The very beginning - October

I was walking up a long steep hill to where I had parked my car. I was leaving the arena where our local QMJHL hockey team was playing and feeling a little unwell.

About five minutes from the rink I got a stunning pain in my chest. My stomach roiled into nausea and my jaw and teeth started to ache. I lurched to a stop and slowly the horrible spell passed.

Shaken, I started off again and bang. Within about ten steps it came back. I could see my car and felt everything would be all right if I could just make it to there. It was a hellish twenty minutes before I finally sat behind the wheel feeling the misery subside and absolutely shaken by the experience. Is this what a heart attack is?

It sounds ridiculous to say now but as the pain subsided I convinced myself that I was suffering from acid reflux or ulcers, anything rather than a heart problem.

By the time I had driven home I was convinced that the whole episode, while unpleasant, was not really very serious. It nagged at me though and I made an appointment to see my family doctor the next day, to see if she could fix my stomach.