My mom died last Friday, and let this be a warning to the ladies ...
by sundialsvcs from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6DMMB)
My Mom died last Friday of a "massive heart attack" which, the cardiologists now theorize, had been building for some time. About a week and a half before, she had begun to complain fairly abruptly of "dizziness and nausea." Went to the emergency room where they found nothing(!) out of the ordinary other than "low sodium." Came back determined to, as she would naturally do while munching saltine crackers, "simply get over it and move on until she got better." She went about her ordinary business as best she could.
Last Thursday evening, she went again - ambulatory, grousing about the television, apparently "stable." Twelve hours later she was dead: a complete surprise to everyone, including the doctors and her. There was nothing "heroic" to be done at that point.
By the time they looked with ultrasound, and finally saw, they wondered how she had survived this long. The doctors speculate that "sudden-onset dizziness and nausea" might have been a possible clue. But she never presented with any 'overt' symptoms which could have given the truth away: not even Thursday evening. She pleasantly said good night, fully expecting to see me in the morning. I place no fault with the doctors, who were as surprised as everyone when her vitals abruptly started "crashing" overnight.
The bottom line, specifically for the ladies among us, is that "heart disease is the silent killer." Unlike the men, you ladies might not experience "chest pain." You might have pain in your jaw which might appear to simply be a toothache. Or just, "dizziness and nausea." Yet, you might suffer irreversible damage to your heart and, believe it or not, never suspect what is actually happening. Just as my "fairly hypochondriac, health-focused mother" never did.
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"Condolences" are unnecessary. Thank you. But I guess that I just wanted to ... "get the word out." This whole thing happened as a perfectly-honest surprise. It's one thing to know that you are dying - quite another when you don't have any idea, nor any clue which might conceivably enable you to prevent it. And the females of the species are apparently far more prone to this turn of events.
Last Thursday evening, she went again - ambulatory, grousing about the television, apparently "stable." Twelve hours later she was dead: a complete surprise to everyone, including the doctors and her. There was nothing "heroic" to be done at that point.
By the time they looked with ultrasound, and finally saw, they wondered how she had survived this long. The doctors speculate that "sudden-onset dizziness and nausea" might have been a possible clue. But she never presented with any 'overt' symptoms which could have given the truth away: not even Thursday evening. She pleasantly said good night, fully expecting to see me in the morning. I place no fault with the doctors, who were as surprised as everyone when her vitals abruptly started "crashing" overnight.
The bottom line, specifically for the ladies among us, is that "heart disease is the silent killer." Unlike the men, you ladies might not experience "chest pain." You might have pain in your jaw which might appear to simply be a toothache. Or just, "dizziness and nausea." Yet, you might suffer irreversible damage to your heart and, believe it or not, never suspect what is actually happening. Just as my "fairly hypochondriac, health-focused mother" never did.
---
"Condolences" are unnecessary. Thank you. But I guess that I just wanted to ... "get the word out." This whole thing happened as a perfectly-honest surprise. It's one thing to know that you are dying - quite another when you don't have any idea, nor any clue which might conceivably enable you to prevent it. And the females of the species are apparently far more prone to this turn of events.