Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2024 #Potluck – #Absence #Life #Heart – Where Have You Been, Springer? by Pete Springer

Welcome to the series of Posts from Your Archives and I will be sharing posts from the SECOND six months of 2023 from your archives.

If you wish to be included the information is at the the end of the following post which is from the previous series, and shows you what it will look like.

This is the second post by author and retired teacher Pete Springer and he shares the reasons he was not as active on his blog last year. Life has a way of intruding into best laid plans… and sometimes we are taken by surprise when our body lets us down despite our best efforts.

Where Have You Been, Springer? 

Photo Credit to Nikhil Joseph on Pexels

You may or may not have noticed my absence from the blogging world lately. Today is the first time I’ve been interested in writing in the past couple of weeks. I’ve come to realize that expressing myself is my therapy. Some people see a therapist when they have problems, but I tend to share my feelings this way. Since we’re all wired differently, everyone has their own method of coping.

I was at a routine ENT (ear, nose, and throat) medical appointment in February when I discovered I had a low pulse. If you’re like me, I pay much closer attention to my blood pressure than my pulse. A rate of 40 seemed modest, but the immediate concern of the medical professionals grabbed my attention even more. My doctor directed me to go to the ER immediately. I spent a day in the hospital, but the tests indicated nothing was wrong with my heart. I learned that some people have a lower-than-normal pulse rate (especially athletes), so there was no genuine concern as long as I remained asymptomatic. I don’t consider myself an athlete, but I have been incredibly dedicated to exercise for several years since I retired and have lost significant weight through exercise and diet.

Photo Credit to Pixabay

Since then, I’ve monitored my pulse every day. It remained low, usually from 38–45, but I stayed asymptomatic. That all changed about two weeks ago when I had tingling in my extremities, low energy, and began feeling faint. I was dealing with a sinus infection then, so I questioned if that was part of the equation. I had better days mixed in but felt worn down. I wondered if I was fighting a bug or finally had COVID-19. The tests said no. I went to the ER once since my doctor couldn’t see me. Isn’t it unbelievable we dread going to a place that will provide us with helpful information but hesitate because we know it will take a minimum of six hours (usually far longer)? It was reassuring that the tests were negative, but I also knew I didn’t feel right.

Photo Credit to Kampus Productions on Pexels

Three days later, I felt faint in the shower and became more concerned. I was fine for several hours afterward but decided to drive to the ER again for precautionary reasons when some symptoms began to return. My wife offered to drive me, but I felt capable and didn’t want her to get stuck there all night for the second time. I was partway there when a loss of feeling began to go up my legs. I looked to pull over at a familiar place, realizing the seriousness of the situation, and called my wife. Soon after, I determined I couldn’t wait the fifteen minutes it would take for her to get to me and called 911. They arrived quickly; by then, I had just about passed out in the car.

I felt like I needed to lie flat and was happy when they got me on a gurney. When people are about to pass out, their blood pressure is typically low, but I soon discovered mine was doing the opposite as the EMT said my high blood pressure number was at 190. I didn’t realize it then, but I had a panic attack.

Photo Credit to Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels

The ambulance took off, and we headed toward the hospital. The EMTs were busy monitoring my vitals when I heard my ringtone. Still thinking clearly, I had my phone close by. Sure enough, my wife found my car but not me and wondered where I was. Riding in the back of the ambulance was not the answer she expected to hear.

By the time we reached the hospital, the feeling in my legs had returned, and my blood pressure was becoming more regular. The EMTs transferred me to a wheelchair and wheeled me down the hallway. I mistakenly thought they were taking me to a room. Instead, I ended up in the ER waiting room with 25 other people. Immediately, the loss of feeling began to go back up my legs, and I started making a fuss, telling everyone I needed to lie flat. One of the staff repeatedly told me there were no beds available. I continued to call for help because I could feel myself passing out, but the nurse, not realizing the gravity of the situation, told me to “man up.” I know they were packed and probably doing their best under stressful conditions, but this was obviously not the right way for him to handle this.

Fortunately, my wife showed up right then and listened to my concerns. She grabbed a chair, elevated my legs, and comforted me, alleviating my fears. When I finally got into an ER room a couple of hours later, the doctor examined me and told me she planned to check me into the hospital. What a relief, or so I thought! I spent the next 14 hours (16 hours total) waiting to get into a room. Having been through this situation several times with my mom, this is the norm. There aren’t enough beds or personnel available in our local hospitals. I could not sleep because it was loud, the bed was uncomfortable, and the bells would start ringing each time I fell asleep as my pulse dropped below 40. It was an experience that worsened when I developed a migraine.

There’s much more to the story, but I’ll give you the condensed version. The following day, I got a pacemaker and now rock at 60 beats per minute. I’m forcing myself to be patient as I cannot raise my arm for six weeks. My energy level, quite naturally, has not returned yet, but I’m working toward it as I’ve been able to take short walks the past three days. My healing is both physical and mental. I’d never had a panic attack, and it was a scary situation. I had one more after returning home, but now I am more aware and educated.

Nice to be out in the bright sunshine again.

Thank goodness for the wonders of modern medicine. The pacemaker is now a part of me; the doctor replaces the battery every 5-15 years. I’ve never been a person who takes life for granted, and I’m feeling incredibly grateful to have a wonderful family, friends, and a sound support system. I’ll be around. This stubborn old dog has too many things he wants to accomplish in life. I’ll get myself right and continue to live life to the fullest, looking out for my family, friends, community, and myself.

My reason for living: my wife, son, and new daughter-in-law.

©Pete Springer 2023

My thanks to Pete for participating in the series and I know he would love to hear from you.

About Pete Springer

My name is Pete Springer. I taught elementary school for thirty-one years (grades 2-6) at Pine Hill School in Eureka, CA. Even though I retired over three years ago, my passion will always lie with supporting education, kids, and teachers.

When I came out of the teaching program many years ago, I realized how unprepared I was for what was in store for me in the classroom. My college education focused mostly on learning theory rather than the practical day-to-day challenges that all teachers face. Thankfully, I had some great mentors to lean on to help support me in the early part of my career.

I have made it my mission to pay it forward to the next generation of teachers. I was a master teacher to four student teachers, and I have several former students who are now teachers, including one who teaches at my former elementary school. That is pretty cool!

While I was teaching, I decided that one day I would write books for children. That ship is now in the harbor. I took some writing workshops, found a writing critique group, joined SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), and I recently finished writing my first middle-grade novel. I’ve always connected with kids, and this is my new way of teaching.

My debut MG novel, Second Chance Summer, just got professionally edited, and I will be querying in the coming weeks.

One of the reviews for the book that I can also recommend

Robbie Cheadle 5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful book  Reviewed in the United States

They Call Me Mom is a delightful book detailing the teaching experiences of life-long teacher, Pete Springer, in a school in a government school in the USA. This memoir is an interesting, and sometimes poignant, peek into the teaching environment and provides some memorable insights into some of the practical and emotional difficulties a teacher experiences.

Pete depicts his initial decision not to go to college and study straight after finishing school, but rather to do some unskilled jobs. These jobs did not pan out well for Pete and after returning home and working as an assistant in a special needs school, he decided to go into teaching as a profession. This was the perfect choice for him and he evolved into a caring and dedicated teacher.

Pete was fortunate to have some wonderful role models to help him develop as a professional and, I am sure, he was also a fabulous role model to new teachers coming into the system. He inspired some of his students to consider teaching as a career and that is a great achievement.

The book is filled with endearing stories about Pete’s classroom experiences with the children and the reader quickly comes to realise that there is a lot more to being a good teacher than knowing the curriculum and preparing lessons. Their is also the social and emotional side where teachers must understand the issues and problems their students are experiencing and help guide them through these difficult times. Pete had exposure to a far greater range of family backgrounds than I ever have, either during my own school career or that of my two sons. He had students whose parents worked at night, some whose parents went to jail and others who were being raised by single parents or grandparents.

This book provides a lot of guidance to teachers about how to maximize the learning environment in the classroom and this information is useful to all carers of children including parents, grandparents and others.

A lovely book and one that focuses on the important role played by teachers in raising the next generation of parents, employees and business leaders. 

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – and:Amazon UK – Read more reviews:Goodreads – Website: Pete Springer WordPress – Twitter: @OfficerWoof

How to feature in the series?

• All I need you to do is give me permission to dive in to your archives and find two posts to share here on Smorgasbord either by leaving a note in the comments or by emailing me. (sally.cronin@moyhill.com)
• Rather than a set topic, I will select posts at random of general interest across a number of subjects from the last six months of 2023. (it is helpful if you have a link to your archives in your sidebar by month)
• As I will be promoting your books as part of the post along with all your information and links so I will not be sharing direct marketing or self- promotional posts in the series.
• If you are an author I am sure you will have a page on your blog with the details, and an ‘about page’ with your profile and social media links (always a good idea anyway). I will get everything that I need.
• As a blogger I would assume that you have an ‘about page’ a profile photo and your links to social media.
• Copyright is yours and I will ©Your name on every post… and you will be named as the author in the URL and subject line.
• Previous participants are very welcome to take part again.
• Each post is reformatted for my blog and I don’t cut and paste, this means it might look different from your own post especially if you are using the block editor

N.B – To get the maximum benefit from your archive posts, the only thing I ask is that you respond to comments individually and share on your own social media.. thank you.