Tag: Heart Attack

I’m Home

/ Paul / Leave a comment

I was able to come home yesterday. My friends were going to come pick me up but they were in a meeting and couldn’t get to the hospital for a few hours. My husband flew out yesterday for his annual visit to his parents house for the holiday. At first he wasn’t going to go and then he was going to change his flight time but it was too expensive. I told him I was fine and that he should go. He was upset but he went.

Turns out I ended up taking an Uber home from the hospital. I know…that sounds horrible but it really was the easiest way to get home. It was no big deal.

Once I got home I cleaned up a bit and then relaxed the rest of the day. That’s what I’m doing today. Just relaxing and taking it easy. I’m also watching a lot of Christmas movies.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Being Discharged

/ Paul / Leave a comment

I’m leaving the hospital today. I’ve already spoken with two cardiologists about what I can and can not do for the next few days and what I have to look forward to in the future. They assured me the heart attack has been taken care of now it’s all about preventing another one. Once I sign the discharge papers I can leave.

I’ve seen enough of this scene. I’m ready to go home.

Feeling Better

/ Paul / Leave a comment

I didn’t sleep so well last night. There seemed to be a constant flow of nurses and doctors in and out of my room all night. I guess that’s for the best since they are monitoring me and want to make sure everything is okay.

My husband came to visit this morning. I was told it would be okay to take a walk around the cardiac ward but to take it easy. So we took a little walk around. I was feeling really good. It felt good to walk again and not have chest pains.

Here we are walking around the cardiac ward.

They came in today to take the pressure cuff off my wrist where they put the catheter in. You can see it has already started to heal. I can’t get it wet or carry anything heavy with this hand. Since I’m on blood thinners now, this wound could open up and bleed. That could be a problem so I’m being very careful.

I’m spending most of my time in this bed watching TV and playing on my laptop. I’m feeling so good that I’m pretty much ready to go home. They say I’ll probably go home tomorrow.

I Had A Heart Attack

/ Paul / Leave a comment

Today we went to the Joy of Christmas concert at the National Cathedral. Just before going I started to have chest pains. I’ve been having chest pains for about 6 weeks but thought it was a reaction to my blood pressure medications. Usually if I sit down, the pains go away. I thought once we got to the concert and I was able to sit down and calm down, the pains would go away.

They didn’t go away. When we got home from the concert I took my blood pressure and it was 194/111. That is VERY high. My husband and our friends The Dails encouraged me to go the hospital. I didn’t want to ruin our plans but I listened to them and decided to go. I drove my husband and myself to Sibley Hospital which is really close to our house. I know, odd that I would drive but I get a little stressed riding with my husband as he drives so I thought it best that I drive.

Once in the emergency room things moved fast. Within 5 minutes I was getting an EKG. I did an ECG on my Apple Watch and it showed inconclusive results. Then the EKG was done and it also showed inconclusive results. A cardiologist looked at the results and said I was in fact having a heart attack. They then told me they would be putting me on a helicopter and sending me to Suburban Hospital because they have a CATH lab to deal with the emergency.

A few minutes after that I was in the back of a helicopter. It only took about 3 minutes to get to the new hospital. They took me right into the CATH lab and put a catheter in my right wrist. They fished a wire up to my heart and found the artery that was blocked. They put a stint in and instantly the chest pain stopped. The emergency was over. I was out of danger. They then put me in a hospital bed in the cardiac ward and monitored my heart, blood pressure and blood work. I felt so much better.

I’ll be here for a few days to be monitored. I guess I’ll be talking to cardiologists and doctors for the next few days. I’m feeling so much better. I’m so glad my husband and friends convinced me it was time to go to the hospital. I love my husband! He saved me!