911 What is your emergency?

I uttered the words that I have heard many times on medical TV shows, I think I am having a heart attack……….

My life was ending, the world was closing in on me and I am talking to a guy at the other end of the phone who seemed not to understand a single word I was saying (maybe I should of taken Spanish back in high school instead of French, the language of love).  Love was not getting me anywhere on this call with this guy, that’s for sure.  I was starting to get sweaty, could feelings in my chest, my heart racing, and all I could think about was my surroundings.  My cat, my wife that was at work in Boston, my job, my death.  After what seemed like a long pause on his end, he said do you want me to stay on the phone until help arrives.  I felt like yelling on the top of my lungs, have a nice day it was a pleasure speaking to the last person that I would ever speak to.  Immediately I cut him off, and started to utter to him about not letting my cat out when anyone got here.  I was screaming my wife’s cell phone number to him, my mother in laws phone number, and anything else that I felt someone needed to know.  Honestly, I do not think he wrote anything down.

About an hour later (actually 3 minutes and 30 seconds) it seemed like the whole town was at my door.  My apartment was surrounded by police, fire trucks, and an ambulance.  I was sitting up on the couch when they came inside and I did not know what to think.  Did they really have to dress up in full gear to come in the house for someone that was freaking out?  I attempted to explain what was going on and what my body was feeling.  POW, white, room closing in.  I looked the paramedic in the eye and asked if I could lie down.  Little did I realize I was laying down and they were putting wires and cold things all around my body. I knew they were taking an EKG to see how my heart was doing and all I could blurt out was do not leave any pieces around, I have a cat!!!  I think I repeated that like a dozen times.  Here I am worrying about my daughter (cat) instead of what was going on inside of my body.

All of a sudden I heard a voice around me say, “lets get him out of here, time is against us”.  Suddenly, the process of getting me out of the house began and into the ambulance that was waiting outside the door.  Once again, I started to panic and started yelling call my wife, her number is….., don’t let the cat out, lock the door behind you, and take my phone with you!

I was placed in the hot box (ambulance) and all of a sudden this paramedic, who thought it was the proper time to use humor, started to put cold squares on my chest.  I knew what was going on because I have seen on medical shows what they do when they are getting ready to shock someone.  I blurted out please don’t shock me, and received the reply of, “do you want to live or die”.  All of a sudden everything went black…..