Update

Tuesday Damon was diagnosed with Pericarditis. Pericarditis is a swelling and irritation of the pericardium, the thin sac-like membrane that surrounds your heart. He's evidently been having chest pain since Thanksgiving, but has only recently gotten around to mentioning it. Hmf. Men.....

He's been having trouble sleeping because everytime he lays down he feels pressure, pain, and like his heart is racing in his chest. When those symptoms started happening during the day too, he decided maybe it should be looked at. The doctor was ready to send him home with heartburn medication, but decided to monitor his heart for awhile first. After 10 minutes, it was decided that he was too hairy and the electrodes were not making contact, and so they were going to have to shave some patches! :-)

The ECG indicated pericarditis, but they sent him over to Mercy to rule out anything else going on, like fluid around his heart, or that he'd had a heart attack. After an echocardiogram and a chest x-ray, the pericarditis diagnosis was confirmed and it was also noted that there was no fluid or evidence of a heart attack. He's on prednisone and colchicine. It could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months before he's better. And there's a chance that it could reoccur. There's often times no known cause. It's sometimes viral or could be the result of trauma to the chest. He doesn't think he's been sick so wonders if the boys were too rough with him during a nightly 'get daddy' episode.

I think overall, Damon was relieved to get this diagnosis, because now he doesn't have to worry that he's having a heart attack all the time. Please pray that he starts to get some relief in his chest pain and pressure - it's worse when he lays down - so he can start to sleep better. Also, these drugs can have some side effects, so pray that he can tolerate the drugs well. He's never had to take much medication in his life. If he's not starting to feel a bit better by Monday, he's supposed to call, so that's reassuring.

Damon's always been so healthy - it's something I'm realizing I've taken for granted. Even though this was just a little scare, it's making me more thankful and aware of the precious gift he is to me.