My Ride in an Ambulance (Part 1)

August 23^rd 2012

 Life just does not get any better than this.

I spend the evening packing for my vacation. I am not sure why I insisted in packing my car. I was not leaving for three days…but here I was:

•  fishing rods and tackle – check.
• Golf clubs – check.
• Kayaks prepared – check.
• I bought batteries for the flashlight,
• pumps for the air mattress, I wanted to be ready for visitors.
• I went and got my clothes ready too. I put everything out on the bed, swim trunks, shorts, jackets, sweatshirts…everything. I wanted to be ready for it all, hikes, golf, fishing, camp fires, going to the caves.
•  I was ready, this was going to be so good…and I am ready….3 days early and I am packed and good to go. I would not be leaving for the north until Sunday...but I was ready.

August 24^th (430 pm)

I finished work at 430pm (30 minutes early) – after all, I was on one week’s vacation now…not to return until after Labour Day. I had my Lacrosse Provincials to look forward to first though, and I was excited about that. Our first game was at 7pm on the Friday night, and I arrived around 6pm, relax a bit before the game, take in another game while I was there, and chat with friends. – It was familiar to me, comfortable. I was in a good frame of mind. My team slowly started to show up, and we began to gather in the change room, to chat, tell jokes, and discuss some strategies to win tonight’s game against are frenemies from the Toronto Beach Lacrosse Club. We would do this and that, and yada yada, you get the idea.

The game began, as any other, I was feeling fine, up and down the floor, the occasional shot, did not play too bad, but nothing too amazing either. In the second period, I ran into a player, I did not see. Body to body contact, it caught me completely off guard, and it winded me. I made my way to the bench to catch my breath, and after a few minutes, I was fine, and back on the floor. It was about 10 minutes later that it began. I felt something, not sure really what it was, but I felt “off”. I took my shift and came off. As I moved up the bench for my next shift…I was not feeling right. My chest was sore. I tried to assess things as I moved along the bench. Is this a result of the hit I took? – Might be…it felt different though, nothing I have felt before. I had cracked ribs before…I was wondering if perhaps that was it…and it was my turn to go out again, I ran up the floor and back and off….something was wrong. The second period ended, I withdrew into myself, I was not talking to anyone, my teammates were asking if I was ok, I said…I don’t know. Someone says maybe it’s your ribs, I agreed. By now my chest hurt…it was tight, and I was having trouble breathing. I do know the sign of a heart attack. The thought crossed my mind…am I having a heart attack? – It can’t be, not me.

I went out to begin the third period. I was taking the faceoff. I do want this noted in retrospect. I won that faceoff cleanly to our player. I think winning a faceoff during a heart attack, is an accomplishment, albeit a bizarre one. I won the draw – flipped to my teammate, and came off immediately. Something was wrong. I sat behind the guys on the bench, took off my helmet and gloves and put down my stick. I sat there for about 2 minutes….thinking. I then quietly stood up, grabbed my stick, my gloves and my helmet, and left for the dressing room, I said nothing to anyone, I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t know what to say. I walked around the arena slowly…I passed so many familiar people, and said nothing. As I approached the change room a player from a different team saw me and asked if I was ok….I simply said, I don’t know….my chest. I got inside the room and put all my equipment into my bag…grabbed my towel and shampoo and jumped in the shower. I don’t know why. Maybe it was the old saying about making sure you have clean underwear on in case you are ever in an ambulance….i really don’t know why I did it. As I was showering, a good friend of mine Chris from the Halton Hills team came in and asked what I was doing, he had heard I was hurt. I said I don’t know what is happening, told him about my chest….he said, Mike, you can’t be in here by yourself with chest pains. Then another friend, Bud came in, with the same message, he sat with me and talked to me as I got dressed. I said I think I was feeling ok (but I wasn’t). I came out and stood by the boards…and watched (not really) the game. I couldn’t get comfortable. I saw the guy that had hit me earlier in the game in the penalty box…so I proceeded to yell and scream at him. I don’t know why. That was not my character. This was not me.

 

See part 2 - Later this week.....