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...😆

An unscheduled rest...

In one of my recent posts, I wrote about our busy July. A number of readers commented that I'd need a rest after all that busyness! And out of the blue 'things' happened right at the end of July, and I did indeed get to rest. 

While showering that morning, I was hit with an incredible pain in my right chest and shoulder. And DH bundled me off to Emergency at a nearby hospital. Heaps of tests showed it wasn't a heart attack. 

But chest X-rays showed I had a spot of pneumonia in my left lung. I was absolutely gobsmacked with that diagnosis as I hadn't even had a cold. I'd been very tired but put it down to being busy. 

Also while in Emergency the doctor ordered a CT scan. This showed that my hiatus hernia repair had come a bit 'undone'! ( grrrr) 

So I started 2 courses of strong antibiotic and was ordered to rest. I didn't feel like doing anything but sleep for the first few days but eventually I was getting back my energy. And now I'm 'top of the world'.  The hernia is being treated with medication for the next 2 months to see how it settles. 

But that wasn't my only visit to that hospital in July...

After 3 really heavy nosebleeds in one week, I decided to seek help. After a rather ouchy cauterisation procedure, all was fixed. 

About the same time as my pneumonia was diagnosed, a friend of mine got test results back showing she not only had pneumonia, but she also had Influenza A. J was hospitalised of course but is back home now. 

Here we all were having lunch way back at the beginning of July...little knowing what was in store for us. 

The 'ops' over!

This is a 'hotch potch' post about the last 2 days.

Firstly the Facebook post I did this morning...

But it wasn't long before I ran out of steam a bit...DH captured this :-)

( it is sooooo scary because in this photo I look sooooo like my mother...uncanny! Lol )

This morning I had a shower and 'said goodbye' to my hospital issue paper undies!

But the hospital issue pressure socks are staying with me for a couple of weeks...

But I have accessorised them with some bunny slippers...

My diet is described as Free Fluids...

The lunch tray was a bit overwhelming and most of those containers went into the little fridge here in the room...

I ate most of the soup which was delicious.

For dinner I had ordered the consommé...not good...tasteless! So I had a tub of custard and a tub of puréed pears, instead, both saved from the lunch tray. 

Today I went for regular little walks around the ward...I brought a pashmina instead of a dressing gown to hospital this time...much easier to manage.

And of course the physio brought down this little gadget to help with lung  function.

I have to inhale enough to raise those 3 balls to the top of their tubes. 

I'm off home tomorrow morning, so that's pretty good I reckon, 2 nights instead of the 3! 

Do I have the stomach for this?

(You will have to excuse the 'misuse'/manipulation of this common idiom)
The answer to the question is 'Yes'! Many people of 'my age' complain that various body parts are at the mercy of gravity and therefore tend to sag a bit as we get older. Well apparently my stomach has defied this trend and an Endoscopy has shown that it is actually moving upwards. It's been doing this for a while but lately its dash northwards has intensified and 2/3 of it is pushed up into the oesophagus.
Lovely Dr N drew on some diagrams for me during our consultation in early October...the 'balloon' is my stomach!!!

Sounds revolting I know. Except for a bit of reflux which is beautifully controlled by a small tablet, I've not had any problems. But...there's always a but isn't there?...following all medical advice, I have to get the hiatus hernia fixed as this pushy stomach of mine is starting to move towards other 'bits' and will cause problems. This op was put on hold while DH's medical issues were dealt with and now, with him doing a lot better, it's my turn!

So tomorrow morning I head off to Holy Spirit Northside for an op and a 3 night stay.

Behind the trees is the HSN at Chermside

 New nighties have been washed ...

I will be on liquids/purees for 2 weeks and then 'soft foods' for quite a while apparently; so that will be interesting as there will be several Christmas get togethers as well as a High Tea that I've been invited to...as I said, it could be interesting :-) Stay tuned!

The Best Laid Plans...

Today, an event that I was looking forward to, was happening; the official opening of the K4BN warehouse/shed. This was happening at the town of Glasshouse to the north of Brisbane. I was ready for the drive as I had been to my GP and got the necessary paper work filled out and signed, as Sleep Apnea is a medical condition that must be noted on a drivers' licence. Until I get a sticker for my licence, I must carry this little proforma that my doctor filled out. 

I had packed the car last night with donations for the shed too, so it was all systems go to leave just after 9 this morning. Except, by that time I was sitting beside a gurney in the Emergency Centre at a local hospital. 

The view from my chair...

Poor DH had been vomiting (power vomiting was the term the A/Prof doctor on duty used!) since midnight. Thumbing through the booklets that I have acquired at Diabetes information sessions, I became increasingly concerned about what to do...why are some people so reluctant to attend emergency centres...or call the ambulance service to get a visit from paramedics?? 

I called 000 at 6.30 am and Alissa, the loveliest paramedic arrived in 20 minutes or so. And after checking a few things, took DH and I to the hospital. And once there, the team sprang into action with blood tests, ECG, X-rays done and DH was connected up to 2 IVs. 

The symptoms eased, BP started to come down, as did the BGL...and best of all, the vomiting stopped! 

Here he is well enough to chat on the phone to his brother...

The diagnosis? Suspected food poisoning. I must quickly add that it was not my cooking!! Last night a group of us had gone to a local sports club for the trivia night. DH was the only one who had the fettacini with creamy scallops sauce...so it's the suspect. 

By lunchtime I was able to bring him home, where he has had a quiet afternoon watching TV. 

And what a contrast to yesterday's lunchtime when we met some friends at the Flying Nun cafe at Samford?...

But I must mention something that DH said to me today...last night he got 'up close and personal to our toilet' and he said that one thing he noticed while he was being repeatedly sick, 'just how lovely and clean I have kept the toilet'. Now only a man could say that!! Lol. 

Tonight is Friday Night Sew In...I may have to change my original plans as, for some reason, I'm a little weary...now I wonder why that would be? Lol. 

Good news...

I'm a little late writing this post but better late than never! In my last post I wrote about DH and the health dramas he was enduring. The good news is that the Angiogram showed no blockages or damage to the heart. The cardiologist suspects that there was a temporary blockage to the blood supply to the heart when maybe some plaque broke away from the artery wall, but that it cleared itself . So late Monday morning we were able to take DH home.
After the angiogram ( which DH described the machinery used as 'being as big as Maria's car' ..a Micra!), the cardiologist wanted an echocardiogram done as well, before DH went home. The equipment came to DH's bed! I took this photo when The technician had to take a phone call from a cardiologist. 

After being a 'stand up comedian' with his constant patter of jokes, (albeit lying down in bed)  and keeping the staff and visitors entertained in the hospital for 3 1/2 days, the reality of arriving home saw him become much quieter. He admitted to being tired and a 'bit unwell', so it's been easy getting him to rest as requested by the doctor.

Next week, he has an appointment with the GP who will organise referrals to a Diabetic Educator and to a Sleep Centre to help sort out the Sleep Apnoea problems. These issues, when managed correctly should lower the risk factors of more heart problems. That, and attention to some dietary issues...yes the giant double choc muffins and caramel slices with coffee at local cafes will have to go. lol.
The following week, DH can start back on those daily walks plus his golf days.

A big thank you to all those lovely readers who left messages of support in the Comments. These meant so much to us. I particularly appreciate those who reminded me to look after myself and I suspect some of you had firsthand experience of how draining it is to have a loved one in hospital...it sure knocks you about. Thank you again everyone. 

Some changes to plans...

Unfortunately, while out on his usual daily 75 minute walk on Boxing Day, DH collapsed in a suburban street. Two young women rushed to his aid, and when he admitted to them that he wasn't 'alright', one of the women ran to the nearest house to get help. As luck would have it, a nurse lived in that house! An ambulance was called, and because for once, DH had his mobile phone with him, he called me. He was just a suburb away from our home but the ambulance got there before me! 

DH was taken to emergency, all the time saying that he was just dehydrated...after a while in the treatment room with blood tests and even chest x-rays, he would be admitted to the hospital upstairs for observation The A/Professor who was the doctor on duty in Emergency had said he suspected a heart attack. DH still stuck to his dehydration story...and so did the cardiologist who was called in...at first.  

Blood tests continued and the 8pm test showed that the level of the enzyme troponin, had doubled in the hours since DH arrived in Emergency. Yep! He had suffered a heart attack. The only apparent symptoms that he had, were nausea and fainting. Many years ago a first aid trainer I had, 'harped' on the nausea indicator often being overlooked...especially if there are no chest or arm pains. 

So you can imagine that things are a bit different around here...the children and our friends have been wonderful and while I 'stumble around' feeling quite surreal and dislocated, I've had heaps of support. Even Eduardo the cat senses something isn't quite right and is sticking close to me when I'm home. 

DH himself appears 'chipper' despite being connected to a heart monitor and with his repertoire of jokes finding a new audience with all that staff in the hospital :-).

 I'm typing this at 5 am as I will be going into the hospital early this morning. At 6.30 am, DH will have an Angiogram which will reveal what damage has been done to the heart, blockages will be identified and stents put in if necessary. We may even find out about the Lifestyle changes that now have to occur.  

( Showing how much I love DH, I gave him my iPad so that he can Skype Miss Nikki [so hard for her being so far away] in Canada...but he's Facebooking and having all sorts of fun, as well! lol)