Medically speaking...

I was going to write about my recently having a Bone Density Test 6 years after my last one ( so 4 years overdue! 🙁) and despite losing height over that time, I don't have osteoporosis !! Yay!!

I was also going to write about having my hands X-rayed recently which confirmed I have rather bad osteoarthritis in my finger and thumb joints but that taking a huge glucosamine tablet each day has already made a difference. But all this pales into insignificance when I tell you about DH's latest medical adventures! 

Last Sunday he collapsed at the 18th hole of the golf course. He was whisked off to hospital in an ambulance and my lovely neighbour drove me to the hospital to meet up with him in Emergency with me phoning all the girls as we travelled along. 

Despite having a head start, he wasn't there when I arrived.  When DsD3 and I were finally called into the Resus room, we found out that his heart had stopped twice on the journey and the ambulance had to pull over while he was resuscitated. 😳😫😥

He still managed a smile for the camera!

After a while he was wheeled around to an 'Acute' treatment room and the family had to take turns with him as only 3 people allowed. That's a pretty generous allocation I thought in such a small area. 

My niece is a nurse in the Coronary Care Unit of this hospital and despite being on days off she came in. She was great; liaising with the doctors and explaining everything to DH. The doctors were of the opinion that there was a problem with 'the electrics' of DH's heart as an angiogram last year had shown no blockages or serious narrowing in the arteries. 

Finally a bed was found and DH was wheeled to the Coronary Care unit for close monitoring overnight.

Those blue paper-like curtains were there too but unlike those in Emergency these had mesh panels at the top...I do tend to notice these insignificant details 😉

Late on Monday DH was transferred to the private hospital right next door and then things started to happen! MRI in the morning and an operation in the late afternoon to fit a pacemaker. 

DsD3 and I stayed in his room while he went off to theatre...

I had my bag of 'waiting supplies'...

And some hospital cafe food for my rather late lunch at 4.30

Before DH came back from theatre the doctor assisting the cardiologist came down to explain the home monitor for the pacemaker...and this is where it gets high tech!

That gadget that looks like a mobile phone uploads the data of the past 24 hours from the pacemaker and sends it to the Server in Germany, from there this data can be accessed by the doctor. The Server can flag quickly if the pacemaker has detected a problem. The monitor just has to be within 2 metres of DH each night. The upload is programmed for between 1.30 and 2 am, and it 'works' in over 100 countries. 

So now I'll show some more 'magic', or the transformation after surgery...the pictures tell all! 

Within half an hour of returning from theatre ( because only local anesthetic and a sedative were used, DH didn't go to Recovery)...

An hour after returning from theatre...

He was typing away on Facebook despite the oxygen levels' monitor on his forefinger. 😉

And 11 hours later...dressed and ready to go home but waiting to have an echocardiogram first.

So that was Wednesday and he continues to recover and he's doing really well. 

Now frightening though this has all been, it is fortuitous that it has happened. DH collapsed while doing a brisk daily walk on Boxing Day 2014 and an angiogram showed no blockages in the heart so the doctors concluded the episode was diabetes related. But this time when his heart actually stopped beating the paramedics had it all recorded and showed that there has been a problem with arrhythmia. Suddenly the fainting spells on the toilet or when getting up during the night that have occurred over many years 'make sense'. 

Now back to Sunday...it was the 18th hole and apparently it had been a 'good day at golf' for DH. When he regained consciousness he insisted on signing his card so his friends could hand it in and I believe ' he won a ball'. Chuckles...😆

I spoke/ wrote too soon!

In my last post I wrote about DH's 'hospital adventures' and finished up by saying that he was doing well. 

Well within a few hours of writing that post, he was in a lot of pain and was having reall trouble with emptying his bladder. At about 9 he asked me to drive him to the Emergency Centre of the Wesley Hospital and before I could get my car keys and handbag he had changed his mind and asked me to call an ambulance...which I did. It took over and hour for the paramedics to come ( Friday night in Brisbane, police, ambulances and public hospitals are stretched to their limits unfortunately) but eventually 2 wonderful paramedics arrived. They took details, checked vitals, administered pain relief and took us to that Wesley Emergency Centre. 

The doctor there thought DH had a Urinary Tract Infection and ordered tests and some drips. My brother in law and sister in law, came to the hospital for support during the long night. We finally left for home at 3.30 am and at 5 am DH was sent to a ward. 

The specialist wasn't on call this weekend but still came in to see DH this morning. From the blood tests he said DH didn't have a UTI, instead there was severe swelling which obstructed the uretha. Dr K described the incident as a minor postoperative hiccough; a major hiccough would be a stroke or heart attack. :-/ So for a few days DH will remain in hospital with a catheter and be closely monitored. 

Today he was very tired, but out of pain  and feeling heaps more cheerful. I took this photo to send to all our girls...

Poor DH...for someone who had always been healthy, he's had quite a 'ride' this year...3 stays in hospital, copious tests, Angiogram, scans and an MRI, a biopsy, 2 nights at the sleep study centre, 3 rides in an ambulance, umpteen trips to specialists and the Diabetes Educator...he feels that enough is enough! By the same token, we are grateful to have easy access to health facilities.