I've been doing a bit of research for known causes of atrial fibrillation.
That's because I have a crystallized memory from last May, when I was washing clothes.
It was May 5th, a Wednesday, and I'd grabbed the two plastic bags of Ronnie's clothes that had been placed in a chair in his room.
I had briefly opened the bag, but the odor coming out seemed to have permeated the plastic.
So, I took them to Sandfly Laundry, as I had a few things to wash, too.
My goal was to get his clothes odor-free, so that if he had a chance to wear them again, the pants and shirt would be clean.
Yes, that's how delusional I was: his body was eaten up with cancer allowed to run free and I was harboring thoughts that they might release him.
I had placed his clothes, and the nearly-new red sneakers, into the washer, added plenty of detergent, and set that machine, as well as the one with my clothes, going.
About thirty minutes later, the cycles of both machines were done.
I'd placed my clothes into a dryer, then came to get his... and the stench that rose up in a cloud when I opened the lid made me step back and close it.
The odor was even worse than it had been!
The combination of old urine, spilled beer, and who knows what all from him sleeping out in the woods for so long had created a foul miasma with a life of its own.
I was glad I was wearing my mask, as that gave me some protection, but... whoa.
What to do?
Try to run the load again and see if that helped?
I was pretty sure it would not.
In the end, I opted to put the clothes back into the plastic bags, then threw them into the trash bins.
As for the shoes, I had hopes they might air out enough that his son could have them.
(That didn't work. A week on the porch and they still reeked, so I trashed them, too.)
I then washed my hands thoroughly and went outside for some fresh air as I waited for my clothes to finish drying.
Then, on the way back to the hospital, I'd searched for pajamas, as I wrote before, and missed seeing Ronnie, as visitation had ended.
That meant Tuesday, May 4th, had been the last time he'd been alert and talking.
I should have thrown out the clothes instead of trying to salvage them.
If I had, I wouldn't have had instances when I would have to pause while mowing the yard, just to catch my breath.
I had thought it was from the day maybe being too hot for such activities.
Now, I think it may have been a warning from my body about the after effect of those toxic fumes on my heart.
Funny how the brain confuses the signals from the chest, responding with lung distress when it should register as heart distress.
Perhaps, in my case, it's because I have had so much lung distress during my life, from frequent cases of bronchitis and two bouts of pneumonia, that my mind immediately flashes the 'lung problems again' card.
After all, I've not had heart issues, ever.
Until now, that is.
After my ex had the first two stents placed into his heart, I had a study done of mine, to make sure it was healthy and strong.
After the stress test, the doctor told me he had patients half my age whose heart was not nearly as healthy!
What was my weight at the time?
Probably close to what is is now, as that's been fairly constant for two decades.
In other words, I was overweight then, just as I am now.
My heart doc wants to say the atrial fibrillation is due to my weight.
I insist it was caused by exposure to toxic fumes.
The obnoxious, nauseating, funk that had risen from the washing machine might as well have come from an industrial factory spewing chemical pollution into the air.
Research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2016 shows uremic toxins - i.e., kidney discharges containing indoxyl sulfate, p-cresol, and p-cresol sulfate - can be a direct cause of atrial fibrillation.
I'm sure I was exposed to such poison, as I know Ronnie had been unresponsive for at least two days before anyone contacted me or an ambulance, so his jeans would have been saturated with urine, if not other bodily fluids.
Other research from NIH, a 2015 study concerning inhalation of a variety of atmospheric pollutants (chlorine gas, carbon monoxide, bromine gas, sulfur dioxide), shows those factors can also contribute to the development of atrial fibrillation.
Still more research from that esteemed source, this time in 2018, also links exposure to toxic solvents to the development of atrial fibrillation.
Even the Environmental Protection Agency has documentation from 2009 that exposure to toxic fumes and indoor pollutants can cause atrial fibrillation.
When I brought up the possibility of toxic fumes being the cause of my heart problems at the meeting with Dr. Cobb today, he had never heard of such research.
Honestly, I can believe that.
I'm sure he's not been exposed to such current research since he left medical school.
I just hope he might look into a little.
All it took for me to find the articles of interest was twenty minutes on the computer.
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