomorrow night is a small gathering of people. The press starts Wednesday with both afternoon and evening sessions.
There is, as you might guess, so much more I could report, but this is a blog post, not a book.
Food, people, sights, people (the people are the best part)....
I'm working on my Spanish.
Adios, señor Bush.
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