Raindrops

I managed to dodge the showers to get out for a stroll after lunch. Not far, just along to the local shop for some eggs (and accompanied at that - I'm not brave enough to venture out on my own yet) but it felt better than it has done so far. Onwards and upwards! (Well, maybe not upwards quite yet...)

So what actually happened? It was a bit of a weird one but I do have a fairly firm diagnosis... 

It started out like a heart attack, and the ECG and blood tests suggested that it was, but my blood pressure was very low and that got the docs pondering. I had 2 ultrasounds done with a portable machine, and then got taken off-ward to have one done on a more sensitive machine, but it still wasn't conclusive.

So then I had the angiogram (hence the arm!) and that proved that it wasn't a heart attack, as my arteries aren't clogged. The most likely explanation is that I have Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. Basically, extreme stress stuns the heart muscle so that it doesn't pump properly (so it's classed as heart failure and I have to take loads of different drugs) and, even more scarily, part of the heart changes shape! 

The good news is that my heart should return to normal over time - but I won't get called for a follow up scan for 3 months, so it's not going to get better fast :-( 

I'm not allowed to put any weight on my arm until all the bruising has gone - even typing makes it ache. So I can't use my dslr for a while. But it could have been so much worse ...