Is it a chemotherapy-induced heart attack or just gas?

Halfway into my chemotherapy treatments I had a real scare. My granddaughters, Opal and Violet, were visiting as they usually do on Friday nights. We had just finished eating dinner and were getting ready to watch a movie on TV when all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in the center of my chest. It went away after a few seconds, but came back whenever I bent over.

I called the Kaiser Oncology department and the after-hours nurse told me to hang up and call 911 immediately. When the operator answered she told me to stay on the phone until help arrived and to have my granddaughters turn the lights on and off rapidly and continuously so that the paramedics could find my apartment without delay.

I could see that Opal and Violet were frightened. I told them what was happening and not to worry—that it was probably nothing, but the doctor just wanted to make sure.

Within minutes 6 handsome men in uniform were in my living room taking vitals, administering oxygen, and hooking me up to an IV. The paramedics said that my granddaughters could not ride in the ambulance with me, so I called my friend, Seamus, to come over and watch the girls. One of the firemen offered to stay with the girls until Seamus arrived (talk about great service).

It was a busy night at the hospitals. Kaiser and St. Vincent’s hospitals were both full and so I was diverted to a hospital in nearby Tualatin.

The tests turned out fine and it wasn't a heart attack, but gas, most likely caused from the mocha chocolate freeze I drank earlier in the day. I’m not used to drinking caffeinated drinks, so I may have had a strong reaction to it. The attending ER nurse told me that the hospital he worked at previously gave their cardiac ER patients anti-acid tablets upon admission to rule out the possibility of gas before they started any extensive cardio testing. He said that the symptoms can be the same.

When I returned home my son and granddaughters were very happy to see me and started laughing when I told them my chest pains turned out to be just gas.

Tragic or near-tragic events can be the fodder for a creative mind. Opal wrote the following poem about her experience that night:

Grandma Scare

The sky turns black
I turned on the TV looking for a movie and find it!
Garfield 2 and the Tail of Two KittiesThe movie started
20 min. and grandma calls 9-1-1 why
I turned around
My heart starts to pound
I see her aching
I flickered the lights
My sister helping

The ambulance came
They did tests
My sister and I are shaking in fear
Then her friend came to watch us
While my grandma goes to the hospital
I watched the rest of the movie in fear
When she came back
I was happy
And it was all from caffeine
My dad came and the day ended.

Opal Dillard, Grade 5

Opal’s poem was published in a book containing the poems of select young poets from elementary schools throughout the west.

That night was a scare for us all, but fortunately it had a happy ending. My tip to those of you who are experiencing any chest pains is to call 9-1-1 immediately, even if you think the pains are caused from gas. Every second counts if it turns out to be more than just gas. Heart attacks can be a side-effect of chemotherapy, so you should always be concerned if you experience any pains out of the ordinary.