July started out in its typical too-hot-to-be-outside fashion, with some fireworks on the 4th and a nice Birthday celebration dinner for B's Mom a few days later. I should also start by explaining that in June, I applied to my DREAM job. I mean, really...This is THE company I had dreamt about working for as a teenager. I was so eager, I applied to both jobs they were offering that were in my field. So...also that first week of July, I got an interview for said job. I thought it went well, but you never really know. After a 'Thank You' email to each of the supervisors that met with me, and a LONG two weeks of waiting...I got offered not just one of the jobs I interviewed for, but BOTH! They even gave me a few days to choose which job I wanted. I couldn't believe it! Two days later, I received my official "welcome" from my new supervisor. I start at the end of this month and we couldn't be more thrilled!
After sharing the good news with B, I called my parents...which led to the start of this roller coaster ride that July was becoming. During our phone call, my dad mentioned that his back had been hurting for the past few days. My dad NEVER complains of pain. Thinking kidneys, I started asking more questions...pain was in his upper back and would radiate towards his shoulders/arms when it would get bad, more on the left. Um, I think most of you are already thinking....sounds like a heart attack. Well, for Mr. mind-over-mater, he thought it was just a muscle strain. *Sigh.* After calling Kaiser's on-call nurse and my dad going through a series of questions, he was given a same-day appointment for that afternoon. My parents insisted I didn't need to meet them at Kaiser, so I explained what tests they should expect my dad having. ECG, chest x-ray, bloodwork...the usual heart attack screens. Chest x-ray....normal. ECG...slight change from one done 10 years prior. Bloodwork...BAM! Enzymes present. My Dad had a heart attack...and since he had been having these symptoms off-and-on for over a week, there was the chance of it being multiple heart attacks. My mom was texting me as they were going from test to test. I went numb when I read the words 'Dad had a heart attack. They are admitting him to the hospital'. I knew in my heart when he first described his symptoms earlier that day that it sounded like a heart attack, but having to accept it as fact was unbelievable. I raced to the hospital and met B there.
Everything seemed to fly by so fast and take forever at the same time. He was to stay overnight at Kaiser and then be transferred to a near-by hospital that has a remarkable Cardiac Unit, where he was to have an angiogram and possible stent placement, if needed. The fortunate thing was my dad was still his usual self, making jokes to not let on how scared he was inside. He was transferred via non-emergency Ambulance, we followed behind. B dropped my mom and I off at the ER and we walked in with the EMTs as they pushed my dad to the Cardiac Cath Lab. A quick "see you in a few minutes" goodbye as they pushed him through the double door of the Cath Lab, turned into over an hour of waiting to find out they had took him right into the angiogram. Here comes another drop of the roller coaster. Cardiology Dr. came out after the procedure. No stents could be placed. He has three blockages and will need to have triple bypass, they will schedule him for Monday. This was Friday. We cried. My Mom, B and I...in a huddle, in the hallway.
At Kaiser, my dad was given a blood thinner, but a different type than they would use for the bypass. The Dr. needed to wait until Monday to get that type out of his system to not complicate things, all while starting him on Heparin and Nitroglycerine to not worsen the damage already present. A few hours and a forced-meal later, we were allowed in his room. He was groggy, but aware of us. He asked questions about what happened, as the medicine they gave him for the procedure made it hard for him to remember what was going on (Oh, the joys of Versed). Once dinner came, he perked up. He hadn't eaten since midnight the night before, where they had given him some juice and jello....18 hours later, he was famished. He doesn't remember this now, but he ate every single thing on his tray. No joke. Also he said everything was delicious, including the non-dairy creamer and fat-free salad dressing. It gave us a much needed chuckle.
When we arrived back at the hospital Saturday morning, my Dad had already enjoyed breakfast. He was now more lucid and didn't remember what the Dr. had told him the day prior. So when his Dr. did his morning rounds and mentioned they would be doing open heart bypass surgery on Monday, my dad was terrified. I noticed he was blinking his eyes like they were bothering him. He then explained how earlier in the morning he could hear that his TV was on, but when he was looking straight ahead at the clock on the wall he couldn't see the TV that was just to the right of it. Fearing the worst, I immediately told his nurse, who quickly put in a call to his Dr. Shortly after, he was being wheeled away for a brain CT, and later that evening an on-call Neurologist came in to review the CT and discovered my dad had had a stroke. Wow. The worst had happened. Numb, again. I want off of this roller coaster ride. The stroke occurred in the left occipital lobe involving the left optic nerve....which is why in both eyes the right peripheral vision was gone. This now became concern #1 of going forward with the bypass. We went home for the night, my Mom stayed with us. During the night my Dad later described to us that he had woken-up a few times with some strong chest pain, the last one being a 10 out of 10. He said he saw all sorts of colors and he thought that it was THE end. My poor dad. For someone who never really experienced pain, never had surgery, and had never been admitted to a hospital...he was sure getting it all at once.
The Drs. (Yes plural, he had a crew by this point...I believe we counted 7. And they were ALL amazing!) wanted to let his heart rest and they needed the chest pain to stop in order for that to happen. They decided on putting in a Heart Balloon Pump (IABP...look it up. It's remarkable what Drs/Nurses can create to solve problems they are faced with). So that afternoon, he went back into the Cath Lab, this time more awake but given a local anesthetic. They had done his Angiogram through his right wrist, and the balloon pump is done through the groin...usually on the right. My Dad completely remembers when the Dr. yelled out during the procedure "Well, this side is all blocked. Damn! It bent my tool!". So up the left they went. Turns out my Dad is 100% blocked in his right femoral artery and 95% in the left. 5% is all they needed to get the pump in and functioning properly. How can someone survive with 100% blockage and not lose a limb, you might be wondering. Well, the body is an amazing machine and accommodates to whatever road blocks are in its way by creating new pathways. It finds the path of least resistance. Amazing.
Well, this new Balloon Pump earned my Dad a constant Nurse at bedside to monitor the machine and all vitals. We all slept pretty well that night. We did, not my Dad. The pump required him to stay on his back with his left left leg straight with little positioning with pillows to help prevent bed sores. He is a stomach sleeper, so this was an awful position for him to be stuck in. The next morning, he was reporting absolutely NO chest pain. Pump was doing it's job, and they weaned him off of the Nitroglycerin. This roller coaster was starting to become more smooth. Drs were now discussing the possibility of doing a high-risk stent instead of the bypass, conferring with other Drs outside the hospital. They were discussing all pros and cons of both procedures and looking for which would be the greatest benefit over risks. We had two good days in a row of nothing significant happening, which in the Critical Care Unit is HUGE. My Dad had to be catheterized due to the limited mobility available and ended up having some pain and problems with that. Being on blood thinners escalated things. Ultrasound of the bladder and kidneys came back normal and after a catheter filtration, all improved. He also had a second brain CT with no changes from the first. The stroke damage was present, but the brain was not continuing to bleed. Things are looking better. Is that an incline on this roller coaster ride?!
Wednesday evening, I got a call from one of my Dads Drs. (The best, right?). They had come to a decision. They would go forward with the high-risk stent procedure, which would entail placing two stents in the main two arteries of the three that were blocked. They felt the third blockage was that of an accessory artery (not as vital), and down the road if he still had pain they could always go back in and place a third stent. My Dad was somewhat relieved, as he really didn't want to have the bypass. The 'open heart' part of that surgery really scared him. We got to the hospital early that morning. We were nervous. We knew he had to have one of the surgeries to be able to go home, but we were terrified that it was actually taking place. Another dip of the roller coaster. The Dr came in before the surgery to answer any questions. He told us, "this IS high-risk, but don't be scared that it took us so long to decide which way to go. I feel that when you aren't prepared, that's when things happen. We have a plan A, B, C, etc. and the bypass team is on stand-by if we feel that we need to go that way as well." My Mom had told the Dr. that she had been praying for him to have the wisdom to come to the right decision. The Dr. then asked if we could do a prayer right then, and he led the 6of us, including my Dad's nurse, in prayer while holding hands in a circle. That was AWESOME!
We were told the surgery would either be in an hour or two. I held my Dad's hand almost the entire morning. It was only about 15 min after the Dr. had left, when the Surgical Techs came in to get him. That was gut-wrenching. We got to walk with him down the hall back to the Cath Lab and give him big hugs before they wheeled him through the double doors. I told him, "You have to make it through this. I NEED you!". Tears, again. I cried so hard I had to stop walking and my Mom and B had to hold me up.
My second Mom (a close family friend) and Sis-in-law came to the hospital and waited with us during my Dad's surgery. The distraction of visiting with them was a blessing. The Dr. had told us he would have someone come out and let us know when they were going to start the surgery...the procedure was to take an hour and a half, so he thought we would appreciate having a better time estimation of when it should be over. (Again, awesome.) It had probably been about 30 min since we saw my Dad wheeled into the Cath Lab before the Surgical Tech came out to tell us they had already started 20 min ago. He said the Dr. had just remembered and wanted him to come and tell us things were going well so far. An hour and 15 minutes later, the Dr. came out and gave us the great news that everything went remarkably well. Before and after pictures of the arteries were unbelievable....so open and healthy looking already from the stents. We didn't get to see my Dad for about 2 hours after. They took him to his room and he was doing so well that they took the Balloon Pump out bedside. Later my Dad said, that part was unbearable, so painful. When we saw my Dad for the first time, he just looked so much better. He even said he already felt better.
The next day, they had him sitting up in a chair for the majority of the day, with one nice walk around the nurses station using a walker. No shortness of breath or pain what-so-ever afterwards. We were finally beginning to feel like we could breath again, and that things were going to be ok after-all. Two days after surgery he got to go home! They issued him a walker for home use, as needed for the first few weeks. He was so excited! After walking into the hospital with chest pains, 8 days and 20 hours later he was getting to walk out feeling better than ever!
We ended July with a bright future of a second chance to do things better. One thing I didn't mention about my Dad is, he was a smoker...and I say WAS. He had smoked for 45 years of his life (He's 71.). He smoked his last cigarette before walking into that first Dr. appointment. From the point of being admitted to the hospital, he would answer anytime someone asked if he smoked with "I USED to be a smoker." He says that was the EASIEST part of this whole process! I never thought I would see the day....I couldn't be prouder. Also, he used to put salt on EVERYTHING. He is of course now on a low-fat/low-salt 'diet' and is enjoying putting a healthier spin on some of his favorite meals.
So, my Dad had a heart attack and a stroke, as well as 3 heart procedures all within a matter of 2 weeks. All he has to prove of it is a couple of small scars on his inner thighs and right wrist (He loves to say, "Ya I had heart surgery" while pointing to his wrist.), the loss of right peripheral vision, and a slight struggle with some critical thinking/problem solving skills. I'd say we are VERY blessed!
We ended July by wishing our son a Happy Birthday via texts and phone calls. We were sad not to spend his special day with him, as my Dad was still in the hospital. I know he understands and I'm so grateful my Dad will be able to celebrate both kids with us, hopefully for many more years to come. This roller coaster ride called July finally came to an smooth end.
July, you were a bitch of emotions. I do thank you for making all of us stronger and more wise....but I'm glad you're over. We'll appreciate you more next year.
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