Time to go to the hospital for the blood tests and EKG I mentioned last week.  Wish me luck.

EDIT (1:15 PM): Well I'm back.  It wasn't too bad, of course my nerves were all ajangle but I made it through okay.

I decided to have the bloodwork done first, and boy it sure was different this time.  I figured I was going to get stuck a zillion times again, but this lady was a pro.  One jab and 5 seconds later she said "You're done!"  I was like "That's it???"

A lot of time was spent in waiting rooms at Heywood Hospital.  The actual procedures when I finally got to them were quick and easy.

The EKG was over before I realized it had even started!  I was just talking to the technician about my symptoms as she hooked up the electrodes to my skin (one on each arm, one on each leg, and like six across my chest), then while we were talking the machine beeped and spat out a sheet of paper.  She said "And... you're done."

The technician doing my EKG noted that I had an EKG done back in 2001 when I had my last heart check-up.  So my doctor will be able to compare them.  That's good.  The technician of course isn't allowed to make any diagnoses from the results for legal reasons, but she said to me, "I think you'll live through today."   So I'll take that as a good sign.

She also encouraged me to exercise, three times a week for at least 20 minutes.  She said it would improve my cardio strength and help with my circulation problems.  "It takes 21 days to make a habit," she said.  Indicating that if I could make myself exercise at regular intervals for 21 days, then it would be a habit and I would likely continue to do it.

She's probably right.  I definitely need to shake out these old muscles and get the blood flowing again.  Here's a couple pictures I took while there:

Heywood Hospital

 

Promoting Health at the Hospital

As I was driving home I got a call from my wife and chatted with her on the cellphone.  She mentioned that she had to get her car inspected.  I glanced at my inspection sticker and noted that I had until September.  Then I glanced again and noted that I had until September of last year.  Oops.

So before heading home I made a quick detour to get Vanessa inspected, and hit the carwash too.  So the math enthusiast's inspection sticker is dated 3/14.  Pretty cool.

Anyway about my heart I'm feeling a lot better.  I called my folks on the phone when I got home and chatted with them for awhile.  My Dad told me about the symptoms he had experienced and they're really not like mine at all.  So for the first time in a couple weeks, I actually feel pretty calm.  That's a heck of a relief.

Now I need to get caught up on my work, so no more blog posts for a couple days.  Thanks everyone for your support and interest.