He tried to talk himself out of a heart attack
Chris Rickman grew up in Baytown’s Brownwood subdivision.
“I was 38 when I had my first real serious heart attack. I was with a girlfriend, and we had just gotten back to my apartment. She gave me a hug, and all of a sudden my chest started hurting. It just felt horrible. I was wearing a short-sleeve shirt, and my biceps swelled up to three times their normal size and almost ripped the sleeves out.
“She wanted to call an ambulance, but I talked her out of it. You know how it is. You don’t want to really admit that you’re having a heart attack.
“When I finally drove myself to the doctor, I told him that I thought it might be an allergic reaction to some honey I had been eating. He said, ‘I don’t think it’s the honey you’ve got to worry about.’
“It was a heart attack, and he wanted to put me in the hospital right away.”
— Chris Rickman
Related:
