They were right in Spain: They diagnosed atrial fibrillation and the pain in my right upper thorax had nothing to do with my heart. This was confirmed in Green Bay. But when we visited the family in California, we all noticed much swelling in my ankles and feet, arrived home late on the 17th, went to the the emergency ward (at Erin's insistence) on the 18th and stayed until late on the 20th. I visit my official cardiologist tomorrow.
The upshot: it ain't A-fib, but rather its less dangerous cousin, atrial 'flutter.' I kept going in and out of that condition while in the hospital as they played with various heart meds, as well as diuretics to get rid of all the water in my bod. I will be on three maintenance meds for the rest of my life to keep the heart rate stabilized, the blood thin and the water down. I also gotta leave out most of the salt from my food, of course, which is the hardest part.
***
Sigh. It's been a helluva two years. I'm just damned glad I retired when I did; I want to be remembered the way I was, not this way.
Erin is holding up beautifully amidst all of this and has lost almost 50 lbs. following her gastric sleeve surgery of 21 March, so some of the news is actually good.
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