The Perks of Being The 'To Young' Cardiology Patient

Today was supposed to be an annual visit to the cardiologist. Unfortunately I realized yesterday nobody else knew except myself and being unable to drive I helpfully rescheduled. After hanging up I had to smile because being a too-young cardiology patient is one of the strangest and yet funniest of all my crazy doctor experiences. 

Sometimes I just want to start smirking in the office at all the people three times my age and more who are giving me a suspicious once over. In the beginning I used to pretend I was waiting for someone, now I'm just like, 'yep. It's me! I'm here again!' And who wouldn't when they have a wonderful cardiologist? Literally, the man scrubbed out of a procedure to be with me in critical care after I went into non-epileptic seizures after our TEE procedure. Bloody hell the man is amazing. I'm digressing. Here are some of the perks of being 'to young' at the cardiologist office.

1) You get to experience the most comfortable waiting room of your life. I never knew there were waiting rooms where every chair is like a comfy armchair, there's even a couch, and those chairs so soft you may never escape once entering. Every part of the room is geared towards comfort. It's amazing! I keep wondering where all this is when I'm in the neurology, allergist, internal medicine, etc waiting rooms.

It's not a UFO...it's a PFO!

2) People beam at you for knowing about how the heart works. They kept asking me questions about the heart's layout, blood vessels to and from, and its' different nodes. I thought everyone was going to hug me! "Normally we spend at least twenty minutes explaining precisely how the heart works to a patient before we can start working on a treatment," they told me. And when I said I knew about PFOs (that was the original reason I saw the cardiologist) I thought they were going to throw me a party. Honestly, if I had known people would be made so happy by my pre-med knowledge of the heart I might have taken more anatomy classes.

3) The bathrooms. I know most people would wonder why this is such a perk but let me tell you, I have been in many different medical waiting rooms and can sum up the bathrooms in a few words: cold decor, bland, boring. Not so with the cardiology bathroom. The first time I went in I thought I was in someone's home. There was nice flowered wallpaper along the walls, cheery colors, actual soap, a nicely laid out sink, and some always handicap friendly bars to help you. Not to mention, a very nice shower. I was highly impressed.

4) All the nurses know you. Since there are almost no other patients my age even the nurses I have never personally interacted with know me. I know this because once I did meet them they already told me they knew who I was since I'm a bit of an unusual patient. Having them know who I am makes life much much easier. They always tell me 'I remember you' which is a great feeling when you are used to explaining your health difficulties over and over to a new set of nurses.

Most importantly...

5) You appreciate your heart more than most people your age ever could. I never thought I would be someone who could be saying that. Cardiology was never my favorite topic and hardly seemed important to a 21 year old in great health. Now I appreciate every beat no matter how painfully fast it might be. Sometimes I complain a bit more about it but I am still grateful. I also am grateful the problems seem to be stable. My hope is naturally they go away but if it's not likely then I will just be happy to enjoy the perks of being a 'too-young' cardiology patient.

Optimistic thought of the day: The past two days horrible migraine only makes me appreciate the migraine free days all the more.