Sorry Gaston, They are MUCH More Interesting Than You!*6/8* NEW Trip Report Link p154

[Wicket's Mom]

Oh, oh, hospitalization on vacation is never good!

We did have lots of good times with Toby, but now we are having good times with our dog Wicket.

What fun to have such full last days. We usually get a late flight home that way our Disney experience can be prolonged?

If I make the lighted dress it would be very hard to get that hoop for the skirt in a suitcase! LOL

 

[MEK]

wait... but I did! I was able to actually get the "organize" to work in the way I wanted it to. Once I clicked that... I could highlight multiple photos and drag them into different albums. I hope that wasn't just a momentary "glitch"

Really? I didn't even try that. But I was able to reorder my photos the way I like them, so that was cool!

I'm having a GREAT time reading the TR by the "Dynamic Duo".

JanaJohn. Thanks for joining in! This half of the dynamic duo is starting to slack, so I hope to pick it up on my end.

I'm guessing that IF they take the hat down they'll have to already have some kind of plan to replace it. And before it starts to come down they'll make a BIG announcement telling us what their plan is. Like most folks here I want to see the hat stay where it is!

Heck No the Hat Can't Go! It just wouldn't be right. Sort of like putting a Starbucks in the main street bakery.

Wow!! What a last day together you guys had!! I thought I pushed it to the limit at Disney, but I have never had more than a 2 park day...I need to try that!

I think it would have been a lot harder if we weren't staying at the BWV. Being at an Epcot resort made things infinitely easier.

Umm...Mary Ellen...hospital + vacation =

I am so sorry for whatever happened, but I am glad to hear everything is ok now!

Thanks! We had a bit of an unexpected medical issue, but it could have been worse.

@Cynthia I agree about the chance to getting through the full TSM queue, especially if the wait is only 40 minutes. So many things to take pictures of!! Was it you or Poolrat that has the aversion to the yellow-green crayon? I can't remember...

OMG! Too funny! I think it's Pat.

And…proof that I really did go on the ride with Jenny and her family!

Awww - that's a cute picture. so glad you guys got to meet up again!

Nice! Great shot!

Wow, you go girl! You know how to get it done. Love the Jenny cameo. I wonder if that Pirate Periodic Table t shirt will still be there in 10 days, DS9 will be all over that!

Me too!

And that T is awesome. I hope you can find it!

Always great starting a MK day with Space Mountain!!!

I couldn't agree more.

And you got some great ride pics on BTMRR!!!

Such a great ride!

for a DISMeet and ride time together!!! Spending time at a Disney park with special DIS friends is always a good day!

So nice to get that extra park "day" squeezed into your trip when you don't have to leave early for home! A guilty pleasure...........

It's great that Cynthia and Jenny got to meet up again.

I love going home later in the afternoon/evening so I get some really park time on my D day.

Departure day! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it's C's D Day, too! I need to get caught up. Fast!

You rock girl, 9.05 at MK and two rides and a DISmeet down an hour later! I am sure you were able to fit in another ride.

Very productive morning, but where was I?

Can't wait to see your purchases.

Neither can I.

original upload versus edited?

Nah - I posted the thumbnail link by accident. I found some extra links while I was reordering my pictures. That was just a test post. I got confused because the links look really different now (the computer language). It's weird.

Tease!

Not really. I had a momentary lapse of concentration when I signed into photobucket and couldn't remember which link to post. See above for perhaps a better explanation.

 

[MEK]

Oh, oh, hospitalization on vacation is never good!

It could have been worse, but it wasn't my preferred activity for vacation - that's for sure.

We did have lots of good times with Toby, but now we are having good times with our dog Wicket.

I bet. I am sure that Wicket is tons of fun. As wonderful as cats can be, they can't quite reach the personality of a dog.

What fun to have such full last days. We usually get a late flight home that way our Disney experience can be prolonged?

I usually do the same thing. The only downfall to that is returning to work the next day, but I can suck it up for Disney.

If I make the lighted dress it would be very hard to get that hoop for the skirt in a suitcase! LOL

You can say that again.

 

[eandesmom]

Wow, you go girl! You know how to get it done. Love the Jenny cameo. I wonder if that Pirate Periodic Table t shirt will still be there in 10 days, DS9 will be all over that!

I think it's a standard shirt at POTC, I thought it was adorable. I think they also had it on the cruise but not the sketch art one.

I was very happy to have one more meet up with Jenny and her lovely family! They are all so much fun.

Always great starting a MK day with Space Mountain!!!

Is there any other way to start the day at MK? At least if you can get there at RD that is which is often not how my crew rolls so this was a treat for me.

And you got some great ride pics on BTMRR!!!

It was SUCH a gorgeous day, hard not to get great pics!

for a DISMeet and ride time together!!! Spending time at a Disney park with special DIS friends is always a good day!

It is! And there were more special unscheduled DISmeets still to come

So nice to get that extra park "day" squeezed into your trip when you don't have to leave early for home! A guilty pleasure...........

It is, I really like to do that on our trips when we can and hope we can pull it off for the Dec/Jan trip but the direct flights are ugly right now. Still, it's a LONG ways off.

Departure day! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

D Day is the pits but at least I was able to avoid thinking about it for several hours and enjoy the morning and afternoon.

You rock girl, 9.05 at MK and two rides and a DISmeet down an hour later! I am sure you were able to fit in another ride.

Three rides! SM, BTMRR and POTC

Can't wait to see your purchases.

I did shop, it's a fact.

What fun to have such full last days. We usually get a late flight home that way our Disney experience can be prolonged?

If I make the lighted dress it would be very hard to get that hoop for the skirt in a suitcase! LOL

Hmmn, you'd have to be able to take it in and out and it would have to be in pieces and assembled there. That's a lot of construction. The lights alone would make ir rather bulky!

Late flights are a very good thing, especially flying west.

 

[MEK]

I think, I hope, I'm fairly confident that I am caught up. But if I missed a comment from someone please give me a shout out.

So, before I do my TR update, how about a life update? My trip report update will likely be a mirror image of Cynthia's, so you might find this a bit more entertaining. In fact, now I am two updates behind so I might never catch up.


So, as you know, we just went to HHI. We left on Sunday April 7th. It was an uneventful road trip. Naturally I woke up before my alarm and actually DISed until about 5 am. Denny decided to do his regular workout. We loaded the car. Our friends were about 40 minutes late and we didn't actually hit the road until 7am.

With me so far?

The drive was uneventful. In fact, I actually drove all the way to NC with only one bathroom break. The one bathroom break, in and of itself, was a miracle, let alone the fact that I drove that far. I don't really enjoy driving. It doesn't scream vacation to me.

In NC We switched drivers. In Fayetteville we stopped for lunch and I drove some more. Somewhere in SC we had to stop for gas. Denny took over and by 5:35 pm we will pulling up to the magical gate of the Disney HHI resort.

Nice!

I was handed a map with a variety of buildings to choose from. I picked building 17, 2nd floor. It was the only building left that had a partial marsh view.

We got our cart, loaded it up, and we each carried crap up to the second floor. There are no elevators in HHI. Do not stay on the 2nd floor if you can't carry your own luggage.

Once everything was unpacked and partially stored Denny made casual mention of some "heart burn" he had while carrying things up the steps. By now he felt completely better and couldn't even describe the discomfort other than to say his muscles seemed sore from his morning workout (which is quite vigorous, I might add).

Still with me?

I made a mental note that this seemed odd, but I didn't want to over react and start obsessing over this symptom. I knew what the worst case scenario was, but I wasn't going there. At least not yet.

We went to dinner. It was good.

We went to bed.

Next day we walked on the beach in the morning and the two boys went grocery shopping while the girl's went to the resort pool later that afternoon. They boys joined us later at the pool.

Denny decided to rent a bike.

He brought it back after I was already showered and dressed. We had a very early dinner reservation at a very popular place called Vine. (I highly recommend this restaurant if you are ever in HHI, but make your reservation like 3 or 4 weeks early).

Then Denny casually mentions that he noticed more "heart burn" while carrying the groceries up the stairs and after riding the bike back.

I told him this could be chest pain. You know - angina. It was possible, although it seemed so odd, since he is used to activity at a much higher level. But in anyone else I would say "you need to get checked".

I tried not to worry. I was on vacation. He seemed fine. What anomaly could this be? My objective side suggested we get this checked out now, but he declined. Maybe it was something he ate…or drank….a strange fluke. I had a glass of wine. I didn't want to worry. But I was definitely starting to "go there"

Still following along here?

We had dinner. It was awesome. We walked down to Colginy beach and nosed around the shops near the restaurant. We went home. I went to watch Monsters, Inc. Such a cute movie. Denny was already asleep when I went to bed.

The next day we were planning to travel into Savannah. When we got up Denny insisted that he had to ride his beach bike before we left.

You guys are smart. You know what happened next? Right?

5 minutes later he came back inside and said he was having "pain". He didn't describe it as heart burn anymore. It was pain in the center of his chest and his throat felt like he was breathing frigid air. He burped a bit and rubbed the center of his chest. The pain gradually subsided after several minutes.

I was already dressed for Savannah. This time I could see his reaction. He wasn't telling me his symptoms after the fact and it was obvious there was a problem. I wasn't playing games anymore. I said, "get dressed we are going to the ED".

I told our friends what was happening and off we went.

Well - you know how the ED works - or maybe you don't. But they took him back right away when he said the magic words "chest pain". That is the ticket to a fast ED stretcher.

He got his EKG, cardiac enzymes drawn, and his history taken by the ED doc. All this happened before I was even allowed in.

EKG negative
Cardiac enzymes negative.

Phew right? Wrong!

I knew this simply meant he wasn't actively having a heart attack.

ED doc comes over and says if his second set of enzymes are negative he can go.

……and resume normal activity………

So I sat there and played out every possible scenario. All of them ended with me calling a cardiologist at home, packing up the car, and getting him home for a stress test pronto. Which, in addition to being impractical, didn't seem entirely safe.

Then I mentally played out one final scenario to a cardiologist I know quite well. I could hear him say point blank "Bring him home. I'll cath him Thursday".

Except, that cardiologist spends 50% of his time with national and international travel, so I knew my chance of reaching him would be slim…to none. And I didn't want to pack up the car and go home. There had to be another alternative. If they discharged us from the ED we would be back before the day was over.

He needed a stress test and it was going to have to be in Hilton Head. So I sat there and went over how I was going to convince the ED doc to not discharge him.

When she came back and said "you can go". I said "I am not comfortable with that. My husband's father dropped dead at 46 from a heart attack. He has risk factors for cardiovascular disease including family history, hyperlipidemia, and age. I know him very well and he works out vigorously. He doesn't ride a beach bike. He rides a racing bike. He is having this pain with very mild exercise. He is experiencing classic angina and needs a stress test".

She says, "I'm not so sure the cardiologist will agree with you, but "fine", I'll call her".

I never saw that ED doc again. 15 minutes later the ED nurse came back to tell us he was being admitted and would have his stress test in the morning.

I tried to thank the ED doc on the way out, but she wouldn't even look me in the face. Whatever. (And for the record - she took the history without me being present, because if I had been there I don't think we would be fighting over his discharge). She also documented in her notes that I was "anxious". Believe me, she hasn't seen anxious. Pfft!

Later that evening I met the admitting cardiologist who agreed with the admission. Why? FAMILY HISTORY FRIENDS! Remember one thing - you can't change your genes. And if your genes for cardiovascular disease suck, you better sit up and take notice.

I left the hospital later that evening and went out to dinner with my friends.

Denny had his stress test at 08:30 the next morning (Wednesday).

I got to the hospital around 10:00. I really was still hoping that this was all an unnecessary precaution.

But it wasn't.

Denny completely flunked his stress test. He couldn't even get to the 2nd stage without having chest pain and EKG changes. The first stage is only three minutes of brisk walking.

He was immediately scheduled for a cardiac cath later that evening.

The cardiologist told me that the ischemia (disturbed blood flow) was in the LAD distribution. That's the heart artery that runs down the front of the heart.

Problem was - if the blockage was not in the LAD it would be in the Left Main Coronary Artery - the "widow maker", the ticket to bypass surgery. The artery that can't be stunted!

Oh great! Oh crap!

I work with the best heart surgeon on the planet and my husband may need bypass surgery in Hilton Head. How could that be possible?

Well, at least the view from his room was good. But I was sure the view wasn't going to be nearly that good in the ICU.

Finally, at 4:30pm, they took him to the cath lab. By 5:10pm I knew that they were doing an angioplasty and stent. Not long after, I got to sit down with the cardiologist and see where his occlusion was. Proximal LAD 99%

And the rest is history.

Denny was discharged the next day and we extended our HHI stay by several nights so he and I could enjoy our vacation a bit more. He feels fine right now and should have a full recovery. He is just freaked out because he thought he was lowering his risk as much as possible. Genes Denny. They rule.


I am sharing this with you with Denny's permission because I think it helps educate about the warning signs of cardiovascular disease and underscores the importance of family history. Denny, by the way, is 59. His dad died at 46.

 

[MEK]

Late Night in the Studio

In my last update I left off with me leaving Epcot after a fun afternoon of F&W. I think Cynthia left ahead of me. It's possible she left behind me. It's possible we left together. We wanted to spend a little time at the villa pool before heading into HS for our last dinner together.

Here's a few more pictures from the walk back to the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk villa pool wasn't very crowded and it was getting obvious there would be a chill in the air that evening.

Here's a picture. Again, I think because I took so many in June I didn't bother taking too many this time around.





By the time we were ready for dinner the sun was already setting. The plan was to walk back to HS for our dinner ADR.

Not sure why, but I guess I decided that I needed to take a picture of the ducks in the canal. I see that Cynthia decided the same thing.

HS in the distance

ToT

I like this one best

Getting closer

And we're in

I just love the way HS is lit up at night

Necessary balloon shot (yet again)

Our destination

We elected to sit outside, as you already know. This was nice since it was a near perfect evening. This was our view. You can see that outside screen for AI

Continued In Next Post......

 

[MEK]

Continued From Previous Post

Conundrum



Appetizer (already described by Cynthia)



Up close





Entree



Unfortunately there is no description of my entree by I'm guessing grouper, mango salsa, feta cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and onions. It was good. Not the best entree ever, but certainly a decent meal.

Inside

According to Cynthia our next stop was here. This seems as good a place as any to digest.

Cynthia decided she was going to ride RnR, but I decided to do the Drawing class. After dinner I just felt overly full and bloated, so I elected to take the least adventurous route.

I started here

So cute

Before


During



Annoying kids with giant balloon hats that made the instructor hard to see.



The final product



Seriously? Is Agent P really a character? I guess, but not one I wanted to draw. Oh well.

Continued In Next Post......

 

[MEK]

Continued From Previous Post

After the drawing class I decided to try my hand (and camera) at some more night pictures.

Time to visit one of my favorite attractions





























Up Next



But I gotta take a break now!

 

[jedijill]

OMG, so glad your DH ended up ok. I saw what was coming almost immediately and you had me on the edge of my seat about how it would transpire. Everyone, please take note!!!!

Jill in CO

 

[eandesmom]

Finally, at 4:30pm, they took him to the cath lab. By 5:10pm I knew that they were doing an angioplasty and stent. Not long after, I got to sit down with the cardiologist and see where his occlusion was. Proximal LAD 99%

And the rest is history.

Denny was discharged the next day and we extended our HHI stay by several nights so he and I could enjoy our vacation a bit more. He feels fine right now and should have a full recovery. He is just freaked out because he thought he was lowering his risk as much as possible. Genes Denny. They rule.

I am so grateful that it is what it is, and not worse. So scary, so terrifying and yes, easy to ignore and write off. In Denny's defense...I bet he bought himself 15 years with what he has been doing, you can only deny the genes so long and given how well he does take care of himself I imagine it will only continue to help things in the future.

He is so lucky to have had you with him, to fight for him like that.

 

[eandesmom]

@Cynthia I agree about the chance to getting through the full TSM queue, especially if the wait is only 40 minutes. So many things to take pictures of!! Was it you or Poolrat that has the aversion to the yellow-green crayon? I can't remember...

Not me I do think it's Pat. That's pretty funny, aren't there 2 of those crayons in there? I remember her posting about it.

 

[eandesmom]

Cynthia decided she was going to ride RnR, but I decided to do the Drawing class. After dinner I just felt overly full and bloated, so I elected to take the least adventurous route.

Before


The final product



Seriously? Is Agent P really a character? I guess, but not one I wanted to draw. Oh well.

Continued In Next Post......

OMG, you were SO not happy that it was Agent P! I'd totally forgotten about that

Yep, Grouper. At least that's what the receipt says

You got some lovely nighttime shots!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Wow, Mary Ellen - what an adventure! I'm sorry that you and Denny had to have part of your vacation in the hospital, but so glad that it turned out okay. Denny is lucky you are in the cardiac business! Thanks for sharing the story so we can all be aware! I'm happy that you extended your trip to make up for it too!

Back to WDW - cool nighttime shots - I like your favorite best too!
Agent P - you did a good job, but surprising that he was the choice. They are really pushing the Phineas and Ferb stuff everywhere now.

 

[glennbo123]

Wow, Mary Ellen. I'm so glad that Denny was able to get a stress test and then angio, and is now okay. His symptoms sounded like those of a former boss of mine who passed away suddenly last summer. He never made it to the stress test.

 

[Moira222]

Slowly catching up so I can enjoy the photos. Your Animal Kingdom morning looks great. how nice to just go in, do what you want and head out.

MEK GREAT EE photos! I felt a little dizzy on the backwards part how can you snap all those photos on a coaster?

Cynthia - so did they replace the necklace? I saw you bought one similar, so I am guessing no, but have to ask!

Your photo pass picture by EE came out very nice despite sunglare.

be back soon!!

 

[Poolrat]

Was it you or Poolrat that has the aversion to the yellow-green crayon? I can't remember...

Not so much an aversion but a detail over looked. There are 2 yellow- green crayons in the queue one in the stand by and one in the FP line and they are NOT the same color. I guess it just bothers me.

The gang all had to use the restroom and it was my turn to drive, so why the heck not hang out with Pedro. But Pedro is certainly no Bo.

We got home around 11pm, which wasn't bad. It was after 12:30 when we left Charleston. Sometimes its just better to get home really late, then you don't have time for the "I'm home" blues.
Hahahahaha - the signage is awesome. I think its all been changed since the last time I was there. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to eat with Pedro. So sad!

I guessed it right then. Rest room stop and even though unlikely, you had to be driving for it to happen, and home by around 11.

When she came back and said "you can go". I said "I am not comfortable with that. My husband's father dropped dead at 46 from a heart attack. He has risk factors for cardiovascular disease including family history, hyperlipidemia, and age. I know him very well and he works out vigorously. He doesn't ride a beach bike. He rides a racing bike. He is having this pain with very mild exercise. He is experiencing classic angina and needs a stress test".

She says, "I'm not so sure the cardiologist will agree with you, but "fine", I'll call her".

As someone who has had 2 very good friends survive the widow maker ( one with 5 stents) and both as well as myself are CPR instructor trainers, it is easy to dismiss some signs.
Thankfully you knew and Denny knew not to. That is certatinly a different way to spend the vacation but so glad everything worked out as well as it did.
So glad they were receptive to a cardiac nurse.... I also hope the ED doc realizes she needs to dig a bit more.

 

[Poolrat]

Very Nice Pictures of DHS all lit up.


Your dinner looks amazing.

Agent P really?

Nice to cap off a great evening with a late night TSM.

 

[jecskc]

Glad Denny is OK. How scary for you guys !! Good thing you insisted on admitting him.

Yep. Those genes will get you every time .....

Post some HHI photos when you get some time.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh my! Nearly complete occlusion! How extremely lucky for Denny that you knew to insist on the stress test which resulted in the cath which resulted in the PTCA. Thank goodness for your intuition! Glad to hear that it turned out well.

Back to your TR.. great job for your Agent P drawing.. totally looks like him. As for the kids with the balloon hats.. hmmmm... yeah, that would be pretty annoying.

Sounds like you opted for the "green experience" post dinner while Cynthia was up for the "orange, more intense experience" after HBD.

 

[annmarieda]

I am sharing this with you with Denny's permission because I think it helps educate about the warning signs of cardiovascular disease and underscores the importance of family history. Denny, by the way, is 59. His dad died at 46.

Oh my goodness!!! That is such a scary ordeal to go through!!! And... I personally do appreciate your story...even if I don't really want to hear it.

See... I grew up with my father having one or more heart attacks a year. He was one of 13 kids... all of whom had issues with their hearts in some way. My dad... he died at age 45.

At 30 I was diagnosed with PVC and PACs... nothing major, but experiencing arrhythmia's can be troubling none the less...and I stood up to take note. As you probably realize... I do run. I keep myself at a somewhat normal weight... and I like to think I am keeping myself away from that dangerous set of genes that I am all but certain I have. Now you go an make me think... maybe not? But... I am female. That makes a difference, right.

So will Denny be able to resume normal activities then? Will this be a problem long term for him? It is so good that he had you there with him.

I am so glad things worked out and you were able to enjoy a couple days after all this stress.