Attack of the Killer Pears - Heart attack Part 2

[Dockem]

Part 1: https://www.triketalk.com/forum/thre...-Glad-I-m-here!

The Attack of the Killer Pears - Part 2

A little background on me, married almost 40 years and retired this year, 2 grown daughters out on their own (1 cohabitating, 1 married – no G-kids), crazy older brother that is a kid's dentist, he's getting ready to retire. Somehow when they passed out the quirky senses of

humor, we all got a double dose. As a group, people would probably

think we are a bit deranged haha, but hey, we're having fun. We aren't loud and obnoxious by any means, but off the wall, dry, quirky humor– that's us.

Anyway, for some people, this may be old hat if they know hospitals, etc. but if you don't know some of this stuff, you might be entertained - back to my story:

I had been admitted to a private room because of the EKG telemetry monitoring capabilities –

my nurse had a private station outside my room where she could check the EKG info on monitors of her patients. I was set up for a Heart

Catheterization at 4:00 p.m.

My father had one before his quad bypass at age 52, and he regaled how much fun it was and he

felt like his head would explode when they injected the dye. My father was ever the “optimist” that enjoyed exagerating his medical woes for effect when telling an anecdote. (We once joked that he had been dying for 30 years!)

Needless to say, I was expecting the experience to be challenging.

They wheeled me into the cardio cath lab, I dutifully signed all the consent forms to sign away my life. They didn't cut you open here, but they would do



stents – fine by me. I told the wife if they were gonna crack me open, we were heading back North, It would be better for me for rehab to be back in IN.

When I was in school, as an A pos. blood donor (earning $$$ the hard way), I got called about



every 8 weeks for a donation. So I was used to spikes being shoved in my arm and while I didn't relish it, I'd had much worse things used on me.

So, there you are, layingon the table in “cruxifiction mode” in a 60 degree temperature

room – COLD!

And then a nice but chatty nurse throws off your nice warm blankie and proceeds to shave your

chest and nether regions and douse you with ice cold alcohol to makesure you are “clean”. They would try to go thru my right wrist, but shaved my groin in case they had to use the femoral artery

(Please no!)

If they shaved much moreof my body hair, I'd be ready for porn movies – geez! (Short takes

only, haha.)

I was sedated, but somewhat awake, and they did their stuff. I wasn't truly aware what they had done though. Then I was wheeled back to the room.

A bit later, the CardioSurgeon showed up and announced that I didn't need any stents –

they do them if you had a 70% or worse blockage. Really bad blocks you get shipped to a larger hospital if possible for a bypass.

And now the happy surprise

– I was 100% OPEN!

No blockages of any kind – no signs of arterial disease!!! WTF!?! Yet I had had a heart attack and some damage to the posterior wall of my heart. We were happy, but puzzled. I had had a good report about 6-7 years before after a CT

scan also, but I expected to have something this time show up.

The Cardio Surgeon said they would monitor me that night and that I may only need meds to help me out – HOORAY! All of the bloodwork and superdeluxe radiographs, CT/MRI scans showed NO problems. Yet I had had a heart attack???

Anyway, if I behaved, and didn't spike any monitor readings overnight, they would discharge me

the next day, Thursday the 21st. But I still needed to see the GU Doc for my stomach, it still wasn't quite right.

Thursday morning and all was well. My wife showed up about 8 a.m., and we shared the



breakfast tray. I had a fruit cup, scrambled “eggs”, OJ, and some decaf coffee. I thought, “Man, these cardio diets let you eat like a hog!!!” There was easily enough for both of us. I usually

ate a light breakfast anyway. We waited for the Docs to make rounds.



The Cardio Surgeon came inabout 9:30 and said that he was discharging me and would give me a

list of meds to take. Doc said it was possible that due to some kind of stress, (stomach problems?) that I had possibly had an arterial spasm close off and it built up to a “minor or light” heart attack.

Then the Smoking Cessation guy showed up and gave his encouragement talk and explained all the



programs to help me out. Good guy that had smoked for 30 years himself. I will check some of the programs out, but being a “snowbird” and leaving in about 2 months, I wouldn't be able to

take advantage of all they had to offer. Good programs though.

An aside: I love the flavor of a good Cuban or Dominican cigar, etc. I even made a humidor

out of a Igloo ice cooler to store my “prizes” and such. I better stop right now, I can smell that sweet aroma.

NO MORE – no more coffin nails!

And I'll probably give my vaping hardware to my

buddy. Yeah, I went that route trying to quit tobacco also. I just have to get all that CRAP out of my house. Too easy to fall off the wagon. I've already weaned myself clean with my stomach problems coming into play. And I already told the wife not to smoke around me. She needs to quit also, she's trying!

Sorry, back to the story.



My “admitting Cardiologist” arrived at 11 a.m. and we were caught off guard.

First time we had met him. He did not "look" like a stereotypical Cardiologist. He vaguely answered a few questions, we got the impression that he was handed me as a patient ½ an hour before and

told to be my admitting Doctor. It was like he truly didn't know my case history. We were a bit concerned, but knew when we got back up

North we would contact my friends and get Doctors established back home. He indicated that I would be discharged that afternoon also.

So we were happy to be able to get outta Dodge!

By that time, it was close to Noon and the dietitian folks had brought the Noon meal.

I really didn't feel that hungry and figured I could get a start on losing some of my excess ballast by eating less. There was plenty of good stuff for the wife to eat too.

So, I picked up the fruit cup of pears (I love fruit!) and opened the ice tea up too. Pears

tasted good, and took a couple of sips of the ice tea to wash it down.

BAM!

All of a sudden I felt terrible. I felt like I was either going to pass out or throw up!!

I was feeling light headed and nauseous at the same time. I felt like my stomach and heart were leapfrogging and doing somersaults in

side of my chest. My RN came running into the room and asked if I felt all right and I told her what had happened. She ran back out and got on the horn to the admitting cardiologist and was told by him to contact the Cardio Surgeon for possible instructions.

About 5 minutes later the Cardio Surgeon arrived with his nurse and started pouring over the

latest EKG readouts on me. The admitting Doc called and started asking my RN what had happened and that she needed send an EKG

readout. I'm not sure of the situation between the docs, but the surgeon more or less said that they were busy with the EKG and if he wanted to see it, he should come himself. Otherwise, stay off the

computer until they were done with it.

The Cardio Surgeon wentback out where the monitoring station was and then ran back into the

room in a few minutes later. He loudly announced that

I had bought myself a Pacemaker for Christmas

and that we were going to be slipped into the schedule as an emergency that afternoon. The

Cardio Surgeon explained it that evidently, the electrical nodes that send the heart rate signal to the muscle had been damaged by the original heart attack and that is why a Pacemaker was needed. In lay terms, my engine block was good, etc., but my distributor and spark plug wires were damaged. So much for being discharged that

afternoon....

My main monitoring RN on dayshift was a middle aged Black woman, really knew her stuff, and

was very conscientious about watching over her patients. After all the "smoke" cleared and excitement settled down (I got another IV with

Nitroglycerine and some kind of mild sedative to keep me calm) she showed us the EKG readout that had freaked everyone out.

I had started to skip heartbeats and take pauses, right after eating the pears. The one strip showed that my heart had actually stopped for 4 beats, took one and then stopped for another 5 beats. When it finally restarted though, it continued to skip beats sporadically.

I honestly believe that there is a high probability that if she had been tied up with another patient duty, been at lunch, or something else, I might not be typing

this today. She was truly my guardian angel that hour. I have been given a second chance because of her attentiveness. Bless

her!

At a minimum, any immediate care could have been compromised and it could have been very bad for me.

So, putting in the Pacemaker was rather uneventful compared to other surgeries I've had.



On my “Ball-O-Meter” scale of pain, the Pacemaker was about a 2 on the scale of 10 (being the worst).

{Ten occurred when I had a double hernia repair, kinda like a swift kick in the nuts every so many hours for a few weeks. My back surgery was about a 9 ½.}

Yeah, they sedated me heavily, but I was awake, didn't feel anything and the actual placement was done with local anesthetic. AND more shaving!!!!

Sheesh! After the surgery, I was obviously a bit groggy from the Fentenyl for a bit, but pain wise it just felt like muscle soreness in my shoulder.

And now if they ever need someone to play Scaramunga, the bad guy from the James Bond Movie “The Man with theGolden Gun”, I'm a shoe in cause I got 3 boobs! HAHA

So, now, Friday is when I can be discharged. HOORAH! My Cardio Surgeon came in that morning



and said the Pacemaker is working great and I was free to go as soon as everything got wrapped up. The Pacemaker Co. gal showed up and they

paired the wifi signal on my Pacemaker and the bedside monitor. It is in cellphone contact immediately with the monitoring service if it

shows a problem (when I'm asleep). Pretty slick (my brother asked about roaming charges, wiseass).

Wrapping this up, I will only say that my admitting cardiologist will be fired by us.

Evidently the P*ssing contest with the Surgeon was taken out on us and he never showed up on Friday morning to discharge me. The nursing staff could not contact him and we were given all kinds of

excuses as to the delay after he was contacted. My wife and I cooled our heels needlessly from about 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., waiting on

this doctor to give a discharge summary so we could leave! My wife knows hospital procedures too well and caught him in a lie and as to

why he couldn't write the discharge summary. I'll be d@mned if I was gonna stay in a hospital for no good reason over Christmas due to somebody's incompetence or a hissy fit!!

We were finally able to leave the hospital at 6:30 p.m. I gave my RN a big hug, kissed her

on the hand and told her to tell her husband that he was a very lucky man to be married to her. Wished her a very Merry Christmas and we

finally were able to drive home.

My only comment on the bureaucracy SNAFU that occurred with me, is that in this day and age



of all the confusion with the insurance companies and medical profession, etc. etc.

YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED AND ALWAYS WATCH OUT FOR YOURSELF. GET HELP IF

YOU NEED TO, BECAUSE IT CAN POSSIBLY BE THE MOST FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE YOU CAN EVER HAVE!!!

Bless my wife, bless my surgeon, bless my RN, and all those that helped them behind the scenes. And bless those here for all the well wishes, too!

BTW, my second birthday is officially 12/21/2017 – my second chance at life. Checks or money orders accepted.

I hope that my experience here can give you insight and some background into what can occur



from heart attacks. But my symptoms are by no means typical and other people can be different entirely. Read up on this stuff.

There are plenty of good info sources. Especially if you have a family history of heart problems. If you just don't click with a doctor, get another one.

In this day, modern medicine can do some fabulous, high tech things to save people – but just don't make the mistake and say that “it'll go away”!

[1dn5up]

WOW - Jim,

All I can say is it’s a good thing you weren’t on your way home when it happened. Now recover calmly and thank the lord for a second chance, evidently your still needed here. Merry Xmas.

[David357]

Thanks Jim for sharing such an experience.

Rest and recover quickly.

[Lee H. Mann]

Second chances are great !!

Merry Christmas to you and your Family, Jim.

We are glad to have you aboard.

I am also a MULTIPLE SURVIVOR.

[Ol' Man Jeb]

I had bought myself a Pacemaker for Christmas

Must've been a sale on 'em, as I got one also 👍

[TGCarol]

So glad you're OK Jim. Take it easy for a while OK? Merry Christmas to you and your wife .

[MikeyTX]

Best news yet for the upcoming year. One hell of a christmas present. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Papa Zook]

Take care of yourself Jim. Merry Christmas!

[ol' school]

Quite the episode Jim! Glad you are ok! Rest and recover. And enjoy a very Merry Christmas!!!

[rwhgme]

Have the Merriest of Christmases!!

[peteg59]

Stay away from those pears!!!! Must have been the juice they're served in that set things "off"?

My Dr. recently put me on Lipitor, (statins). In reading the "finer print" attached to the pill bottle as a 42 page booklet, it makes mention that consuming grapefruit or its juice is not recommended. Nor is any alcoholic beverage. I really miss having a cold beer in the late afternoon!

Kidding aside, glad you made it through and are with us here to celebrate another Christmas Jim!

[Jack Klarich]

Merry Christmas Jim

That is 1 heck of a day

I will say a prayer for you today

A speedy recovery for you

[vwbug72501]

JIm,

Glad you are OK.

You are soooooo right!!!!

"YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED AND ALWAYS WATCH OUT FOR YOURSELF. GET HELP IF YOU NEED TO, BECAUSE IT CAN POSSIBLY BE THE MOST FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE YOU CAN EVER HAVE!!!

If you just don't click with a doctor, get another one.

In this day, modern medicine can do some fabulous, high tech things to save people – but just don't make the mistake and say that “it'll go away”!"

I've worked in the Healthcare Industry for 30+ years and, though all doctors have a diploma on the wall, it doesn't tell you if they were the valedictorian of their class or the one who "escaped" from the program with a barely passing grade. Doctors are people too and subject to the problems of ego and personalities like the rest of us. A lot of people forget that.

I've been to the Cath Lab a couple of times myself and missed a heart attack "by this much" (95% blockage on one artery) because I didn't didn't ignore the symptoms.

Get well soon.

[Zammy]

Geeez Jim, not quite the Christmas present you were looking forward to I'm sure. Glad you're doing better, have a Merry Xmas.

[Dockem]

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. My one buddy - a multiple survivor also - rightfully said that it'll take a few days to sink in and it is almost a traumatic realization as to how close you came to "buying the farm". Gives you a real shiver.

I think I appreciate a few things better today than last week.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[desertclassic]

Wow, this is one time that you should not try to keep up with the Jones. I have no pacemaker but I have had 3 open heart surgeries and enough stents to plumb a house. Never had a heart attack. All that came from getting a years vacation in the jungle of Vietnam and playing with Agent Orange.

My recommendation is to get a super cardio doc and get in bed with them. They need to know you inside out and it must be someone who you can truly trust.

Merry Christmas, you are Blessed. Jim