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Hot sun, Harley ride heart arrhythmia, "Feewe'n whucky today?" - Fate Fairies - book version
This entry was posted on 1/19/2012 1:31 AM and is filed under Fate Fairies:Fate Fairies - book version.
I was pretty pleased with myself. I had just graduated from UW-Whitewater. For my own graduation present, I bought myself a used Harley Davidson - a 1998 teal and cream Softail. I had sacrificed, subscribing to theory of delayed gratification, and waited until my degree was in hand before doing anything flippant. It was the summer of 2003.
Straight away, we partook in some motorcycle events. One such event was in Monroe, Wisconsin. The plan was to gather at the Harley dealer and then there would be a group ride for some particular charity. It was a very hot and humid Wisconsin summer day. The ride was to leave at noon. With all the heat, I was beginning to feel tired.
Plenty of people and motorcycles herded up in the dealer parking lot. There was not much shade in said location. It did not take too long for me to realize what was happening. I kneeled in the shade of the brick building and checked my pulse - my heart beat felt like a poor running lawn mower sounded. This was a bad one. And, it had only been a couple of years since the last bad heart episode. They were getting exponentially more frequent.
"Shall I take you to the hospital?" Heide asked.
"No," I said. "Let's get the Harley back to the house and I will take myself up to the ER. You hold down the fort at home," I continued.
By the time I got to the emergency room in Madison, I was very tired and began to feel light headed. This time the triage nurse du jour could tell I was really sick. She launched into a lecture about driving in while so sick.
An ER doctor I had not seen before took my case. He was Asian and had an accent of some sort, but I was not sure from which corner of the world - I did not care at that point anyway. I was becoming groggy.
"We need shock you Mr. Keet," the doc said with a pleasant smile. He had a reassuring demeanor about him.
"I know the drill," I said. "You kill me with a lightning bolt, and then hope my heart starts again with a good rhythm," I continued with not much spirit in my voice.
The doc paused for a moment and then said with an incredulous look, "We no like to say it quite like that Mr. Keet."
There was a flurry of activity in my cubicle as a nurse and a technician wheeled in a brand new defibrillator. The protective clear factory plastic still covered some of the machine. The commotion continued as they all tried to figure out where all the cords and plugs got plugged in to.
As the nurse started to attach the electrodes to my chest, the Asian doc held up a cord with an odd looking plug on it and said, "Where in hell this one go?"
"Hang on," I said, trying to buy some time. And then I asked, "What are odds my heart will not start again after you stop it, Doc?"
The Doc held the cord in one hand and rubbed his chin with the other and then he said, "I'd say there is about 10 percent chance you heart never start again in case like this, but no worry for you Mr. Keet."
"Well, what if I am in the 10 percent?" I asked.
He paused again, scratched his chin one last time as he jammed the cord in an outlet on the wall. Then he said with that pleasant smile,
..., "How whucky you feewe'n tuday, Mr. Keet?"
Note: This blog "Fate Fairies" - book version Category is a work in progress. The original vignettes are being edited for book form. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Fate Fairies Page for an ordered chronology of the book vignettes (chapters).
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