Go red!

I went to a wake tonight for one of my closest friend's mother.  She suddenly passed from a massive heart attack.  She had even been to the Dr. earlier that day complaining of back and shoulder pain but since she had been hanging curtains the doctor assumed her pain was a result of overdoing it.  He was wrong.  Later that evening she passed.  She had no prior history of heart disease.  She was only 63 years old, active, and healthy.  She was an absolutely amazing and wonderful woman and will be missed greatly by everyone. 

So, PLEASE PLEASE get in the know about the warning signs of a heart attack, stroke, and cardiac arrest for women.  According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of women!

Heart Attack Warning Signs
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense — the "movie heart attack," where no one doubts what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.   
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.   
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.  
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness       

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

On a much lighter note, I have to tell you what happened to me at the wake.  I lactated through my nursing pad AND shirt.  No lie.  Sorry for TMI but I just had to share because this is the kind of crap that happens to me... I have a knack for saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time!  I was pretty embarrassed.  The good news is that I gave my friend a good laugh.

So you'd think I'd prepare myself for an evening away from my baby right?  Well, normally I count on my trusty LilyPadz (which I love!).  They are reuseable breast pads made of a sticky silicone that sticks to you - they don't require a bra to hold them in place and you can even wear them under a swimsuit!  They really work!

So why wasn't I wearing them?  Well, I was wearing one, I can't find the other!  Sam thinks they are really funny and whenever he sees them he grabs them & finds some place funny to put them (even on his own body!).  So on the other side I had a standard pad, which didn't hold up for the lilyPadz.  Looks like I may need to buy another set before another embarrassing moment happens.