I'm at the hospital - we spent from 11 p.m. last night, to 5 a.m. today in the ER - not our favorite place to be - but they are watchful and helpful when you need them.
Don had a severe lightheaded spell just as we were getting ready for bed last night - almost blacked out but got to a chair and sat down. I took his blood sugar - it was ok - blood pressure was low - took it again - it was super high. Heartbeat was 48 - then 90 - then 61 - then much vomiting (poor guy) so we called the surgeon and he agreed we needed to head up to the ER. When you arrive at ER and say "open heart surgery - lightheaded - low and/or racing pulse, feeling clammy" - you certainly get moved to the front of the line. He was in a room with an EKG hooked up in less than 2 minutes - I like efficiency like that.
He saw the ER doctor and the on-call cardiologist (meanest man in the world, wouldn't listen to us, was shuffling his feet trying to get out the door), had blood work, x-rays, EKG and all sorts of tests. They decided to keep him overnight to monitor his heart, so I went home at 5 and slept until 11:30 - well sort of slept - but mostly was waking up a lot and thinking of Don.
He had a different cardiologist this morning and we really liked him. He explained everything and was very thoughtful and helpful - he could give that other guy lessons. They are going to put in a pacemaker tomorrow, as soon as the coumadin wears off. They gave him vitamin K to speed that along. After the surgery for the pacemaker he will stay in the hospital overnight and then go home on Tuesday. He is resigned to this - and at least we won't have to worry about his heartbeat any more.
Don had driven the car for the first time yesterday - with his surgeon's permission. He said it was a little more work than he had thought - and now it will be at least another two weeks before he can drive again, but that's ok - as long as he is being taken care of.
So that's our story for today - I am at the hospital in the solarium, using the hospital computer - I like this feature - I'm also talking on AIM to my best friend - so that is nice too. I am heading back to Don's room - I'll keep you updated as things progress. Thanks for listening.
21 comments:
Thank God you were able to get him to the ER and get him assistance. I am sure this has been very frightening and I will just pray that he is strenghtened and that the pacemaker does the trick.
Oh my Jo that was certainly a scary experience. Hopefully the pacemaker will help regulate things. Keep us informed.
Thank goodness for the ER but sorry you had an unhelpful doc, Jo. Let's home the pacemaker does the trick with no more scares for either of you. Enough already! Big hugs.
I am SO happy things are working out for you and Don! Pace Makers are wonderful things-kept my grandmother going for a loooong time (would you believe 102!!!) Hang in there and keep smiling!
Paulette (new 'girl' on the blog)
I'm glad they figured out the problem and are going to fix it quickly. Sorry for the rude doctor. Most ER's give evaluation forms out (mail them to you at some point a few weeks down the road). I do think you should mention this. My daughter has worked in hospitals for awhile AND these evaluation forms are taken VERY seriously and she said steps are taken to correct situations that are called to their attention.
How scary! I'm glad you have at least one good doctor to take care of you both.
Oh, my! So sorry to hear. What a disappointment! But so glad that things are under control.
OH MY ! It's always something. I have met the weirdest docs in the ER...I agree...some need serious lessons on how to treat patients. I mean, if they don't want to do it, then DON'T.
Hope everything turns out well and life gets back to normal soon.
Oh, isn't it funny, when I was logging on to you, I was thinking that you would be on a roll and that your sweetie would be on the road of total mending..so sorry to hear you are both in such a stressful situation.
Write a letter about that idiot. I have a certain doctor at our local er that I do not let near me!
Poor Don, one step forward, two steps back. I'm sure he will be doing much better soon.
Crispy
So sorry to hear about this so-called "little glitch". Once again, I'm sending healing thoughts, prayers and white light his way.
XOXO, Julie
Poor Don, I'm so sorry. But thank goodness for pacemakers. I hope things continue to improve for you guys. Sigh.
Sorry to hear of Don`s set back, but at least hes in the best place to be looked after, apart from mean minded medical staff, hope it all goes well, thinking of you both.
Hope all goes well tomorrow.
So glad all is working out and they were able to figure out the problem. So much worry for the one standing watching..... Take care and be good to yourself, too.
That was scary. I'm glad Don is in good hands.
I'll be thinking about you today.
1st of all I want to thank you for stopping by my blog....
Next...WOW... What a scarry thing to go through! Please keep us up to date. I will be back for another visit for sure!!
Love,
Marilyn
xxoo
It is good that you were able to get Don to ER quickly. He is doing better, and with the addition of the pacemaker, he should be progressing forward again. Take care of yourself and keep up your strength.
Sorry to hear about the glitch , hope all is well soon. You all are in my Thoughts and Prayers.
~ Blessings ~
JoyceAnn
Cheers Don and Jo!!!!
We have a brand new hospital with a great ED [emergency dept.] but it's not like you want to be there all the time.
Wanted to pop over to introduce myself and thank you for the note on my blog that I just found. I just took some time to look around here and I would like to include my well wishes for the little setback you and your husband are going through right now. And I look forward to learning more about quilting, since ironically I recently bought a starter kit and intended to seek out some blogs on quilting and voila! here you are!
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