Stress relief

It took me two tries but I finally got that stress test out of the way today and the people who worked at the cardiology clinic where I went to day could not have been nicer and more professional, unlike the assholes at Heart and Vascular, 405 State of Franklin Street, Johnson, City.

The whole process took about 3 and a half hours so hopefully this one will do me for a few years. It was a full on cardio stress test so I got the whole schmear, the electrodes on me while I walked on the treadmill, the nuclear isotopes injected into me, and all the other trappings.
The fact that they did not hospitalize me during the tests leads me to believe that this stress test went pretty well. I couldn't manage to get my beats per minute up to where they wanted me to but beyond that I don't think there were any problems.

The doctor who monitored my heart rate during the treadmill portion of the test was very nice and he treated me with respect. He answered my questions and was very helpful. He was 180 degrees different than that ass I saw last week.

The nurse who prepped me was a nice young woman who hailed from Bombay. Her name was Rekah. She was incredibly nice and very thorough. I got along well with her, so well in fact that I was able to crack some jokes with her as she got me ready.
Imagine this gal with a bit darker skin and wearing a pair of glasses and that's what Rekah looked like. I got her on the old "Will I be able to play piano after this procedure?" joke. We laughed like crazy after I told her the punch line, and by we I mean me because she politely smiled and Sparky rolled her eyes after I used that joke. Believe me, it was good times, good times.

The nurse who supervised the treadmill portion of the test was a nice woman as well. After she said her first sentence to me I said, "So, what part of the Midwest are you from?" She laughed and told me she was originally from Michigan. I told her I could tell as soon as she opened her mouth and spoke. I admitted I was originally from Detroit so we had that going on between us. It was pure Midwest medical magic for a few minutes.

I get the records back from my visit and their interpretation of the results Friday or Monday, hopefully. I'll then hand deliver them to my cardiologist some time in the next few months.

Two quick notes to the people at that cardiology clinic:

• Having a few books from the 1970's and some copies of Trailer Life magazine in a room does not a "library" make.
• If you're wondering who tore out the pages with that cassoulet recipe from that old copy of Martha Stewart Living in the patient holding pen in the back, it was me. Not to worry though, I'm going to do some serious modifying on that recipe so that it's not so high in fat.

Here's hoping all you take better care of your heart than I did and you don't have to go through cardio stress tests like I do.