Kimberly woke me at 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. She felt uneasy, restless, and her heart was racing. I couldn’t find the pulse at her wrist, so I tried her neck–boomboomboomboom–the staccato thumping of a quarter-mile sprinter, probably 200 beats a minute. That scared me. We were at her aunt’s home and I had no idea where the hospital was… I didn’t even know our address. “Should we go to the ER?” I asked. She said, “We can’t afford it, we don’t have insurance.” I quickly answered, “That doesn’t matter.” She responded, “I don’t want to sit there for hours in the waiting room. By the time we see a doctor, I will have no symptoms to check. Let’s look it up on the internet.”
WebMD called it “Supraventricular Tachycardia”– her heart’s electrical system was misfiring–and we should go to the emergency room if it “persisted”–how long is that?! Her veins had been drumming for 10 minutes, but she had none of the listed signs of heart failure, so we kept reading. It offered some home fixes–cough, gag, or shove her face in ice water to shock her pump steady. She tried some dainty coughs, afraid of waking up others. I told her to cough hard as I kept my finger on her jugular. Within minutes the beating slowed.
So, tell me… what are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?
Janathan Grace Reflections 
Events like this put things in perspective for Thanksgiving, don’t they? (Might not be a bad idea to see a doctor for a check-up.) Thankful, indeed, that Kimberly is feeling better.
Yes, it really makes your realize how much you have.
I am thankful for free filtered water available most everywhere, for free bathrooms available everywhere, for green grass and water and flowers (I usually live in the bush/desert), for it to be cold enough to snuggle without sweating profusely, for people who persistently beseige the throne of grace for 21 years and counting for an unreached people group, for gifts of warm clothes, for 5 extra years (and counting) in the life expectancy of my daughter, for available quick medical help (I am the 911/ER doc and nurse where I live and I have no training), for Skype so I can connect with my husband on the front lines and with my daughters who are across the ocean at college, for rain that brings hope for the next year of food, for heroes who place their lives on the line faithfully, …and so much much more…
thanks for sharing, Elisabeth. there really is so much much more.
I hope Kimberly is OK. Did she see an MD yet?
Susan, because she recovered by coughing and from what we read on WebMD, it sounds like she only needs to see a doctor if it becomes a continuing problem. So we’re on a waiting pattern for now. Any recommendations?