Heart Attack...

TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2010
7:15 AM

(continued from May 30, 2010)

Nurse Terry entered the room in a multicolored green lab coat with green pants and matching blouse. The outfit was topped with a pair of multicolored green reading glasses. The look was quite cute and it matched her personality. I complimented the glasses and she said, “I have a pair for every outfit.” Can someone say DIVA!


I informed Terry of my symptoms and how I experienced this before and it turned out to be pneumonia. She indicated that they would run a cardiogram and connect an IV just in case they needed to pump me with medication or draw more blood. She didn’t want to keep sticking me. That was so sweet of her. The technician attached the little sticky things on my chest, ankles and somewhere on the side, I think. She started the machine and once the reading was complete I noticed tension in her back. She quietly called Nurse Terry over to read the data and she confirmed what the technician read with a yep.

Nurse Terry came back over to me and continued with the IV site. The technician left the room momentarily and I stated to Terry, “I’m having a heart attach, huh”. She said “Yep”. I responded “Oh well, I guess I’m staying”. Terry couldn’t believe how nonchalant I was about the whole thing. I must admit I was relatively calm; however, there was flurry all around me. The technician returned and removed the sticky things, the admissions nurse came in requesting my insurance card, and the doctor shows with a look of fear on his face. Another nurse rushed in with medication; four chewable baby aspirin and nitro glycerin.

Nurse: Here, take these chewable baby aspirin.

Me: With my gum in my mouth?

Nurse: (no response) Place this under your tongue, its nitro glycerin.

Me: I can keep the gum in my mouth.

Nurse: (no response)

Needless to say I kept the gum in my mouth and the nitro under my tongue and I thought I couldn’t multi-task. During this flurry someone contacted the paramedics because they came with the gurney and the questions. Apparently, I’m supposed to be in a great deal of pain. It felt like heart burn to me and I couldn’t quite grasp why everyone else was sooooo excited. I wish these people would calm down. Once the medical banter between the doctor and the paramedics they were finally ready to transport me to Ellis Hospital. The ER doc informed me that I need a heart cauterization. That got my attention. I knew exactly what that was since mommy had one when she had congestive heart failure in September and was transferred to St. Peter’s Hospital. I still remained calm. I was about to receive my first ambulance ride only there would be no one following behind like I did for my mom.

Ok, there’s that brief moment of sadness and loneliness during the medical emergency which I quickly dismissed. No time for that right now boi, get it together. And together I got it. Well having a cute paramedic, without a wedding ring, helped :)…(To be continued)

Time Warner Cable

Saturday, June 5, 2010
12:19 AM

Ok, what's up with Time Warner Cable.  I mean, the new upgrade is nice and all but the constanct rebooting, tiling and freezing is getting on my last nerve.  Not to mention that the DVR tends to not record the entire show at a crucial part in a series like American Idol.  Good thing I was watching the finale.  What recorded was, "and the winner is..." 

Who has time to wait for the service man or to disconnect the box and take to the office for a new one.  I certainly don't.  At least not at the moment.  Maybe by the fall line up.

I'm just saying. 

Wayne, I'll Miss You

FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010
9:15 PM

Text message from my BFF, Sheilah – Monday, May 31, 2010 7:50 AM


“Good morning love, i heard the sad news, I’m sorry but happy wayne is now at peace…How are you doing? I truly hope ur taking care of yourself..”

I did not know that my friend had passed, though it was announced in several churches on Sunday. Wayne and I became very good friends when I moved back to the Albany area in 2001. I enjoyed the music workshops he hosted at Union Missionary Baptist Church where my mother (Joyce) was a member for 31 years. She passed on February 2, 2010 prior to my commencement of blog journaling. Things are happening so quickly that I cannot seem to keep up. Events may be out of order but that is my life at the present time, “Out of Order”.

During her hospitalization in September of 2009, which began the rapid downward spiral of her health, Wayne walked me through the symptoms and expectations of Pulmonary Fibrosis. He had already done his research since he was diagnosed months prior and did not mince words with me. I loved that about him. If you wanted the plain truth without sugar coating, he was the man to give it to you. In that vein he and I were the same. I shared the progression of the disease with him. He wanted to know what to expect and prepare himself for his progression. A month after my mother’s burial, February 6, 2010, I received a call from Wayne requesting that I sit with him on the weekends to relieve his sister Geneva. I fully understood and honored the request. I identified fully and longed for relief during my mother’s illness. Thank GOD for the hospice volunteers who would come by in the afternoons and allow me to run errands for a couple of hours. Though I was in mourning, Wayne and I remained in touch. We would have weekly chats, usually Friday afternoons on my lunch break at work or when the spirit moved him to call me during the week after working hours. We always seem to lift each other’s spirit. “You’re so stupid”, he would say after I made him laugh uncontrollably with one of my dramatic stories.

One of our conversations went a little something like…

Wayne: Am I going crazy?

Me: What do mean?

Wayne: Some days I’m full of energy but by the time I get washed, dressed and have breakfast I’m exhausted.

Me: Nah man, you’re not going crazy. That’s what mommy experienced too. It would bug me out. We would plan to get out and take a drive and by the time we go it together she was too tired to go anywhere.

Wayne: So, I’m not crazy.

Me: No you’re not crazy. Remember, you told me that there would be good days and she should save some of that energy for the bad ones. What. You’re not practicing what you preach.

Wayne: Boy, stop it. You’re going to make me go into a laughing fit again and that hurts.

Me: Oh, I’m sorry…I’m just saying. (we both begin to laugh)

Wayne: I like talking to you. You’re always honest with me.

Me: We’ve always been honest with each other. You alright?

Wayne: Yeah.

Me: Ok, I’m gonna let you go now and get some rest. Just know that you can ask me anything and I will tell you what I know and have experienced as long as you can handle it.

Wayne: Edward, thank you. I appreciate that. You always give it to me straight.

Me: I always tell people, if you don’t want the truth then don’t ask me the question. Good night buddy, luv ya.

Wayne: luv ya too. Good night.


We conversed like this for a few weeks before I began staying with him on the weekends. Our weekends were fun. He knew I wasn’t going to bother him about eating. I knew that his appetite would come and go and when he was hungry he’d tell me what he wanted. I just hoped it wasn’t a request like my mothers. She wanted watermelon in the middle of the winter. I was happy that she had an appetite and went out and found some watermelon. Wayne and I watched movies, I brought a dvd collection. My first weekend with Wayne was from 12:00 PM Saturday to 4:00 PM Sunday. We talked mostly and only watched two movies. We enjoyed each other’s company and I told him I could sit with him again if he needed me. He said, “Edward, I need you in my presence more”. Wow, that was honest direct and deep. I became the weekend guy for the month of April and the first two weekends in May before my heart attack.


Douglas W. Woodard

Woodard, Douglas W. ALBANY Douglas Wayne Woodard was called to be with the Lord on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at his home, surrounded by his loving family. Wayne was the son of the late Dora and George W. Woodard Sr. He was educated in the Albany Public School System, and was a gifted musician from the age of six. All of his life, he used that gift to glorify the Lord. Wayne was the minister of music for the Union Missionary Baptist Church for more than 30 years. He also was the musician for various singing groups, schools, organizations, and other churches throughout the Capital District as long as his health would allow. Wayne was one of the first heart transplants in the Capital District and one of the longest survivors. Left to cherish Wayne's memory is his loving son, Maurice Q. (Marsha) Woodard; grandson, Jaedon Q. Woodard; four sisters, E. Geneva Conway, Menands, N.Y., Ethel Mae (James) Locke, Fayetteville, N.C., Rose M. (Samuel) Koonce, Rose "Gerry" (Allen) Brandon, both of Albany, N.Y.; three brothers, George W. (Janice) Woodard Jr., Albany, Willie L. Woodard, Honolulu, Hawaii, his twin, David B. (Cheryl) Woodard, Stratford-on-Avon, United Kingdom; 13 nieces, three nephews; five godchildren; and many dear relatives and friends, too numerous to name. Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, George and Dora Woodard; one sister, Catherine Brown; two brothers-in-law, Philip Conway and Theodore Brown; two nephews, Kenneth Harrison and Robert Koonce; one great-niece, Yolanda Locke and his dear friends, John Kornegay and Clarence Tyson. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his wake on Friday, June 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Union Missionary Baptist Church, 3 Morton Ave. A service celebrating Wayne's life will be held on Saturday, June 5, with a calling hour at 10:00 a.m. and service starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Wilborn Temple First Church of God in Christ, 121 Jay Street, Albany. Rev. Victor E. Covington, eulogist, Rev. Solomon Dees, officiating. Interment will be in the Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery, Rt. 5-Central Avenue, Schenectady, N.Y. The family will receive callers at 21 Clifford Rd., Menands. You may remember Wayne's life with a contribution to the Capital District Keys for Kids Music Program, P.O. Box 635, Albany, NY 12201, and/or the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Association.

Published in Albany Times Union on June 3, 2010

My brother in Christ has gone home and he will be greeted by family and friends who have gone before. I know my mother will greet him with a warm smile and a hug. Ms. Conway and Family: May you sense the Lord’s loving presence at all times keeping you close to His heart, assuring you of His tender care and covering you with His grace.

With thoughts and prayers,

ECagelove

My Favorite Author Died - E. Lynn Harris (RIP)

To my dismay while creating "Authors On My Kindle", I discovered that E. Lynn Harris died.

In Memoriam: E. Lynn Harris

E. Lynn Harris's family, friends and fans mourn the passing of our
beloved author. He died on Thursday, July 23, 2009 in Los Angeles. He was 54.

In an obituary in the New York Times, Bruce Weber described him as "one of the nation's most popular writers," and said: "Mr. Harris clearly tapped a rich vein of reader interest with his racy and sometimes graphic tales of affluent, ambitious, powerful black men - athletes, businessmen, lawyers and the like - who nonetheless struggled with their attraction to both men and women. His books married the superficial glamour of jet-setting potboilers with an emotional candor that shed light on a segment of society that had received little attention: black men on the down low - that is, men who are publicly heterosexual but secretly have sex with men. Mr. Harris, who was openly gay but who lived for many years in denial or shame or both over that fact, was able to draw on his own experiences to make credible the emotional conflicts of his characters, and his readers, many of them women, were drawn to his books because they addressed issues that were often surreptitiously pertinent to their own lives."

New York Times Obituary

Heart Attack...

SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2010
4:30 PM

(continued from May 20, 2010)

…The pain subsided and I faced the dilemma of going to work or to the hospital. I knew that if I went to the hospital they would keep me and I would spend yet another birthday in a hospital bed. There was the slight possibility that they would prescribe some antibiotics and send me home. Yeah! A day off from work, that sounds good. I began to plan the days’ of activities after the emergency room, knowing in my heart – no pun intended, that I would be kept. An afternoon at the River Street Club, a Men’s Health Club, ha, ha would be fun. I fulfilled a fantasy my last weekday afternoon visit there and was anxious to try it again. My forties have been a decade of releasing my inner pig bottom and I’ll leave it at that for now.

I looked out the window towards the driveway to see if my sister had left for work. She was gone, of course she was it was already 8:15 AM. I’ve spent the last two hours fighting off chest main and calming myself. I proceeded to unlock the doors for some reason. I just had a thought that if I passed out on the floor I would want the medics and my sister to have easy access to the apartment. I didn’t want them to bust the door in and ruin the new paint job that was just done a few weeks ago. An excruciating pain ran through the center of my chest and I clutched my pearls, grab some robitussin; it relieves congestion, drank another 20 ounces of water and rocked myself in the recliner. Alrighty then, the hospital it is. What to pack? A diva must always be prepared for every occasion even the hospital. Well, I knew they would keep me so I wanted to have my things. Cell phone, iPod, Kindle, toothbrush, deodorant, beauty supplies, hair supplies, and a change of clothes. I knew they would not allow me to wear my silk pajamas since they would need easy access to all parts of my body. I would just have to deal with the hospital gown and “Make it work!” Since I wasn’t going to work there was no need for the shirt and tie. Let’s see, something casual and cute. The doctor may be hot but married however I did notice a nicely buffed nurse with no wedding ring or commitment bracelet the last time I was there with my mother. I hoped he would be attending me. He had the bluest eyes I had ever seen and a smile to die for. I darned a pair of black jeans, a blue button down casual shirt, white high tops, blue boxer shorts with black bands around the waist and thighs and a black wife beater. My hair was wavy and set not to move no matter how much I laid on it. I was ready to go, one last inventory check, bag, cell phone, iPod, Kindle, toothbrush, deodorant, beauty supplies, hair supplies, change of clothes, sick but cute look, and a sprits of Jean Paul Gautier. I was ready.

At 8:45 AM I drove myself to St. Mary’s Hospital ER without the use of my navigation system. I had been there several times before and despite the increasing pain in my chest I thought I would be able to find my way there without my mother directing me. Wrong. I made quite a few wrong turns but got there eventually by 9:05 AM. I backed into a parking spot to utilize the backup camera, boy how loved this new car. It took me four attempts to align myself just right between the white lines and a sufficient distance between the rear bumper and the wall. I casually walked into the emergency room with my red Saratoga bag draped over my shoulder. There was one person in the admitting room and one fine dude in the waiting area. He was sitting in the television section so I positioned myself to behind him and to his left so that I could discretely gaze at his profile. Granted he was sick, a deduction made due to where we were, but he was still fine. I gather he was with the other gentleman, possibly his father since the nurse escorted them both into the emergency triage and informed me to sign the paper on the counter. Oh well, maybe I would be in the triage next to him. When I began to fill out the form on the counter my HR persona took over and I began to think HIPPA violation. This form isn’t secure. Anyone could walk up and see what my illness was as well as my name, so much for confidentiality. The description of my symptoms after my name and social security number was chest pain, possible pneumonia. The nurse called me in and asked if I had ever been at St. Mary’s before, requested my insurance cards, asked if my injury/illness was work related and then wanted me to describe my symptoms. Why do they ask you to write down your symptoms and then ask you to verbally describe them again? Can’t health care professionals read? Then the attending nurse asks you the same questions to be followed by the doctor, who again asks the same questions. Hello, I’m in pain here. A little communication amongst the team members would be greatly appreciated. Well, the admitting nurse finally escorted me to the triage area around 9:30 AM and informed me that Nurse Terry would be with me momentarily in the mean time take off my clothes and put on the hospital gown… (To be continued)