A personal story. [View all]

Ten years ago yesterday I finished up a weekend of horrific stress in my job. I was the nursing supervisor in a hospital. Being the weekend, I was the administrator in the building. In those two days, an employee was taken to surgery twice with life threatening conditions. Much of the communication for his family and coworkers was my responsibility. The surgeon who is well respected indicated great concern to the staff. On Sunday, as he was back in surgery, I heard from the kitchen staff about an employee who had called to say he had been in a wreck on the way to work, could I check the ER. Well, his daughter was killed while sitting next to him in the truck he was driving and they were all taken to the trauma center at another hospital. I do not think he ever returned to work.

That coworker in surgery survived and I reminded him yesterday that it had been 10 years.

I went home Sunday night and was in bed early. I was mentally and physically worn out. I woke up about 4am with chest pain. I woke my CCU nurse husband and we went to the ER. We live out in the country and caught hell from everyone about not calling an ambulance. My BP was so high that I had EKG changes and was taken to the cath lab. My heart was fine, but my excellent cardiologist noted an irregularity in another vessel and sent me for a CT scan of my chest. That led to a breast biopsy which was positive. This was followed by surgery, chemo and radiation.

I doubt many people can credit their cardiologist for finding breast cancer. I reminded her today.

Sorry this is so long, but it is a huge anniversary, that might not have been. That one positive lymph node " was ready to burst and spread".