My First Ambulance Ride to Danbury Hospital Was Rather Exciting!

I woke up on Saturday morning and nearly fell over trying to get out of bed and then the real sh*t storm began.

Not only was I experiencing dizziness, but my blood pressure was something like 210 over 105 which I was told was dangerously high and bordering on stroke levels. My daughter, when she found out, immediately called for the ambulance, which I was totally against, not wanting to make a big spectacle out of being dizzy. My wife Mindy was a bit annoyed because she had a full day of shopping planned.

I was truly impressed by the level of professionalism shown by everyone in the ambulance. Dave, the paramedic explained each procedure while I asked lots of questions and then Dave recognized my voice. As it turns out, Dave's a big fan of the morning show. He told me stories about how he used to be a stage hand/electrician on Broadway before he became a paramedic. He's had the opportunity to work with Patrick Stewart and Sting and told me what incredible human beings they were. We were all having a grand old time riding in the back of an ambulance on a Saturday morning. All we needed were some beers to make the party complete.

If you were wondering, I'm OK. My blood pressure slowly went back down to respectable levels, my blood work all came back normal, and my ticker's doing its job. By the way, the Danbury Hospital ER is brand new and gorgeous although Mindy was not all that impressed because she was missing her girl's day out.

After being wheeled into Room 20 of the ER, Shannon, my Patient Care Technician walked in to check my vitals and when I told her that Mindy and I had been married for 41 years, she said, "Sounds like you two still like each other!" Madly in love and still friends, what a concept for an old married couple. By the way, it's not Lupus. So, here's what I've learned from my first, and hopefully my last ER visit:

1. DO NOT have two giant gin & tonics and a fish fry the night before.
2. Back off the salty foods Grandpa!
3. Get my fat ass into a pair of sneakers and start exercising so I can stick around and watch my grandchildren grow up.
4. Find something to hold onto while I'm opening up the bill for the ambulance ride and 5 hours in the ER.

Listen to Ethan Carey on the Ethan & Lou Show weekdays from 5:30-10AM on 95.1 FM. You can listen online at i95rock.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPupapp for your mobile device.