chuckie
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Wow, what a week you had. Prayers sent for a full recovery!!!
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Thank you, I'm sure hoping so. We are literally on the verge of moving into our dream retirement home, So I certainly have a lot to look forward to.
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Thank you for your prayers. The days are certainly getting better.
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So true. Now that I'm home and not typing on an iphone with slowly returning manual dexterity, I plan to talk about my journey of how I found out in my case. And I am doing much better, thank you.
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No matter how bad the suck got, I was truly grateful for the level of care I got from this team. We bonded over the week that I was in the ICU and they all met my family and I would spend countless hours just talking to them. When you're lying there awake for seemingly hours on end with a tube in your throat, they provided a level of comfort and concern that was unsurpassed in my experience. Every decision that was made had to go up and down the chain of command, so things take awhile. I learned a lot about patience this week. I never got cranky or rude and did my best to convey my gratitude to them continually. A lot of them were younger vets that had used their GI bill for nursing school and that impressed me.
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Thank you, This experience has given me a whole nother level of respect for medical professionals in general and doctors in particular.
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Thank you for your prayers sir.
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Wow, what a difference a day can make! I had pretty much resigned myself to stay through the weekend in the ICU, something I truly dreaded, but I got an early morning visit from the ARPN, a very intense and professional young lady, who holds a Doctorate of Nursing, with the medical knowledge of a doctor. She had been there with me from the beginning, from preop, through surgery and postop . She had even let me literally walk into the OR theater and get on the table myself, without being wheeled in on a chair or gurney. That in itself gave me courage and strength from the beginning.
Anyway, she agreed to discharge me for the weekend if I could meet certain criteria and she could get the duty doc to sign off. I spent the next few hours pushing pretty hard with physical therapy, and I passed and surpassed their goals for walking and balance. What probably helped me out the most was the three days post op that I slept while intubated. All of the bypass and mitral valve grafts had started to take good hold, and the pacemaker leads had time to fuse to the chambers with scar tissue. So, as of 2:30 PM or so, I got discharged, came straight home in time to see my travelling rad tech daughter before she had to leave for her flight back to Indy, ate a good size plate of thanksgiving leftovers, took a quick shower, and fell into the deepest sleep I've had in a long time.
Now, for the rest of the story (cue Paul Harvey voice)
My journey with heart issues started about three years ago. At a routine physical, I just happened to mention to my GP that I never really had any classic chest pain, just a fleeting tightness sometimes. He was concerned enough that he had me see a cardiologist, who through a stress test decided it would a good idea to do a relatively non invasive angioplasty just to look things over. He found that I needed a stint in one artery and placed it, but then found that my left anterior descending artery, the so called "widow maker" had formed what is called a collateral bypass. This is where blood literally forces its way into a less restricted pathway. He decided that one was stable enough, and to just keep an eye on it. So with my stint and natural bypass, I went on my merry way and feeling much better.
I mostly made it to all of appointments, when they did things like an echocardiogram or EKG, but I did miss a few, and wasn't really concerned because I felt great. So coming up on the three year mark, he decides it would be a good idea to get a CT scan of my heart. A couple more weeks go by and they called me and said my insurance company wouldn't approve a CT, but would allow a stress test. OK, to me I don't care, check it out however the insurance says, but I was a little peeved the insurance co. would be so petty to save a couple hundred dollars.
Anyway they do the stress test and my rhythm looked like the classic sinus we've all seen, BP, and pulse are well within the stress test parameters, but when I went into the resting or recovery phase, I was seeing my rhythm do some weird things I never saw it do before. And I've seen a lot of my ekg records. I would have a normal rhythm for 60 to 90 seconds, then it would do about 7 or 8 weird looking half beats, then right back to normal for another 60 to 90 seconds. The techs were concerned enough about it to take iphone pictures of the tape and text it right to the doctor. He was on his way in anyway and requested I stay until he got there. he told me it was called V fib, or ventricular fibrillation, (it’s actually Vtach, not Vfib, which is ventricular tachycardia where one or both ventricles are trying to catch up to the beating of the atrium), as I found out as I’m learning more and putting together a timeline. He later told me there was a good possibility that it wouldn't have even been noticed in a CT, so the insurance company is back on my Christmas card list
Some more time goes by, I had more testing done and they did another angioplasty, and although I had some more narrowing, it wasn't too concerning to make it an emergency, but he let me know it would take open heart surgery to fix the issue. In the meantime, none of the doctors could figure out the timing of the Vtach, but were all in agreement that if it extended past about 10 beats, I would at least lose consciousness for several seconds at random times.
I scheduled my surgery consult, met the doctor and had the surgery originally scheduled for Nov. 13th., and started preparing for it. I had a lot to do at home too. We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell and had been doing all the things involved with that as well as I was installing a new air conditioner myself on the weekends and days after work. Anyway, I get a call late on the evening of the 12th that the doctor had an emergency surgery he had to schedule in my timeslot. I was kind of mad at first, but it did delay the inevitable for however long and gave me more time to get stuff done. The only problem was the doctor I had met was scheduled out all the way to mid january, but they could squeeze me in with his partner on the 21st, so I took it.
I did get to meet the doctor briefly before surgery when he and his ARPN met with my wife and me. I got an immediate sense of utter competency and professionalism from them, so I went in with confidence to begin with. But he did look my wife and me in the eye and said this whole asymptomatic Vtach thing had him puzzled. Surgery proceeds, and when the last thing you look over and see as you're being put under is the rib cage spreader sitting on their workbench, you know it's about to get real. That's a sight I don't think I'll ever forget.
In the course of surgery, they'll do something called an esophageal echocardiogram, which gives them the clearest picture yet of the heart. That's how they found the mitral valve issue and wanted to make it a quadruple, instead of a double bypass. Thank God I have a sensible wife that said absolutely, fix everything at once, after the surgeon paused surgery to make contact with her. (This is the part where living wills and power of attorney are oh, so important)
The surgery was successful and I headed to recovery. I remember waking up intubated and they pulled the tube out pretty fast...oh, what a relief that is! I spent the rest of the day in recovery, in moderate pain, but had my wife and two of my daughters to keep me company. They stayed until visiting hours ended and the nursing staff got me ready to go to sleep on the evening of Friday, the 21st.
And that's the last thing I remember until sometime late Tuesday afternoon when I woke up intubated and not at all a happy camper. My wife was there and asked me what I remembered of the last 68 or so hours? That was my first indication that something was amiss. The house doc made the (probably the best and safest, but infuriating to me) decision to keep me on the tube overnight with the promise it should come out early in the morning. Having a tube in your throat overnight while you're awake for most of it is a truly unempowering feeling, but my wife was able to stay for a while, squeeze my hand and filled me in on what had happened.
I had crashed sometime around 10:30 PM on the day of the surgery and had CPR and defib shocks done. They kept me out until they could install the now very necessary pacemaker. I really can't account for the rest of time I was out. I just probably will have some lapses I'll never fill. I just remember my first coherent thoughts were late on Tuesday. Over the course of the rest of my stay, I met a lot of people that started the conversation with something like "Hi, you probably don't remember me, but I'm so glad to see you're doing much better", then they would share with me their part in how it was all handled. When a man shows you the wounds on his hands from giving you CPR because he didn't want to wait to find something to put over his hands to protect them from the wire holding your chest together, it completely humbles you that someone could have performed such a selfless task. His act probably saved me from any brain damage before they shocked me. Though my wife did question how they'd be able to tell if I did have any brain damage...That's been our latest family joke. It's great to have a family that can endure such an emotional roller coaster and stay so close together through their unique brand of humor. I can't imagine what they had to go through when they literally thought I could die at any moment.
As to what caused me to crash, I haven't gotten any really consistent consensus on. They kept comparing it to the Damar Hamlin incident somehow, where he took a helmet to the heart area at the exact instant that his heart A/V nodes were firing, but they’re gonna have to connect the dots on that one a bit more for me to be convinced. I’ll find out more in the coming weeks with doctor and surgeon followups. Until then, I am just happy to be alive, and though I spent it in the ICU, it was my best Thanksgiving ever! As an added plus, my wife told me that my 24 year old rad tech daughter had rallied the rest of them to get up early one day to go to Laishley Park over on the Punta Gorda waterfront for pictures in their various professional uniforms. It's something I've wanted to get of them for the longest time. The PG Waterfront had become our go to spot for family pictures back when they were all babies and holds a lot of significance for us.
Well thanks for letting me share my maudlin tale. I hope it's not too long. I just felt that If I can convince you guys to not ignore stuff that you think is nothing when it can be.
Anyway, she agreed to discharge me for the weekend if I could meet certain criteria and she could get the duty doc to sign off. I spent the next few hours pushing pretty hard with physical therapy, and I passed and surpassed their goals for walking and balance. What probably helped me out the most was the three days post op that I slept while intubated. All of the bypass and mitral valve grafts had started to take good hold, and the pacemaker leads had time to fuse to the chambers with scar tissue. So, as of 2:30 PM or so, I got discharged, came straight home in time to see my travelling rad tech daughter before she had to leave for her flight back to Indy, ate a good size plate of thanksgiving leftovers, took a quick shower, and fell into the deepest sleep I've had in a long time.
Now, for the rest of the story (cue Paul Harvey voice)
My journey with heart issues started about three years ago. At a routine physical, I just happened to mention to my GP that I never really had any classic chest pain, just a fleeting tightness sometimes. He was concerned enough that he had me see a cardiologist, who through a stress test decided it would a good idea to do a relatively non invasive angioplasty just to look things over. He found that I needed a stint in one artery and placed it, but then found that my left anterior descending artery, the so called "widow maker" had formed what is called a collateral bypass. This is where blood literally forces its way into a less restricted pathway. He decided that one was stable enough, and to just keep an eye on it. So with my stint and natural bypass, I went on my merry way and feeling much better.
I mostly made it to all of appointments, when they did things like an echocardiogram or EKG, but I did miss a few, and wasn't really concerned because I felt great. So coming up on the three year mark, he decides it would be a good idea to get a CT scan of my heart. A couple more weeks go by and they called me and said my insurance company wouldn't approve a CT, but would allow a stress test. OK, to me I don't care, check it out however the insurance says, but I was a little peeved the insurance co. would be so petty to save a couple hundred dollars.
Anyway they do the stress test and my rhythm looked like the classic sinus we've all seen, BP, and pulse are well within the stress test parameters, but when I went into the resting or recovery phase, I was seeing my rhythm do some weird things I never saw it do before. And I've seen a lot of my ekg records. I would have a normal rhythm for 60 to 90 seconds, then it would do about 7 or 8 weird looking half beats, then right back to normal for another 60 to 90 seconds. The techs were concerned enough about it to take iphone pictures of the tape and text it right to the doctor. He was on his way in anyway and requested I stay until he got there. he told me it was called V fib, or ventricular fibrillation, (it’s actually Vtach, not Vfib, which is ventricular tachycardia where one or both ventricles are trying to catch up to the beating of the atrium), as I found out as I’m learning more and putting together a timeline. He later told me there was a good possibility that it wouldn't have even been noticed in a CT, so the insurance company is back on my Christmas card list
Some more time goes by, I had more testing done and they did another angioplasty, and although I had some more narrowing, it wasn't too concerning to make it an emergency, but he let me know it would take open heart surgery to fix the issue. In the meantime, none of the doctors could figure out the timing of the Vtach, but were all in agreement that if it extended past about 10 beats, I would at least lose consciousness for several seconds at random times.
I scheduled my surgery consult, met the doctor and had the surgery originally scheduled for Nov. 13th., and started preparing for it. I had a lot to do at home too. We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell and had been doing all the things involved with that as well as I was installing a new air conditioner myself on the weekends and days after work. Anyway, I get a call late on the evening of the 12th that the doctor had an emergency surgery he had to schedule in my timeslot. I was kind of mad at first, but it did delay the inevitable for however long and gave me more time to get stuff done. The only problem was the doctor I had met was scheduled out all the way to mid january, but they could squeeze me in with his partner on the 21st, so I took it.
I did get to meet the doctor briefly before surgery when he and his ARPN met with my wife and me. I got an immediate sense of utter competency and professionalism from them, so I went in with confidence to begin with. But he did look my wife and me in the eye and said this whole asymptomatic Vtach thing had him puzzled. Surgery proceeds, and when the last thing you look over and see as you're being put under is the rib cage spreader sitting on their workbench, you know it's about to get real. That's a sight I don't think I'll ever forget.
In the course of surgery, they'll do something called an esophageal echocardiogram, which gives them the clearest picture yet of the heart. That's how they found the mitral valve issue and wanted to make it a quadruple, instead of a double bypass. Thank God I have a sensible wife that said absolutely, fix everything at once, after the surgeon paused surgery to make contact with her. (This is the part where living wills and power of attorney are oh, so important)
The surgery was successful and I headed to recovery. I remember waking up intubated and they pulled the tube out pretty fast...oh, what a relief that is! I spent the rest of the day in recovery, in moderate pain, but had my wife and two of my daughters to keep me company. They stayed until visiting hours ended and the nursing staff got me ready to go to sleep on the evening of Friday, the 21st.
And that's the last thing I remember until sometime late Tuesday afternoon when I woke up intubated and not at all a happy camper. My wife was there and asked me what I remembered of the last 68 or so hours? That was my first indication that something was amiss. The house doc made the (probably the best and safest, but infuriating to me) decision to keep me on the tube overnight with the promise it should come out early in the morning. Having a tube in your throat overnight while you're awake for most of it is a truly unempowering feeling, but my wife was able to stay for a while, squeeze my hand and filled me in on what had happened.
I had crashed sometime around 10:30 PM on the day of the surgery and had CPR and defib shocks done. They kept me out until they could install the now very necessary pacemaker. I really can't account for the rest of time I was out. I just probably will have some lapses I'll never fill. I just remember my first coherent thoughts were late on Tuesday. Over the course of the rest of my stay, I met a lot of people that started the conversation with something like "Hi, you probably don't remember me, but I'm so glad to see you're doing much better", then they would share with me their part in how it was all handled. When a man shows you the wounds on his hands from giving you CPR because he didn't want to wait to find something to put over his hands to protect them from the wire holding your chest together, it completely humbles you that someone could have performed such a selfless task. His act probably saved me from any brain damage before they shocked me. Though my wife did question how they'd be able to tell if I did have any brain damage...That's been our latest family joke. It's great to have a family that can endure such an emotional roller coaster and stay so close together through their unique brand of humor. I can't imagine what they had to go through when they literally thought I could die at any moment.
As to what caused me to crash, I haven't gotten any really consistent consensus on. They kept comparing it to the Damar Hamlin incident somehow, where he took a helmet to the heart area at the exact instant that his heart A/V nodes were firing, but they’re gonna have to connect the dots on that one a bit more for me to be convinced. I’ll find out more in the coming weeks with doctor and surgeon followups. Until then, I am just happy to be alive, and though I spent it in the ICU, it was my best Thanksgiving ever! As an added plus, my wife told me that my 24 year old rad tech daughter had rallied the rest of them to get up early one day to go to Laishley Park over on the Punta Gorda waterfront for pictures in their various professional uniforms. It's something I've wanted to get of them for the longest time. The PG Waterfront had become our go to spot for family pictures back when they were all babies and holds a lot of significance for us.
Well thanks for letting me share my maudlin tale. I hope it's not too long. I just felt that If I can convince you guys to not ignore stuff that you think is nothing when it can be.
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I am so happy for you and your family! A real Thanksgiving miracle! I appreciate you sharing this event with us. It certainly gives me some things to think about.
I find your attitude inspirational sir!
Thanksgiving has past so I will wish you and yours a very heart felt, Merry, Merry Christmas!
I find your attitude inspirational sir!
Thanksgiving has past so I will wish you and yours a very heart felt, Merry, Merry Christmas!
"Now I seem to be out of the woods and making good progress."
Wow!! Your experience is an incredible miracle!
Your ordeal and recovery is an extraordinary testimony to your mind and body's will to live, your family, and your medical team.
OP
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Thank you, sir! And a Merry Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.
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It was definitely a Faith thing nearly as much as it was my will to succeed.
Good news, thanks for sharing with us, glad you are on the mend. Agree with you and your nurses, they never receive the proper credit or appreciation they deserve!
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OP
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Thank you. The medical professionals were fantastic at every level. I went in with quite a bit of trepidation due to recent experiences my wife has had with medical professionals. The only other time I have had a major procedure was bi-lateral partial knees thirteen years ago. I have to say that my level of discomfort and immobility at the 9th day post-op with the knees was a lot worse.
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Thanks Chief. Truer words were never spoken about life and change.
Toolguy
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You're the new 6 million dollar man! At least according to the insurance co. Prayers and Best wishes for you and your family. I hope you will be recovered enough to enjoy the Christmas holiday.
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Thank you! It’s incredible the difference of how I felt just 48 hours ago and now. By the second week of Dec, at this rate, I should be nearly 100%.
That's unfortunate and amazing at the same time. Now you have a new lease on life, a fresh start, and I'm happy for you that you apparently had some very fine doctors and surgeons. Work hard at the upcoming rehab (BTDT), and put this mess behind you. Be sure to thank and also lean on your family. They sound wonderful!
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All of the unfortunate is now behind me, nothing but amazing things going forward. And quite literally a fresh start…I’m going to rehab here at the house we are selling, then it’s a brand spanking new house. I am truly blessed, friends.
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Thank you.
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“As an added plus, my wife told me that my 24 year old rad tech daughter had rallied the rest of them to get up early one day to go to Laishley Park over on the Punta Gorda waterfront for pictures in their various professional uniforms.”
Here’s the picture as promised:
Left to right…The Cosmetologist, The Cop, The X-Ray Tech, and The El Tee.
Here’s the picture as promised:
Left to right…The Cosmetologist, The Cop, The X-Ray Tech, and The El Tee.
chief38
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You and your wife should be VERY proud!!
