i had a spooky time on friday, guys, and normally i'd keep it to myself rather than write it here. but in putting it on the board, i'm hoping it has some value for every body (and his family) in the league.
i was awakened friday morning with pains in the center of my chest. it was a twisting, weighty sensation. it was hard to breathe. every now and then i felt what seemed like an electric shock traveling from that center spot to my right shoulder. i was nervous because i knew what it could be - and because it was the second time in two weeks i'd had the sensation.
the first time came while pitching, actually, against the aging orioles on wednesday, july 13, at cba. in the second inning, i felt the weighty sensation and it was hard to breathe. i ascribed it to game tension and the fact that it was really humid and i don't respond well to humidity. it was probably a good thing the o's knocked me out of the box in the third so i could sit down. at 11 that night i still felt the pains and decided to take two asprin. within a half hour, the pains were gone - which was a real clue to the doctors at st. peter's - and i didn't feel anything again until nearly two weeks later. i was nervous for another reason: my dad had died at 41 of a heart attack.
the good news is that after nearly two days of testing at st. peter's, i'm ok. in fact, fine. i test better than most people my age. (though i'll still get a second opinion from a cardiologist.) doctors saw the problem as an inflammation of the muscle tissues in my chest cavity - akin to a pulled muscle - which can produce heart attack-like symptoms and can be brought on by stress, or new , hard exercises (i'd just bought a rowing machine), or a virus. one the best cures for the inflammation? asprin. (doctors actually favor children's asprin: it's less stressful on stomachs.)
that's my story: now onto the league.
we all know that two other pitchers have had a far harder time of it than i this year: over-38 pitchers jim ansel and kevin moon were both struck with heart attacks this season. bless the heavens, they're ok, as far as i know. jim is back playing; kevin is not. (maybe ray demers can update us on kev?) but, one sad note is that one of our best pitchers ever, billy jones, died at 40 of a heart attack several years ago.
we're all one- or two-day-a-week athletes and we put ourselves in stressful situations by playing in hot humid weather. the stress may fall unevenly on the older athletes - something we might consider more carefully now that we've got an over-48 league that's growing - but nobody's exempt. the heart is an involuntary muscle.
that said, two ideas:
1. next spring, what do you say we send two representatives from each team to the red cross for cpr/first-aid training? that way, if anything happens, we'll have at least two guys from each squad trained in immediate response and the odds are higher than if we'd had just one player trained that one will be there if something happens. the following year, we can send two more, and so on.
i called the red cross today and spoke with dean cringle, who's in charge of the program, and he said the cost varies from $65 to $75 a student depending on the courses they take.
the most expensive one ($75) includes defibbrilation (sp?) instruction. the use of defibbrilators - two paddles that send shocks through the chest cavity, with the aim of putting the heart on its natural rythmn; a heart attack is essentially a break in that rythmn - is smart, but it's also expensive. they come in cases the size of laptops and cost about $1,400 each. which seems a bit costly.
but the $70 course is both cpr and first aid and could make a difference at a crucial time. if each team has 14 members and each ponies up $10 extra next spring, we can send two guys to the red cross headquarters on everett for the 5 1/2 hour training course on an april weekend.
2. each guy in the league might think about taking a children's asprin a day. asprin thins the blood, cuts down on blood clots, and reduces internal inflammations.
that's it. long note. trying to turn lemons into lemonade here.
if guys like the first idea, you might let your managers and league presidents know.
