Pittsburgh Trip......Post 4 "Low Battery"

The night before our trip to Pittsburgh I didn't sleep well.  It's not unusual for me not to sleep well, but was one of the small factors that came into play.  I was up at 3:30 am.  Ate a small breakfast, showered, shaved, dressed, and watched the local news come on at 4:30.  Mary Lynn got up early, we finished packing and made sure everything was ready for the trip.  At 7:25 we headed up the street to pick up the rental car at 7:30.
As soon as we got home, we packed up the car, checked the house to make sure everything was turned off, and took off on our weekend trip.  I drove first.  We pulled over at a rest stop about 30 miles north of Cincinnati and Mary Lynn took over.  We arrived at Jit and Julie's house in Columbus about 11:00 am, enjoyed a tour of their newly remodeled home, and headed to Pittsburgh, stopping for lunch before leaving Columbus. Jit drove.

 I wish I'd had a symbol on me that would let me know my battery level, but I don't.  I know now that my battery was completely run down at that time.  I think my best explanation about a Heart Attack is that it zaps your battery and does not allow it to recharge.  That's what the Rehab does.  Slowly recharges your battery.  I believe my energy level is such that I can do most anything, but in short bursts with a rest in between.  Walking any distance at all is not something that can be done.  Also, heat pretty much cancels out any energy I may have to start with.
So, .....just traveling is taxing on your energy.  If you've ever traveled, you know how tiring it can be.  Yes, I just sat there, but I sat there tired.  Upon arriving in Pittsburgh, we checked into the hotel, parked in the parking lot, carried our luggage up to our rooms on the fifth floor, and unpacked.  It was about 5:00 pm then, and I'd been up since 3:30 am.  My activities thus far had already exceeded what I should have done for one day.
Checking at the front desk, we found out that the restaurant in which the rehearsal dinner was being held was only a mile and a half away from our hotel.  So the question put to me was "Bobby, do you think you can walk it?"  The response should have been, "No, don't think I should even try."  But my actual response was "Sure."  That was not very smart. Two weeks from a heart attack and I'm going to walk a mile and half, long pants, long sleeve shirt, tie, and in the heat. 
After about 5 blocks we decided it was a bad idea.  Luckily, we were able to hail a cab.  I'm exhausted.  Of course we get to the rehearsal dinner about an hour early, but they were kind enough to seat us back in the reserved area and we got a drink to nurse until people started to arrive.  I was able to rest.  Not really able to recharge, but able to conserve what little energy I had left. 
So, a couple of hours of socializing, meeting a lot of nice people, eating dinner, and then it's time to leave.  No, my battery has not charged.  It can't.  I can still do a little bit, but must follow it with a rest period.
Let's walk to the 'subway station', about 5 blocks way, catch the subway to about 6 or 8 blocks from the hotel, then walk the rest of the way.  "Bobby, can you do that?".  My response should have been "Are you crazy?".  However, I heard myself say "Sure.".

 Well, after about a block of walking, the temperature was a little cooler, but still warm, my battery was no longer low, but dead.  As we got to the Subway station, descending on an escalator, the lower levels were still holding the heat of the day and it was hot.  We had to wait for the car about 10-15 minutes.  In the meanwhile, I was completely exhausted, hot, and sweating profusely.  Even though I was sitting down, the heat wouldn't allow me to get rested.  I was done.  The car came, we got on, and rode it to the "Steel Plaza", which was the closest subway station to our hotel.  It was decided by the group that there was no way that I could walk the rest of the way.  I was in agreement.  We needed a cab.
So, up from the depths of the subway station and let's find a cab.  Yep, I'm still walking!    We found this really nice hotel, the "Omni William Penn Hotel", and went in hoping to find a taxi stand. There was a bar inside and the really nice lady helped them.  We were on the backside of the hotel.  So, we went through, through a nice restaurant, (very Ritzy), out the front door where there was a taxi stand.  A taxi took us the few blocks to our hotel and the ordeal was over.  Oops!  I still had to walk up to our room.  Still walking.
When I got to our room I was more exhausted than I've ever been in my life.  I've been tired.  Really tired.  But I know now that being tired is not the same as being exhausted.  When you're tired, if an emergency suddenly comes up you can can summon the energy to act.  I had no reserves.  DEAD BATTERY!
This was all my fault.  Nobody knew how I felt but me.  The problem was, I didn't know how I felt.  Sure, I can go another step.  How many?  I don't know.  I was asked repeatedly "Are you OK?".  "Can you do this?".  I just kept giving the wrong answers.
But I made it through the ordeal.  I learned a lot.  And, I had some people with me who took care of me and looked out for me.  Like I said before, this was all completely my fault, and I learned a whole lot from the experience.