Luckily my phone was next to me where I was on the floor and I was able to text Nic and tell him he needed to come home, something was wrong. I had trouble getting off the floor.

Before Nic returned, I managed to get myself up and brace my arms over the table in the kitchen to keep myself up.

I was able to reach my mother over a WhatsApp call just before we left to let her know that I thought I was having a heart attack and that I would update her as I could. I had a sobering thought that it may be the last time I spoke with her. I wished I had said more, but I hung up and waited for Nic.

He promptly helped me to the elevator and along with his mother, took me to the hospital.

It felt like there was someone squeezing my heart in their hands. That gives you an idea of the intensity of the pain.

The pain was intermittent and would come every so often. When I arrived at the hospital the pain had subsided and felt better while lying in the hospital bed. With Sweden’s universal healthcare, similar to Canada’s, I thought I may not get in quick. But since I was complaining of chest pain, I was able to. They drew some blood and ran an EKG. Within 30 minutes, the pain had returned and it was just as painful as before. It would last about 45 minutes and creep up my back and come into the chest just as before. They would inject me with liquid ibuprofen but it never seemed to stem the pain. It was the only thing they could give me until they figured out what was wrong.

My blood tests came back within an hour of being there and I was told I would have to stay overnight as they confirmed their findings. Every hour they would draw blood and compare it with the original. The results would say that my blood had elevated levels of cardiac enzymes, known as troponin. Troponin is an indicator of heart muscle tissue damage or death. The longer these levels stay high, the more worry of fibrosis or thickening of the heart muscle. When I arrived, my troponin level was 240 ng/ml. The doctor explained that troponin levels that high weren't a good sign.

With most heart problem indications, whether a heart attack, cardiac arrest, etc., troponin levels show between 5-15 ng/ml. Mine would hit 2,750 ng/ml.

I was sent into a surgery to check out my arteries to see if there was a blockage. I was surprised they wanted to do this because I had always eaten well growing up, I was very fit and always healthy.

The angiocardiography showed that the arteries were fine and that helped eliminate certain concerns with the heart. The whole time, I wasn’t told much and did my best to piece together what was going on from the tests that were being done on me. I am no doctor but my vast experience of watching Grey’s Anatomy really proved key in this moment!

I hadn’t been able call my family up to this point and it had been about five hours.