Hemingway, why did Mom go to the vet the other day?

Steinbeck, I’ve told you that Mom doesn’t go to the vet, she goes to a doctor.

Well, if the vet is good enough for us, why isn’t it good enough for Mom?

Sigh………

You still haven’t answered any of my questions.

Fine……..now listen.  Mom had to go have something called a stress test done.

Does that hurt?  Will we have to have one?

Mom said it didn’t hurt, although she did have all sorts of reactions to the chemicals.  The nurses gave her diet cola as soon as they could after the restrictions were lifted and she started to feel better.

Why did she have to have that test?  Did she study for it?  Will she get paid more money for passing it?

Steinbeck, it’s not that kind of a test.  This was a test to see how Mom’s heart was working.

Oh nooooooooo!  Is her heart going to stop?

Not at all, Steinbeck.  Remember how much stress she was under when she was starting her new job?

I sure do.

Well, some of the things happening to her body then could have been some heart issues so her doctor wanted her to get it checked out.  Her doctor told her that the tests show no blockages and that’s very good.  She’s also feeling better now that the stress has died down some.

Wow.  Humans are complicated beings.  Are we supposed to keep testing Mom so she doesn’t get stress overload again?

Somehow I think Mom would say we test her enough, especially you.

I’m going to tell Mom that once again you’re not being nice.

From the Mom:

Yes, I did have a stress test a couple of weeks ago.  Several years back, I went to a Lifeline Screening.  I just figured it would be a good thing to check out even though that’s something I would normally never do.  In fact, on my scheduled day they had a power failure so they couldn’t do the test.  Ordinarily that would have been enough for me to forget about it but I didn’t.  I made sure they got me rescheduled.  Know what?  When they did the tests, they discovered that my right carotid artery was 95% blocked and I had no symptoms.  Just a few days later I was in the hospital for surgery.  Since that time, all of my scans have been clear.  However, I was putting my body through so much stress with the new job that I was having shortness of breath and I was sweating like crazy.  Since I seem to avoid showing symptoms, I agreed with my doctor that we should check it out.  I’m doing fine now.  I’ve noticed that I don’t have the shortness of breath and the sweating that I did so the stress has lessened.  I am getting more comfortable with my job and feel like I know most of what I’m doing.  My word to the boys’ readers is to get the Lifeline Screening done if it’s in your town.  Those are tests I never would have had at my doctor’s office ‘cuz I didn’t have any symptoms.  They saved my life.

By the way, the boys may bring stress into my life at times, but it’s all surrounded by love.  How can anyone be stressed out by a purring ball of fluffy fur?