We Have The Machine That Goes Ping

For those of you who don’t know, a couple of weeks ago Pedr had a heart attack while we were exploring the area around Cusco in Peru. Luckily, he is OK now. We are safely back in Australia where he is recovering.

It all happened while we were exploring some Inca ruins. Pedr felt a sharp pain in his chest but we weren’t sure what it was. We definitely didn’t think it was a heart attack! Luckily he didn’t go into cardiac arrest. His heart kept going and he was able to keep walking. We made it to the van to take us back to Cusco and Pedr said he was feeling better. But once the van set off the pain came back stronger and constant.

This is where I got really worried because Pedr was showing the symptoms of a heart attack: pain in the chest radiating out to his arm and back, cold sweats, nausea. But his pain was on the right hand side, not his left, so we still weren’t sure it was a heart attack. When we got back to Cusco we went to a clinic. Even in the clinic they weren’t sure it was a heart attack at first; Pedr was young and healthy, definitely not what you would expect for a heart attack victim. Once they did some tests they decided there was enough evidence to start treatment for a heart attack, and gave him plenty of oxygen and a bunch of pills.

The next morning Pedr was feeling a lot better. He was expecting them to tell him that he would be discharged and to come back for a check-up in a week. Instead, the next set of tests were worse and he needed emergency evacuation to Lima for surgery. This is where things got really stressful, on the one hand I had various doctors telling me Pedr had a massive heart attack and could die (but not to tell him in case it panicked him). And on the other hand I was trying to fill out all the forms and find the documents the insurance company needed so that they could organise the emergency flight and operation in Lima.

At this point I was very glad that I had contacted the insurance company when we first arrived at the clinic rather than the next morning when we got the bad news. (The time difference between Australia and Peru did not make things easier). But we got it organised and in the afternoon we flew down to Lima where Pedr was then whisked straight into the operating theatre. The procedure was pretty quick, only an hour, where they put two stents in him to clear the blockages in his arteries.

Since Pedr was in good shape he recovered quickly from the operation and was out of intensive care less than 24 hours later. Over the next few days doctors poked and prodded him, took blood and did plenty of tests. But in the end they couldn’t find the cause of the heart attack. Pretty much every doctor that saw him asked if he had been taking drugs because that was the most logical explanation for someone who was young and healthy like Pedr. So after a week of recovery Pedr was given the OK to travel and we were put on a plane back home to Australia. We arrived safely with no incidents on the journey, and now Pedr is taking things easy to recover. We’re hoping that because he’s in good shape that he’ll be able to bounce back quickly.

And what’s Pedr’s take on the whole ordeal?

I was enjoying an Incan archaeological site when I felt pain in my chest and right arm. 24 hours later I was in an ambulance being rushed to an air ambulance to fly me to Lima, where I was rushed to hospital in a screaming ambulance and straight into surgery.

I’m 38. I don’t smoke or take drugs, I’m not overweight, and no close family history of heart disease. Yet I’d just had a severe heart attack due to a blockage in the coronary artery. The experts tell me I’m extremely lucky to have survived.

I’m also very lucky to have spent the last 18 months exploring the world alongside the most wonderful person in it – Amanda (who understood my ‘machine that goes ping’ reference in hospital yesterday, so my work there is done). The thought that we could have delayed our trip 18 months, only for me to drop dead before setting off, is horrifying.

Life is short and fickle. Don’t waste it overthinking yesterday or waiting for tomorrow. The Now is all we have, embrace it and fill it with people, places and activities that you love.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

P.S. Just because we’re back home, doesn’t mean that the blog is finished! There are still a few more adventures from Peru, like our trip to the Amazon jungle and hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. They’ll be up here soon.