Category: January 2016

There is some sort of festival going on in Chaudi. The streets are lined with stalls selling everything from plastic flowers to watches to shower curtains. And food…lots and lots of food. I bought two pairs of earrings for a total of 60 rupees, or approximately $1.20 CAD. They look an awful lot like the earrings I’ve paid five times that amount for last year, but I’m not going there…

Winter has come to an end here in Goa. My fan is in overdrive in the evenings, and there is not even the slightest whisper of a chill in the morning air as there was at the beginnings of the month . Trees and shrubs are bursting with brilliant blossoms. The bougainvillea outside of the shala has come to life with showy purple and orange. Frangipani trees are dropping their petals like rain, and the hibiscus in all of their perfect glory are emerging from the greenery.

My morning yoga class continues to be the highlight of my day. Nina is trained in the Sivananda tradition, so her asanas and pranayama exercises are all familiar to me. It’s been more or less the same group of students all week which makes it easier for her and brings a comfortable energy to the session. I suspect next week will bring changes, but for now I am enjoying the familiarity.

The sharp pain in my chest hit about 3 a.m. It didn’t wake me because I am always awake at that time. I googled heart attack, but since it didn’t last longer than about five seconds, I waited until morning to assess things. Mulled it over for a couple of hours and decided around 11:30 to check my blood pressure at the nearest pharmacy which just happens to be located in the same building as my doctor.

The numbers on the BP machine were the highest I have ever seen. Completely stunned, I tried it again. They were higher. Went upstairs to both the duty doctor and my GP but I would have had better luck getting help at Sobeys across the street. Cursing myself for having to behave like an adult, I headed for Dartmouth General.

Apparently, Monday’s aren’t a good time to visit Emerge. There was nowhere to sit and the expected wait time was four hours. About two hours into it, a weird alarm sounded and they called a Code 6. “That can’t be good,” I muttered as visions of Vietnam’s gentle rolling hills faded slightly from my future.

Round about 3:30 p.m., my keen powers of observation kicked in as I watched people who had arrived after me walk into the treatment rooms. “Aha, they don’t think I’m sick. They just can’t tell me!” A quick confab with the triage nurse confirmed it. She couldn’t tell me to stay or go but as fas as she was confirmed all my vitals were normal and my flight was at 8:30 and….Five minutes later I was heading home for final preparations.

Halifax Stanfield, in sharp contrast to D’mouth Gen’l, is like a ghost town tonight. Not a soul in the security line-up  They asked if I wanted to go through again to give em something to do.

So I guess I’m off!