Just an Update

[Kathi49]

I went to see my NS yesterday and there is nothing earth shattering. However, I supposedly have tendonitis or "trigger thumb(s)" based on the Neuro Hand doctor's report. But at the same time some of this is coming from my neck. Sooo...next stop...back to my PM to see if an injection is warranted for the C6 or C7. Oh, the hand doc said he could do an injection into my thumb or the base of it or wherever they do it, lol, but the NS wants me to see my PM FIRST.

Well, okay...so as I said...not too earth shattering until....

I got home from my appointment, ate lunch and then got a call from the Heart Hospital.

My husband had a heart attack yesterday. Long story and I could write a novel. But the LAD artery was 100% blocked and two stents were put in. He is doing well at the moment and will be released tomorrow.

So, needless to say...quite a shocker and I would write more but I am very, very tired.

[911]

wow thats alot on your plate right now , i wish both you and your hubby the best ,,,,,,,,Dave ,,,,,aka,,,,,,,911

[Mark N]

Kathi, good news that your husband made it to the heart hospital and is doing fine now. Take care of him but don't forget to care for yourself too.

[slipnslide]

Kathi,

I haven't been on for a bit and just saw this. Wow, I hope you and your husband are feeling much better!

Best wishes,

Kim

[Kathi49]

Thank you very much Dave, Mark and Kim. :)

I am more alert now and not so tired...unlike yesterday. So, I will explain a little more. Bear with me as I write my novel LOL!

As I said I was at my NS appointment while at the same time my husband was having his car worked on at Nissan. When the phone call came in, I almost didn't take it because I was thinking...I don't have an upcoming appointment with the hospital. Good thing I answered it!

The nurse on the other end said, "Be calm, but your husband is here at the Heart Hospital and there is evidence he is having a heart attack." Well, I guess it was a jolt to my brain or wasn't registering or something because I said, "No, he's not...he's at Nissan!" DUH!!! LOL! Well, I can kind of laugh now so I am trying to add some levity here. She says, "Isn't your husband Thomas _____ ______?" I said, "Yes". And she then says, "Well, take your time and if you can have someone drive you, do so." Well, all I could keep saying was okay, okay, okay.

So, I called my mom right away just to let her know I was going up to the hospital only because she was going to stop by that afternoon. I don't know about you guys but when I talk to my mom she always has this sympathetic tone in her voice. I started telling her what was happening and just busted out crying. So, she tells me not to drive at all and that she and my stepfather would come over right away to drive me up there. Oh, I should add right here that when I talked to my older brother later on and explaining how mom was so sympathetic. He made me laugh. He said, "Oh, I know what you mean...every time I talk to mom I want to say...mommy can I please come home?" LOL Well, anyway, that's how my family is...they make jokes just to make light of a bad situation...guess that's how we all get through things like this.

When we got there, my husband was being worked on at the time. But two cardiologists came in at different times and showed us with live pics what had been blocked. There was one vessel that had been blocked and that particular cardiologist had done something, forget what he called it, but in the next few pics you could see it open up. Then he said the other cardiologist was working on the LAD and the stents. I haven't seen that pic yet.

Anyway, it was about two hours or so before he was done and we visited with him. We tried asking him what all had transpired but he was still somewhat sedated and actually acting goofy. But thank God he was alright...as much as he could be. I was afraid to spend too much time with him because every time he would laugh or move around the alarms would go off! So, we only stayed a little while...I just wanted him to rest and be still.

So, yesterday I went to visit and spend time with him and got the full story on what happened. Evidently, he was just fine while at the dealership; said he was walking around talking to people and looking at cars. When he got ready to leave or about halfway to work which would be right near the Heart Hospital, he started sweating profusely, had pain going into his neck and jawline, pain in his chest but said his arms were in severe pain. He said he knew something bad was happening; figured it was his heart and was racing like heck to get around the corner to the hospital but kept hitting lights.

He said when he got there he parked the car and walked in and just told the girls at the desk, "Something is wrong with me." And then he said they were on it in two seconds! I can't believe he actually parked the car and walked but they said it happens all the time.

So, fast forward because this is getting lengthy LOL! But, yep, some serious lifestyle modifications are in order. He has to quit smoking and so do I! I have talked to him about this in recent months but we both always ignored it. His diet isn't the greatest and I have talked to him about that repeatedly. You guys don't know how many times I have tried to tell him not to skip meals, ditch the cookies, candies or at least cut back. Well, I am no saint either but since I am retired I can make things I know I should eat. My husband doesn't like the healthy stuff if you know what I mean. ;) I have always thought...well, he's a grown man, I have told him and there isn't much else I can do. But I told him yesterday...get ready for some serious discussions. He was laughing but it was a wake up call...I can tell by the way he is slowly coming around. He said the docs have already talked to him about all of this about 50,000 times LOL! So, I think they are getting through to him. And from what he said, he thinks they are going to prescribe Chantix. Not sure yet though. Anyway, I think it would be much easier if we both worked on this together.

Oh, and he is back to his old self and I was laughing at him. He was ordering breakfast and secretly I was sitting there thinking...that's too many carbs. But I didn't say a word! Sure enough the dietician calls back and tells him he can't have a muffin LOL! Then I heard him say, "...no thanks, decaf coffee sucks!" I started laughing but thought...okay, here we go!

Anyway, I have rambled long enough. He will be home for at least 4 weeks if not longer. So, today and tomorrow I am going to have get things in order and get to the grocery to get the things he should have. Well, this will be rough because I know it will be hard for him to adapt to all these changes. My support will have to kick into high gear. And if I even see him on that Blackberry trying to do office work I am going to get mad LOL! I have already warned him he needs to ditch that thing for awhile.

[Mark N]

Kathi, although there was laughing and it is clear you and others saw some good with is attack, I can imagine the shock you went through. You handled it well, at least the way you tell it, and I know he will be in good hands. Is the heart hospital all I heard it is supposed to be? I hope he hasn't damaged much of his heart muscle as that is the biggest part of heart attacks. It seems like they can take care of the blockage with stents but if the muscle dies they can't get it back and that really limits what the recovery will be like.

It is good that yhou are taking this time to quit smoking too. Have you had your heart checked out as you have been living a similar lifestyle for years? It won't do much good to care for him if you ignore your own health. I am jealous of the way your family supports each other knowing that a good laugh is needed even during times of stress. Thankfully your update is good news and I hope his recovery continues to be good news.

[Kira]

Kathi,

I am so sorry to hear about all that has happened lately, but I am glad that he was able to get to the hospital right away and get the stent. I'm sure you both were/are pretty shocked & scared. It sounds like he is feeling better, which is great... and it's good that he has you to support (nag? :) ) him about smoking & diet & such. Remember to take care of yourself, too, during all of this...

[Nana4&cntn]

Kathi, I too am glad to hear things workrd out as well as they did!

Imagine being that close to the Heart Hospital when it was needed, the perfect place and the right time! He sounds as though he is in great hands! I agree with Mark about taking care of your heart also, having the dreaded treadmill stress tests, 12 leads and many others they inflict on us. Will dh need to have heart rehab? My ex did even though he had a very mild HA. He really benefited from it and was in much better physical and heart health following the time spent.

I come from a long line of family with heart disease and when I turned 50 it seemed test after test! I am glad you will be going thru this together.

I am so happy everything is ok, and you have the time to help shape his meals and exercise. The pool I would think will be good exercise for him, when the docs say. ok.

Hugs to you both

[Kathi49]

Thank you for the responses Mark, Kira and Kathy. :)

Mark, yes, quite a shocker. And as I said, my brain didn't register what I was being told in the first few seconds of that phone call. It was surreal; best way I can describe it. Thank you for saying I handled it well. It is kind of funny you said that because I was asking my mom...shouldn't I be breaking down or something? Well, yes, I cried...but not too much until later on. It kind of reminds me when I brought my daughter home. I didn't really cry hard until 2 years after everything was over and she was fine. I thought there was something wrong with me LOL! But as the docs and nurses explained; I had to act and for two years was too busy to break down. But I sure did later on. So, maybe that is what happened with my husband; just did what I had to do. But let me tell you...I did a lot of thinking/reflecting that night. It really hit home...what would I do without him. And I was thinking...there is nothing written in concrete. As morbid as it sounds, we are going to have to sit down and get things in order. And, yes, we have discussed all of this before but not in the depth that needs to be done. And I don't want this to sound like a pity party soooo as Glenn Beck says, lol,...I am just sayin ya know. :)

I am not sure what you mean by the Heart Hospital being all it is supposed to be. If I had to say, I think they were great based on what my husband told me. As he said, they were on it in two seconds. Now, my own Cardiologist is there; one side is the hospital and the other side are the offices. So, yep, I have had the stress tests, heart monitor deal, lab tests and all of that. Everything was fine; only problem is slightly elevated cholesterol level..LDL I think it was. I need to go back for a check up though. I tried to take two different statins and they made the neuropathy bit worse. So, that's why the doc at that time prescribed Lovaza.

I am not sure about the damage. That is one thing I wanted to ask the doctor. But the impression I got was that there was little based on the timeframe. But I could be wrong...I need to ask my husband that. But the docs said something about 95% good to go.

I forgot to add earlier that one of the docs asked me if my husband had told me he had had chest pain for 3 days. I was in shock and I said, no, he never told me!!! Here's the thing. Last Saturday he was coming down with a bad cold; sneezing, coughing, etc. On Sunday he said he felt it was going into his chest. Well, heck, I was thinking maybe he had bronchitis. And he basically slept most of the day. Then again, he didn't tell me either that he was waking up at night sweating, chest pain, and spitting out bile. Boy, I told him no matter WHAT it is...wake me up and let me know from now on! Then the doc told me that my husband had told him he had never had a cholesterol problem. That was untrue LOL! So, I had to give the doc the history on that. But he did say my husband was in so much pain at the time he was probably just spitting out answers without really thinking about it. And THAT I can understand. But I told my husband later, quit trying to pull a fast one. ;) I was just teasing him though...his cholesterol has never been high; just a bit elevated like mine.

And thank you Kira. I have nagged a little but not too much...not yet anyway. I just told him he would learn to eat Oatmeal and like it. :) I just didn't think it was appropriate to nag too heavily or I would rile him up. Besides, the docs have already nagged at him. And I am glad they did!

Okay, so I got his prescriptions. And they are Plavix, one 325mg aspirin every day, Nitro to carry with him and Simvastatin. And I also picked up some things at the grocery.

As for the smoking, he has some information on Chantix. But he has been doing really well with that. When he came home, he just ate some lunch and of all things drank some orange juice and hasn't smoked at all. It really surprises me. So, I think it is sinking in. I need to work on this myself and readily admit it. I am not so sure I want to try Chantix again because it really hit my stomach hard. We might go with the patch instead. But like I said, we have to discuss alot of things.

And thanks Kathy! Yes, I thought the same thing...it was amazing he was that close to the hospital when it happened. I believe he had to go through at least 3 lights and then he would have turned the corner and been right there. And, yes, he has to go to heart rehab. But I am not sure when that will be. And btw, he didn't tell the docs we have a pool. I said, why in the heck didn't you tell them we have a pool. His answer? Because it is not up and running yet LOL! Geesh!

Okay, I have rambled enough...again LOL! Thanks again everyone! I need to go and fix him some breakfast....perhaps Oatmeal. :)

[Diandra]

Kathy,
Sorry to hear about your husband. You need to take his blackberry and shove it in a drawer and tell him this is his time to recuperate and de-stress. What is more important, employment or his life?. If a heart attack wasn't a wake up call, he needs major prodding to realize that.
All my best, Diandra

[Nana4&cntn]

Kathi, the heart enzymes and echocardiograms will tell the amount of damage to the heart. Since he got there so qick, he may have saved some damage to the heart.

Both my parents have had multi heart attacks and are doing well at this time. My Dad did have open heart surgery several years ago and is doing awesome now! Prior to the bypass, he could barly walk across the street to a restaurant. Now he is out hunting and doing a lot of traveling for work.

I am happy your dh is home and readt for heart healthy food:D

[Kathi49]

Diandra,

Yes, I know! I will tell him to "shove it"...in a drawer that is! LOL No, seriously, he was on it this morning. But, only because he was forwarding the workload or rather emails to those who now need to take it on. And honestly, there is only ONE guy out in DC that knows or can do the same job my husband does. So, the majority of work is going to him. I had to laugh though my husband acted like a kid caught in a cookie jar and immediately said...I am just forwarding these! :) But he is doing really well today...just taking it easy and is very calm...just chillin out.

Myself on the other hand, I am becoming a major label reader LOL! I think I spent about an hour in the grocery store or longer just reading everything. My husband laughed when I came home and said he figured I was reading all the labels.

Kathy,

Thank you for letting me know that. I asked my husband earlier if they had told them the extent of any damage and he said they had not. I assume I will find this all out at his next appointment. Wow, I am GLAD your parents are doing so well! That is encouraging to hear. My own brother has had open heart surgery and I know all that he went through. But since then he has done very well. The bad thing is the diabetes he has and battling that all of the time. But he is doing pretty well considering all he has had to undergo.

And yep, I was in the grocery looking for all the heart healthy food. I know pretty much what we need to eat because I eat it myself. But my husband is a different story. So, I was looking for things I know that he likes but low in fat. Does that make any sense? LOL

[Nana4&cntn]

Kathi, February was heart healthy month, and there were a lot of shows on tv showing Campbell's products, swanson chicken, V8 Fusion (I love the stuff) If you go on their website you may find some good ideads of things and maybe the ways to make things taste good enough for him to like. If cholesterol is a problem, I am going to assume it is, you may check with the Doc about a glass of red wine each night. Thant was something I was told I cold do to help, along with stantin drugs.

My Mom and Dad both eat a lot of fish and chicken. Especially, Tuna and Salmon and a lot of other fish but no shell fish. lol, my dad was a Steak and potato man and absolutely NO veggies! His wife keeps him in tow tho. I do get a kick out of him being watched like a hawk!

Mom has always eaten a pretty good diet.

The entire family has the high cholesterol, so I had learned in my late 20's to watch my diet. Good thing I am not a big red meat eater! I got off easy. Except I love shell fish, I do indulge about once a year!

Sorry for the book,:o

[Breeze]

Kathy,

I am so happy to hear you DH is doing great!!!TG he was close to the Heart Hospital!
Just tell him to take day by day! That is the most realistic way to be.

[Kathi49]

Kathy,

Thanks!* I will have to visit that website. :) I am laughing at the "red wine". Evidently, the cardio docs told him to have a glass at night. Hey, and I think I beat you to it. I was buying chicken, turkey, salmon, etc. yesterday...just all kinds of stuff I knew he could have. And, oh boy, I am a steak and potato person myself but not ALL the time...I do vary things. I had to laugh too because my husband wanted me to buy some shrimp. I said...nope! LOL And he is more of a "muncher" than I am. So, I was also looking for snacky things that would be good for him and still taste good. He was very pleased with everything I brought home. I am a little used to the diet thing but only a diabetic diet...had to learn that years ago. And my mom has to watch what she eats due to her cholesterol and since I know what she eats it wasn't too hard. :) But I was reading the labels. Hey, and don't worry about writing a book. God knows I did LOL! Oh, I forgot to add...the hospital did give me some printouts on recipes, diet, etc.

Breeze,

Thank you too! Yes, we are taking one day at at time. DH is doing very well actually and pretty much minding doctor's orders. The thing he misses the most seems to be Cokes LOL! Anyway, this is all still a learning process for me too. :)

[GardeniaGirl]

Kathi - good to know your husband survived and is doing well!! that must have been such a shock to get that phone call. I am sure it will be a difficult adjustment for him to take some down time after this.....but hopefully you will be able to help him do what he needs to do so he can recuperate fully.

take care, GardeniaGirl

[Kathi49]

Thanks GG,

Yes, it was a shock and now I feel stupid for saying...no, my husband is at Nissan LOL! Like I said, I guess my brain just didn't register what I was hearing. And, yes, I see him trying to adjust but in reality he is doing better with the adjustments than I thought he would. He is still somewhat tired but I think maybe a small or even a big part of that is not getting the stimulating things like coffee, cokes, etc. The good thing is...he is catching up on all the DVD's he has bought in the past but never had time to watch. :) And he is walking around for exercise as they said he should...on nicer days that is. And, yep, I am taking care of me too because when he rests, so do I. So, all is going well.

[MarleneW]

Kathi,
I was sorry to see that your husband had a heart attack, I hope he continues to do well with a full recovery. Take care.
Marlene