I had my Heart Attack October 1, 2015. It was Thursday night about 10pm.
I finally went to sleep about 2am, Friday morning.
I went to work late that Friday morning, helping load 28 car battery cores in the back of a Ford F-150, then helping off load them onto a pallet back at the warehouse, then going to lunch.
After that, I delivered some car parts to a few locations, driving maybe 200 miles.
I was hurting bad enough when I arrived home at 4:30 pm, I told Betty to take me to the 24 Clinic, where they told me to LEAVE and get to a Hospital/ER.
They stuck me in a room and said they would do stint placement the next morning.
That Saturday Morning at 7:30 am they wheeled me in the Stint Room, and then rolled me right back out.
Then they did hand stands on my groin for 30 minutes, taped the hole shut and said to stay calm, I would have a BY PASS Monday Morning.
It was actually just after noon Monday, Oct.5, 2015 they clamped my chest opened, while searching FOUR PLACES on my legs to find suitable veins to sew together and replace the Coronary Arteries on my Heart… in three places. Yes, A TRIPLE BY PASS.
About 4-5 pm that afternoon, they brought me back to my room in CICU where I realized I was in a submarine on the 6th floor….
One of my first concerns after the removed the damned tube from my throat, was that the Pony Tail be moved to a more comfortable place BUT NOT CUT OFF!
My greatest comfort for the next hours, till the sun finally came up through the windows of the Submarine on the 6th Floor, was the WONDERFUL CUP of ICE I pestered the Nurse to keep refilled.
Tuesday I awoke to a new life.
The staff was FANTASTIC.
Apparently the Surgery was too.
Today (6/30/2018) it all seems much better than I can ever remember, but then I have eaten nothing but vegetables, fruit, and beans since the Surgery.
Also, I just RAN a combined total of 101.65 miles in the month of June 2018. I walked 93 miles (so far).
I have been a good boy.
Ok, back to the chickens…..
I was in the CICU less than 3 and a half days after the Triple By Pass, and they sent me home.
One of the first things I did was let the Hens out of their cage, so they could roam the back yard and have fun being CHICKENS.
I Had about a dozen or so at the time.
I had the Chickens because I was not going to be with out food if THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT was to come to pass.
Plus, I was disobeying City Laws by having Chickens in the City Limits. (Felt good in those days)
These hens were so happy to get out, roam around, run…. and basically eat EVERYTHING! They can clean ANYTHING up in a Back Yard with enough time…
They are so funny too !
I propped their door open with a large stone, they returned each day at dusk, fight over the best place to roost, and they are so happy!
I went out after dark and removed the large stone, the door was spring loaded and would secure by itself, and there you go.
The only problems was what to do with all the eggs, because, I DAMNED SURE was NOT eating anymore eggs after the Heart Attack/Triple By Pass!
Hell NO !
The 2nd night, after dark, I go out in nothing but under ware, house shoes, and a house coat…. time to remove the stone, allow the door to secure, and all was safe.
Kinda ‘like
But as I turned the corner, and the motion detector on the flood light came on, THE DOOR WAS ALREADY CLOSED!
The stone was moved during the day, and the ‘Girls’ could not return to the safety of the Coop before dark.
They were in terror, in the corner of the yard, near the Coop, climbing on top of one, then another, trying to get somewhere higher than they were.
Chickens like to roost high up since it gives them the feeling of being higher than their enemies.
To see them in that terror, and trying to climb up on one another was really sad.
My Surgery was less than a week ago, and I was out there finding out scared Chickens do not herd well.
Especially in the dark. They can’t see well when the sun goes down….
The flood light would turn off after a few seconds since I would get out of the sensor range… so THEN I was in the dark too.
Did I mention Chickens do not see well in the dark?
Finally they all were back in the Coop …. except ‘Old Girl’.
I had to go back in and get Betty to help me get her back in the Coop.
Boy, was I ever in the Dog House that night.
Whew! Betty was really pissed with me….
All was well though.
The ‘girls’ were happy, I was happy.
Betty …… ok, anyway ….
AND I didn’t pop the new 8″ seam across my chest….
( Did I ever mention ‘they’ Super Glued’ this back… no stitches …?)
It will soon be three years that that event occurred.
Most of the times I recount that story, I can get a few laughs ……
Believe me it WAS FUNNY!
… at least ‘after the fact ‘…
Except for the terror of those chickens while they sought safety from the dark. The fear of the unknown.
They had never been through the sitting of the Sun without claiming their favorite spot, and feeling the security of the four walls to protect them from the night.
The sight I can see in my mind still bothers me.
I thought I had provided a safe place for them.
I have no idea how the stone was moved and the door closed.
It never happened again.
After that,the ‘girls’ were able to RULE the back yard till the neighbors dogs ate through the fence and chased the chickens in my yard.
I was going to shoot the dogs. With a GUN.
Betty won that discussion, so, we put up a new fence in February… just four months after my By Pass…. and yes, Betty and I did it BY OUR SELVES….
Yes, we are crazy.
I guess the point I am making is that the Chickens were so dependent on their owner. Even if there had been a Rooster in the flock, he could not have protected the girls from that door closing the night they were locked out…. nor could he have done much against the neighbors dog who chewed through the fence.
It was my responsibility to care for the girls.
I wonder how we as pampered Humans have become like those Chickens. Poor things, they were locked up all their life, then set ‘free’ to the back yard, then locked up for several days during my Surgery, and finally set free again, only to be locked out of the security of the coop one terrible night…. then that damned neighbors damned dog.
I really think I would have enjoyed pulling the trigger on that one…
Who or what are we depending on to ‘protect’ us?
Who…?
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