Deadly toothache
unbearable, and my body just felt kind of heavy.
Once we got home, we put Emma to bed and I fell asleep myself soon afterwards.
But, at one in the morning, I woke up with the pain as it began to spread down my throat. My stomach was quivering. I stumbled into the bathroom and dry-retched into the toilet.
I felt like I was burning up, my hands were clammy, and my skin felt sticky.
‘Google my symptoms,’ I said to Alan.
‘Acid reflux, anxiety, heart attack… what do you want me to do?’ he asked.
‘Call 111,’ I said. Phoning them, they asked to speak to me immediately.
‘The pain is spreading down my left arm too, like pins and needles,’ I groaned.
‘We’re sending an ambulance,’ the operator said.
Alan helped me struggle down the stairs.
Once I was by the door, I lay on the floor and waited for the paramedics to arrive, which fortunately only took about 10 minutes.
After hooking me up to an ECG machine to check my heart, it was clear something was wrong.
‘We need to get you to a hospital,’ they said.
Alan squeezed my hand, and he looked extremely scared.
After a ride in the ambulance, I arrived at the Golden Jubilee
Hospital in Clydebank.
I was rushed into theatre. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked, panicked and confused.
‘You’re having a heart attack,’ a doctor told me.
It was almost impossible to process the news.
But 37-year-olds don’t have heart attacks, I thought to myself.
After the surgery, several hours later, a surgeon came to speak to me once I’d come around.
‘One of your arteries was completely blocked,’ he told me, calmly. ‘We’ve put in a shunt to open it up.’
‘But I didn’t have any chest pain?’ I said, hearing all the time that this was the main symptom along with tightness of the chest and struggling to breathe.
‘Jaw ache and sickness can be early symptoms, too,’ he said.
I was gobsmacked.
‘But why did this happen?’ I asked, utterly confused.
I’m fairly healthy, I’m not overweight and I don’t smoke.
I later remembered that my granddad had died at a young age due to heart problems, so it could have been hereditary.
I was in shock, but grateful that I’d survived.
Telling Emma what had happened was hard, she didn’t fully understand.
‘I’ve had a poorly heart,’ I told her, calmly.
Since then, I’ve had to take aspirin every day to make sure my blood is thin, and beta-blockers to keep my heart at a steady rhythm, as well as cholesterol and blood pressure medication.
The doctors have discovered that my other artery is 50 per cent blocked too, but the medication should stop any future problems.
I am still extremely shocked that the symptom of a sore jaw was actually the early signs of a heart attack.
I’m immensely grateful that we called 111 and spoke to a professional and the doctors and surgeons managed to save my life.
I lay on the floor and waited
Time to digest all of that good movement. Spread your knees nice and wide – a bit wider than your hips – bring your big toes to touch and sit your hips to your heels. Reach your arms forward as you lay your belly down between your thighs. Feel the back, shoulders and hips softening, let your neck be totally loose, and breathe deeply, calming the nervous system and setting yourself up for a restorative night’s sleep!