Aww...That's Nothing?

I have never been one to be cryptic. I always lay my cards on the table! And since I am a firm believer in prayer and positive support from friends, I want to share. Earlier today I posted on Facebook that I was anxious about a doctor's appointment. Lately little things have been happening, physically, that I have dismissed. I'm a big dismisser! I tell myself, "That pain is just indigestion." or "That can't be what I think it is. It'll go away soon." And it does, and I keep going. I jokingly say that I don't have the time or the money to be sick. A little over a week ago I climbed 2 flights of stairs. When I reached the top I was a little winded. I thought that a little odd because I have probably been exercising regularly for about 2 months, walking about a mile a day. The shortness of breath wasn't really what concerned me. Accompanying that was this radiating pain in my lower jaw, and it lasted for about 5 minutes. Then it went away, and, guess what! I dismissed it. Although this dismissal nagged at the back of my mind as I have read places and even seen on television that jaw pain can be the sign of a heart attack. If you've read this blog before or you know me, I am a firm believer in signs. This past Friday I was participating in a workshop through my office an STRESS. Our keynote speaker was a cardiologist. She talked about heart disease briefly and she described, almost verbatim, what happened to me on the stairs. When she was finished, and we had a break, I pulled her aside and described what had happened. She said that that concerned her a little bit, and she felt I needed to see my doctor just to make sure nothing was going on. I also have family history of heart disease on both sides. And stress has been through the roof for me lately because of finances as I just lost $500 a month in income when child support stopped for my youngest. I was struggling before that loss, so you can imagine. Add to that not getting any sleep trying to open a show in a week, and it was just like a NEON sign flashing. I made an appointment Friday afternoon for this morning, Monday. I have just returned from that appointment, and there was some good news. My EKG was normal. Yay! That means my heart isn't damaged in any way. My blood pressure and pulse were great. Heart rhythm was sound, and lungs were clear. All great things! However, because the jaw pain was a concern for my doctor as well, I have been referred to a cardiologist, and I will probably be having a stress test. In the meantime, I'm still exercising and taking 1 Baby Aspirin per day. I am definitely glad to know that my heart is not damaged. Ask my children, I tend to go straight to worst case scenarios. I know I have read things where people have a mild heart attack, and don't have it diagnosed until a big one hits, and then they are told that they had had one earlier that they probably dismissed. So...I'm paying attention to things, and I am trying very hard not to be THE DISMISSER. Maybe that should be my superhero name. I would appreciate prayers,  good vibes, and good thoughts to accompany me on this medical journey. I also share in case anyone reading has the "dismisser's" disease. Better safe than sorry. I will update here as I know more.