Heart Attack During Honeymoon
My wife and I decided on Destin, Florida for our honeymoon getaway. Besides the wonderful beaches and great restaurants, we made the decision to go there because a friend of the family offered us the use of their condo for the week so it was a win-win, great food and beaches, and free! My wife and I married young, 19, so this was really our first trip away without adult supervision…..which is always a good thing on your honeymoon. As expected, the first few days there we didn’t go out too much. We of course hit the beach during the early morning hours and later in the evening. To save money, we ate out during lunch hours when the menu prices were somewhat reduced. We went to the city pier in Panama City one day and took in the shops and attractions there. While in Panama City, we elected to go to one of our favorite restaurants, ‘Captain Andersons’. It was there that I helped to create a memory that neither of us will ever forget.
We placed our names on the waiting list for dinner and strolled around the pier that was adjacent to the restaurant. As we walked, I noticed that something didn’t feel right. My chest was tight and sharp pains were running up my arms. I had always heard that these were classic signs of a heart attack. As my new bride and I walked hand in hand I thought, “There is no way that this is happening…no way!” I didn’t mention it to her, hoping that it would pass. It did get somewhat better and as I was beginning to feel as though I would be ok, our name was announced over the intercom system letting us know that our table was ready. We were shown to our table and seated and my wife excused herself to the restroom. While she was gone, I started feeling light headed and began to break out in a cold sweat. Now I was concerned. My wife arrived back at the table just about the same time as our server asked to take our drink orders. I calmly looked at the waitress and said, “Ma’am, would you please call 911? I believe I am having a heart attack.” No matter how “calmly” you say that, things tend to get a little crazy as soon as those words leave your lips. My wife looked at me like I was from another planet, she had no idea what was going on. The server yells for someone to bring a wheel chair and by now, we are pretty much the center of attention.
As I am being wheeled back through the kitchen to the back door, my wife is crying and asking, “What in the world is going on?” I tell her how I am feeling and she just stares at me trying to take in what is happening. The paramedics arrived shortly and began to check my blood pressure, heart rate, the works. Surprisingly, they can’t find anything wrong with me at all. They ask questions like, “have you been under any stress or physical exertion over the last few days?”. We proceed to tell them how we are here on our honeymoon and they all begin to laugh and snicker, “I guess that answers our questions about stress and exertion!”
I was given a clean bill of health and we were offered a free meal. My wife and I decided that after all the attention we received on the wheelchair ride through the restaurant, it might be better to just slip out the back door instead. On the ride back to the condo my wife was still trying to process the event. First she was angry for me causing her to worry and then we laughed hysterically pondering thoughts of the other patrons during the ordeal. We settled for Mickey D’s and went back to our condo for the evening.
The last few days were spent on the beach or lounging around the pool. We were beginning a new life together and we were excited about all the possibilities. Thinking back now, it would have been nice to go to maybe Disney World or on a cruise, just the 2 of us. 20 years and 5 children later, those “alone” moments are few and far between. We have taken the family to Disney twice and while it is an irreplaceable moment to see your children’s face light up when they see their favorite character, it would still have been nice to take it all in just the two of us. We have been back to Destin since our honeymoon several times. The aroma wafting from Captain Anderson’s restaurant is still as attracting as ever, and we still can’t help but to bust out in laughter when driving by, remembering that night in 1990.
Article submitted by James S. from Georgia
Credit: http://honeymoonideasblog.com/
