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Well, I got her back. The unit where she went had been built since I last went to that hospital, typical. Still, I found it and they let me park right next to the emergency entrance so she wouldn't have to walk far.
She's not supposed to do anything at all today, which is fair enough. What I'm not sure about is if she should be back to normal routine tomorrow, I'd rather she took it a bit easy for a day or two.
I was surprised how much it took out of me. I think that by the time we got home I was feeling worse than she was, and I don't feel all that brilliant this morning, either. It's not as if what I did yesterday was particularly stressful, we've been to Reading before and shopped. I think I'm probably just off colour at the moment. (I have a sort of "reserve tank" that I know I can use to get through things like this. I know I'll pay for it for the next couple of days.)
The bad news is she definitely has a problem. This means I'm going to get awfully familiar with that unit, I think. There's a diagram they gave her which shows two blockages down the Left Coronary Artery (LCA), one blocked 95% and the other blocked 100%[1]. The reason that she's not had a heart attack so far is because there's an auxiliary feed from the Right Coronary Artery which joins the LCA below the blockage.
They think they can fix the blockage with a stent. Since one of the blockages is right at a Y-joint, I'll be interested to see how they do this, but I digress. The alternative is a bypass op.
I've always assumed that I was the ill member of our partnership, and it is a bit of a jolt to realise that she's just as vulnerable as I am to the inevitabilities of ageing. I find myself confronted with the distinct possibility that I might have to consider life without her in the future (the converse is also possible, of course, but I shouldn't be in a state where that will bother me by then). I think I should be able to cope, but who knows what one will feel like when the time comes? It has made both of us re-evaluate our preparations for the future. Fortunately, we're not afraid to talk about such things.
Still, we press on. I'm not going to stop coming here, and I certainly don't intend to stop posting here in the future. There may just be... gaps.
Penny
[1] The whole thing was done with, and by, computers. Including the diagnosis. Isn't technology wonderful? What can possibly go wrong?
Comments
I certainly hope
Nothing will go wrong and you will return home safe and sound together soon!
Good Fortune Hugs!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
My Mother Had The Same Thing Done
My mother had the same thing done before they began using Medicated stents and ended up having Triple Bypass. When they found the blockages, they did what is known a Balloon Angioplasty and then inserted the stents immediately instead of waiting and doing it in a separate procedure. It puzzles me as they why they would even want to chance waiting to do it if there are two serious blockages. A 100% blockage and a 95% blockage are something that should be immediately taken care of. With my mother, they started treatment immediately upon finding them. She went home a few days later and the arteries closed up again. They were going to treat it with Statins, but she told the doctor to go ahead and do Bypass. It was the best thing she ever did. It has now been almost 13 years since she had it done.
Balloon Angie-oh-what?
One of them. Yes, I think that's what they said they were proposing to do. Apparently, they spend all week doing angiograms in this unit, then some super-consultant comes in once a week and gives all the cases the once-over. So it'll be sometime next week that we know what will actually happen.
Although the blockages cause her pain under stress, there's a subsidiary artery grown across from the right side to join the left below the blockage, so most of the heart is still healthy. Apparently this growth occurs in 4% of all humans, not related to any blockage or anything, so she got lucky.
Statins, she's been on statins (Lipitor) for years. She had some stupid high cholesterol level, no doubt due to genetics. Her mother died of clogged tubes, her father had a heart attack, but he was a heavy smoker so that may be the primary reason for him. So far, she's managed to live longer than either of them did. I'm not giving up on her yet.
Penny
Here In The U.S
Here in the U.S, the doctors find the blockage and immediately put in the stents because the risk of the patient having a serious heart attack without immediate treatment is too great. They might wait a day after finding the blockage, but they don't generally wait any longer than that.
Angioplasty, Stents, and Bypass....
For some people, stents are all that's needed, for some people, all they need to do is the balloon angioplasty, without inserting a stent. It's always best to stay away from the chest trauma of bypass if possible. That's a lot to heal from.
If you wish, I can share the details I know to backup what I've said, but once I typed it out, I didn't feel it was all that needed.
-P/KAF/PT
Thanks, but no thanks
Eeeuw! Medical things always make me want to go and hide behind the sofa.
I have to learn certain minimum levels of knowledge to help manage my own and my partner's problems, but beyond that, I'd rather not know. Or see.
I'd much rather fill up my brain capacity with nice things. I appreciate the thought, though. It's nice that people are wanting to help. It's what we do, isn't it?
Penny
All my prayers
...for her swift and safe recovery!
Dio benedica la mia bella amici, Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
I hope your wife/partner
improves by whatever treatment they give her. I found your reference to her simply as her or she a little uncomfortable, although I'm sure it wasn't meant in a deprecatory way.
Angharad
Angharad
Get it done as soon as possible
The sooner the better. I had my aortic valve replaced last August and was walking a mile two months later. Before the operation I had a very hard time doing that. The advancements in medicine the last couple of years is amazing. My best to your loved one and you. Being the caregiver at times like this is very difficult, but you can do it. Arecee