One year ago today, I was discharged from Methodist Hospital Texsan, one of the top heart hospitals in Texas, after an experience that changed everything.
On December 5, 2024, I woke at 3 a.m. with chest pain, sweating, and a pounding headache. They were classic heart attack symptoms, but instead of calling an ambulance like Nina urged, I stubbornly drove myself to a 24/7 urgent care clinic. Bloodwork showed elevated troponin levels, unmistakable evidence of heart damage. I was transported by an ambulance and headed to Methodist Texsan. There, cardiologists discovered some critical blockages and placed stents in both the RCA and the LAD, better known as “the Widowmaker.” It was a terrifying moment, one I’ll never forget. I was scared, overwhelmed, and I cried a lot, because I knew how close this came to ending my life and never seeing my wife and son again.
Besides my parents and my brother, Nina’s dad and step-mom, and my boss at work, nobody else knew of what happened. I didn’t go Facebook public until July 27, 2025. To me, it was really nobody’s business, and I didn’t want them to feel sorry for me and how can they help me. I am fortunate, that I was taken care off and am thankful for the staff at the 24/7 emergency clinic, the ambulance driver and the gentleman in the back with me, and everybody at the hospital. I was so appreciative of everybody helping me. I could easily write a book with a thousand volumes of everything my wife did to help me.
A few weeks prior, this happened:
- Nina (my wife) was sick.
- Niko (my son) was sick and had to visit an urgent care clinic.
- I was sick.
- We sold our house a few days before Thanksgiving, and the buyers scheduled the inspection for Wednesday, November 20, 2024, but Niko and I were still recovering and were miserable as we had dinner at a nearby Pho restaurant.
- Niko suffered a scratch on his cornea and had to see an ophthalmologist and a pediatric eye specialist.
- Then, my heart said I need a repair now.
On December 20, 2024, we moved down the street to a rental. We wanted to stay in the same area, so Niko could finish school. In June, we moved again, from the rental in Texas to a house we purchased in Minnesota.
In July, I got a clean bill of health and a don’t come back unless you have any new symptoms.
