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Another heart attack!
Eight years ago, I had my first heart attack. This past week, I had a second heart attack.
Wed 6/6/18: In the afternoon, I was at a friend's house, taking care of her cat. She had just gotten out of the hospital, and she's been having issues with her immune system. On the way home, I started to salivate with thick mucus. Later that evening around 8:30pm, I started having chest pain. I thought it might have been heartburn, gas, gallbladder issues, or agita (sick/sour stomach). But after taking two ibuprofen, two antacid tablets, and two simethicone tablets, the pain wouldn't go away. I started feeling a little tingling in my jaw, and in my little fingers. Those were the same symptoms I had when I had my first heart attack way back in May 2010, but this time, they weren't as strong or severe. I wasn't in severe enough pain to call an ambulance, and I didn't want to run up an ambulance bill, so I decided to drive myself to Southview Hospital's emergency room. I was triaged at around 10pm, and placed in one of the observation rooms. They gave me Heparin and nitroglycerin, both in IV form, and through two separate IVs. After three hours, they moved me to the ICU for further observation and treatment.
Thu 6/7/18: At around 11am, I was taken to the cath lab, where they ran a scope up my groin to look for any blockages, and to perform angioplasty and/or install a stent, if there was a blockage. They couldn't find a blockage, but the cardiologist noticed that my coronary arteries narrowed up. As he described it to me, it was like a four-lane highway going down to two lanes. He also noticed that my blood was rather thick and "sludgey", so he added a blood thinner drug (Plavix) to my medicinal cocktail.
After completing the procedure, which went quicker than what I expected, I was taken back to my ICU room, where the nurses installed a FemoStop device onto me. It's designed to put pressure on the arterial incision, instead of having a nurse provide the pressure. After a couple of hours, a pressure dressing was applied. They also sprayed a medical adhesive on the area, so that the tape would stick better.
I spent the rest of the day laying flat. I had to eat by scooping food from the plate that was above where I could see, and had to be careful I didn't spill the food onto myself. I also had to pee in the bed using a urinal bottle.
That night, I watched Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Fri 6/8/18: Another day of recuperation and observation. The pressure dressing was removed and replaced with a regular dressing. I could sit up and start walking around short distances. My friends Dawn and Sara came to visit.
That afternoon, one of the other ICU patients had a "code blue" incident. I could hear the staff run and scramble to help save the patient. I do not know if they were successful.
Later that afternoon, I asked, "No one's checked in on me in about two hours. Do I still need to be here in ICU, or can I be to a regular room?" After consulting with the cardiologist ho performed the operation, they found another room for me, and wheeled me to the new room.
That night, I felt very bored, since all I had was my smartphone. I didn't have my laptop or any books. So I ended up watching the Reds game, and falling asleep during the top of the 10th inning. (The Reds rarely do well against the Cardinals.)
Sat 6/9/18: Another day of recuperation and observation. The cardiologist came in in the morning and told me I was going to be released today, but didn't give me a time. I had breakfast and took a shower. I also had more visitors -- Rev. Holly, Stan, and my ex-wife and daughter. Heather called me from Columbus. At around 2:15pm, one of the nurses had my discharge instructions, and I was wheeled back to my car. I met Sky there, and we went to Whole Foods for a quick bite and a chat. Then I went home, showered, and changed.
Wed 6/6/18: In the afternoon, I was at a friend's house, taking care of her cat. She had just gotten out of the hospital, and she's been having issues with her immune system. On the way home, I started to salivate with thick mucus. Later that evening around 8:30pm, I started having chest pain. I thought it might have been heartburn, gas, gallbladder issues, or agita (sick/sour stomach). But after taking two ibuprofen, two antacid tablets, and two simethicone tablets, the pain wouldn't go away. I started feeling a little tingling in my jaw, and in my little fingers. Those were the same symptoms I had when I had my first heart attack way back in May 2010, but this time, they weren't as strong or severe. I wasn't in severe enough pain to call an ambulance, and I didn't want to run up an ambulance bill, so I decided to drive myself to Southview Hospital's emergency room. I was triaged at around 10pm, and placed in one of the observation rooms. They gave me Heparin and nitroglycerin, both in IV form, and through two separate IVs. After three hours, they moved me to the ICU for further observation and treatment.
Thu 6/7/18: At around 11am, I was taken to the cath lab, where they ran a scope up my groin to look for any blockages, and to perform angioplasty and/or install a stent, if there was a blockage. They couldn't find a blockage, but the cardiologist noticed that my coronary arteries narrowed up. As he described it to me, it was like a four-lane highway going down to two lanes. He also noticed that my blood was rather thick and "sludgey", so he added a blood thinner drug (Plavix) to my medicinal cocktail.
After completing the procedure, which went quicker than what I expected, I was taken back to my ICU room, where the nurses installed a FemoStop device onto me. It's designed to put pressure on the arterial incision, instead of having a nurse provide the pressure. After a couple of hours, a pressure dressing was applied. They also sprayed a medical adhesive on the area, so that the tape would stick better.
I spent the rest of the day laying flat. I had to eat by scooping food from the plate that was above where I could see, and had to be careful I didn't spill the food onto myself. I also had to pee in the bed using a urinal bottle.
That night, I watched Game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Fri 6/8/18: Another day of recuperation and observation. The pressure dressing was removed and replaced with a regular dressing. I could sit up and start walking around short distances. My friends Dawn and Sara came to visit.
That afternoon, one of the other ICU patients had a "code blue" incident. I could hear the staff run and scramble to help save the patient. I do not know if they were successful.
Later that afternoon, I asked, "No one's checked in on me in about two hours. Do I still need to be here in ICU, or can I be to a regular room?" After consulting with the cardiologist ho performed the operation, they found another room for me, and wheeled me to the new room.
That night, I felt very bored, since all I had was my smartphone. I didn't have my laptop or any books. So I ended up watching the Reds game, and falling asleep during the top of the 10th inning. (The Reds rarely do well against the Cardinals.)
Sat 6/9/18: Another day of recuperation and observation. The cardiologist came in in the morning and told me I was going to be released today, but didn't give me a time. I had breakfast and took a shower. I also had more visitors -- Rev. Holly, Stan, and my ex-wife and daughter. Heather called me from Columbus. At around 2:15pm, one of the nurses had my discharge instructions, and I was wheeled back to my car. I met Sky there, and we went to Whole Foods for a quick bite and a chat. Then I went home, showered, and changed.