Rude Awakening

Around 4:00 AM, I woke up with intense chest pain. I’m 43—too young for a heart attack, right? My first instinct was to downplay the situation and not mention anything to my wife, sleeping just 17 inches away. However, the thought of her waking up next to her now-deceased husband made me decide differently.

As I stood up, thinking I just needed to stretch it out, I started to sweat—more than I ever had before. I made my way to the bathroom but became nauseous and disoriented. I couldn’t tell if I was going to vomit, needed to use the bathroom, or was about to pass out. I remember thinking, I’ve never felt this kind of chaos in my body, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

In that moment, all I knew to do was to get to Jesus. Amid the unknown, I closed my eyes and saw myself at the foot of the cross with the Father. I’m in Your hands. I trust You’re with me.

While all of this was happening, my wife—the incredible woman that she is—sprang into action. She had me hooked up to every device we owned. Within moments, she was tracking my oxygen levels (which started around 90%), heart rate (in the upper 40s), and blood pressure (90/60).

As I kneeled at the cross in my mind (while also sitting on the bathroom “throne”), things started to slow down. My thoughts became clearer, and my numbers began to stabilize. My oxygen level climbed to 97%, my heart rate returned to normal, and we started discussing the next steps. I tried not to wake up every nurse we know for advice, but one got the call.

Surely, I was too young for a heart attack. So what was it? In reflecting on what could have caused this, I remembered using a new medicated lip balm for a cut on my lip. Naturally, I Googled the ingredients. Ready for the first derailment and a shocking truth?

I’d been using Blistex for four days to ease the pain from a small cold sore. The first article I found detailed the toxic ingredients in Blistex, including something called phenol. I thought, That can’t be it. I’ve used Blistex for decades. But then I remembered that the night before, I had used another product, Campho Phenique, which also contains phenol—only at a much higher concentration (4.7%).

Could my usage of this product all day for several days have caused a toxic reaction? The symptoms of a phenol-related reaction matched my experience. This possibility delayed my trip to the hospital as I processed the situation.

Eventually, I decided to call Michigan Poison Control. I told Shannon, They’re going to tell me to go to the ER no matter what, but I’m calling anyway. We discussed the ingredients, and although they agreed it was a possibility due to the cut on my lip, they emphasized it was unlikely. They said my symptoms alone were reason enough to go to the hospital.

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t a toxic reaction to the medication. But the fact that we put harmful chemicals, even in small amounts, into over-the-counter medications is still crazy. In fairness, the product does warn against applying it to “severely broken skin, open wounds, or deep cuts,” but who reads a 0.23oz tube carefully? To me, my small wound wasn’t “severely broken.” Regardless…

I followed up with my doctor’s office. Their advice: go to the ER and get checked.

I then reached out to my nutritionist for advice on starting a detox. Her response: go to the ER and get checked.

In moments like this, I think of people who say, “I trust God will take care of me.” While I fully believe that, I also know that His protection and provision often come through the people around us telling us to get to the ER. It’s wise to accept His help however it’s delivered.

So, we went to the ER.

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Now, I’ll fast-forward. At the hospital, we did all the tests: bloodwork to check cardiac troponin levels (a sign of heart damage), an ECG, and even drank lidocaine to see if numbing my stomach or esophagus would relieve the pain. Then, hours later, we repeated all the tests. The results? My heart was—and is—just fine.

So, what was it? After mostly ruling out cardiac issues, we considered Costochondritis—a benign inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone. It’s often caused by an injury to the rib cage and mimics the pain of a heart attack. Did I strain myself lifting the back of a snowmobile recently? Maybe. Sometimes, your body decides to fight back later.

Thinking back to 4:00 AM, waking up with intense chest pain from a deep sleep. An event like this can trigger what I now know as a vasovagal response, which can cause symptoms like lightheadedness, nausea, sweating, and looking pale. Essentially, it feels like a heart attack without the heart being involved.

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Final Thoughts

Going to the hospital is never fun, and knowing you’ll be there all day makes it even harder. But in this case, I’m thankful we went. I’m grateful to know my heart is healthy and working well. In many ways, it’s also growing—learning to love better. My girls, the community around us, and the world aren’t ready for me to be done, and I’m thankful I’m not. The moments in the hospital give ample time for reflection on life. What have I left undone. Why have I not recorded that night time song for Madisyn yet? Who do people say I am? Do they know what is truly important to me? A catalog to continue to reflect back on in the upcoming seasons.

I’m especially grateful for my team of friends who supported me throughout the day. It truly takes a community, and I’m blessed to have such a great one.

And to my wife who throughout the chaos and stress of it all stood with me, fought (and fights) for me, and loved well. I’m forever grateful for her hand and partnership.

Special thanks to the McLaren ER staff—Cody, for his incredible work as my all-day nurse; Dr. Mitchel, for walking through all the data with my analytical mind; and Michigan Poison Control, who not only gave great advice but followed up with me and the hospital several times throughout the day to ensure everything possible was done.

It’s a good day to be alive, even if I need a few extra Advil until this chest pain settles down.

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