Yours truly has been away from desk and duties of one of our faves:
www.bettygoparty.com
for a number of days, weeks and months due
to an unexpected avalanche of health issues and heart procedures.
For the squeamish, you need read no further.
For inquiring minds who really want to know, details that follow are as recalled from a pain-filled and drugged memory.
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Early on in November, 2011, a long-standing medical condition of mine,
Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) necessitated an unplanned trip to the ER;
with intervention of meds and 2 units of blood for my anemia, I was
able to return to mostly normal activities.
Midway in November, 2011, after an unfortunate fall at home, midnight
found us in the hospital with a pelvis fractured in four places. In the
words of the doctor who checked the x-ray, it was 'shattered'. I have
heard that a pelvis is like a pretzel, you can't break it in just one place.
For the first broken bone in my long life, I did not have a simple break.
Now, we are told by the orthopedic doctor that surgery is not an option here, it will take time and physical rehab to heal. (Whatever happened to Super Glue or Duct Tape)?
While in rehab, Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) became a serious problem, returning me to ER and ICU. It seems that after many years and a
variety of meds, the A-Fib is no longer under control. The upper heart
chamber is sending up to 200 beats per minute down to the lower chamber, which cannot process this overdrive of beats per minute without tiring and taking up to a 3-second pause to rest.
The drip I was put on to slow things down brought my heart beat to a near standstill; bringing on nausea and fainting. Whereupon another drug, acting like some sort of 'speed' caused me to become like some overactive trapeze artist, arms and legs moving like crazy, and my mouth in overdrive; babbling like a brook, unable to control what I was saying and maybe shouldn't be said at all.
Begging for ice chips for my dry throat; reciting my prayers and poems, singing songs, telling jokes, and who knows what else I told. Things like: Fuzzie Wuzzie was a bear, Fuzzie Wuzzie had no hair,
Fuzzie Wuzzie wasn't fuzzie, was he ? And on and on and on…..
When one of the attending nurses came in and gave me a 'pop-quiz' to try to determine my lucidity, I gave the proper answers, but I admonished the person that a woman who would tell her age, would
tell anything; and the next time there was a pop-quiz, if they did not know the answers, I sure as hell wasn't going to give them the answers again. What a night-long nightmare !
After a visit from the cardiologist, who describes himself as the
' plumber' who can repair my heart's leaky mitral valve, but he has referred us to a different type of cardiologist, described as the
'electrician'. The kind who does repairs to the heart's electrical system controlling the heart beat. (A-Fib). This specialist can repair the problem, has done so many times with great success. (Hooray )!
Thus began two weeks of twice-daily injections of blood thinner into the
stomach muscles to prepare me for surgery without having the risk of
blood clots. These injections must be done under hospital/rehab control.
After the required two weeks, while still in rehab, I am transferred by
ambulance back to hospital for heart surgery, (Ablation).
After the administration of the anesthesia, someone, in a effort to intubate (insert a breathing tube in my throat) caused injury to my lower lip. The lip remained swollen, lacerated and painful for several days. The robotic surgery tool is administered through the groin. The heartbeat is set to race, then slowed, and the surgeon cauterized where it was misfiring, the process is meticulously repeated, and after 4 hours under the anesthetic; and another 3 units of blood, I am slowly returned
to consciousness. The removal of the robotic tool from the groin is so
painful, it felt as though my intestines were being pulled out of my
body with the tool that felt like a foot-long snake from my groin.
I am admonished not to cough without holding my palm on the place
in the groin, so I wouldn't 'bleed out'. (Thanks for the reminder !)
Following surgery, I was so sick from the anesthetic, that I begged to
be cut loose: just let me go quietly into the night.
Try throwing up repeatedly; remembering to hold your palm to the
groin 'so you won't bleed out' while you are violently ill.
Three days later, I was taken back to surgery to have a pace-maker installed. Now, this piece of equipment is set for 80 beats per minute; but in the meantime, my old heartbeat stays upwards close to 118-120.
The pacemaker comes with an instruction manual; regarding limitations
that really needs to be read prior to having such an implant.
What's next ? After a week in hospital, Going Home. A week later, a visit to the doctor's office for removal of the staples from the surgery to install the pacemaker in my upper chest. Not allowed to raise arm above head for 6 weeks. Not allowed to drive my car either. Needless to say, dancing is Out of the Question. Still using a walker for the healing pel-
-vis; and unable to navigate much due to the too-fast heartbeat. Pace-maker cannot take over until rapid heartbeat is under control.
Still on a daily pill blood-thinner, Xarelto, and other meds, the docs added a previous med, Digoxin, along with Betapace, Losartan and an antibiotic which caused it's own problem and had to be discontinued.
Now, we are in a holding pattern, possibly facing one more heart pro-
-cedure to separate electrical connection of the upper chamber of the heart from the lower chamber to allow the pace-maker to take control.
Dancing is still Out of the Question at this time. (But: I'll Be Back !)
Recovery is v e r y s l o w. Energy level is l o w. I miss my old self.
We missed both Thanksgiving and Christmas with everyone. Missed the
fun and parties, the dancing and good times. Hopefully I will find some of my old self every day as we recover, but this patient is not a very patient person. Like everyone else: I Want It Now !
Thanks be to God for all the special skills of the many doctors, nurses,
technicians, and all the dedicated workers. It takes teamwork from the
ground up; housekeeping, kitchen personnel , maintenance, and all the unsung, dedicated folks to run the facilities we take for granted until we so desperately need each and every one of them.
I thank God, my long-suffering and loving husband Ed, and all our
wonderful family and friends for your loving thoughts, prayers and well-wishes. We hope to be near-normal before very long.
Love, Betty
www.bettygoparty.com
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Let's look forward to leaping into the New Leap Year: Happy 2012 !