I was pretty out of it when the first doctor woke me at 6:30 A.M. on December 12th. I honestly don't remember anything he said other than they were going to run another blood test. I drifted back off to sleep and was awoken by the Pulmonologist at 7 o'clock. My CT scan was clear and he thought it was more likely a heart problem than a lung problem. He said I could follow up with him in a couple of months to get more testing done and he left. My husband took our son to school at 8 and then came to see me. I still had not heard anything at that point, but I finally had my tablet so I had something to do at least.
My husband doesn't like hospitals, so he didn't hang out for long. I promised I would let him know as soon as I knew anything and he went home. It must have been about 9 or 9:30 when the nurse came in to let me know what was going on. She said that my cardiac enzymes were 3 times higher than they were the night before and she was waiting for the doctor to call her back to see what they were going to do. She said that I would most likely need a heart catheter done and I would have to be transferred to another hospital to have it done. She said she would let me know as soon as she heard from the doctor and she left. I just sat there stunned for a good 5-10 minutes.
I called my husband and let him know what she had said and he asked what he should do. I didn't know what to tell him. I was in such a state of shock that I couldn't process the situation, let alone tell him what to do. I finally told him to go get Jake out of school and be ready to go. After I hung up I just sat there for a minute and then realized I wanted my mom. She would know what to do. I sure as hell had no idea what to do so I called her. I was at least considerate about it. I told her I was alright before I filled her in on the whole hospital thing and the whole need a heart cath thing. Talking to her was the only time I cried. I was just so overwhelmed and scared at that moment that I couldn't stop myself. I quickly regained control of myself and finished the conversation. I promised I would keep her updated as I knew what was going on. Then I was alone. My husband and son came to my room around 11 A.M. and we talked briefly. The nurse came in and said that I would be going to Bay City to have my heart cath done and they were just waiting on the transport to show up. She gave my husband directions to the hospital and they went out to pull the truck around where they could follow the ambulance.
The EMT's came to get me at noon and we were on our way. I don't know how long it took to get there, but it felt like the longest ride of my life. My mom met us at the hospital and I was taken to my room. The nurse asked me the same questions they asked in the E.R. What is your pain level? Describe what happened, family history, etc. Every time someone came to my room for the rest of that day and the next, they asked those same questions again. I don't know if they just didn't read my chart or if they were checking my cognitive function, but it was really annoying.
I would like to point out that I have not eaten anything this entire time. The last time I ate was spaghetti the night before. The nurse decided the doctor probably wouldn't do my cath that day because it was getting late. I had already missed lunch so she brought me some apple juice, graham crackers, and applesauce. Of course, the doctor showed up around 5 o'clock and decided that he was going to do the heart cath that night. This is the first time I heard anyone say, "heart attack." The surgeon said I had a heart attack and I needed a cath done right away. He was confident that he probably wouldn't find anything, but he had to do it to make sure. He no more than left the room and the nurse's aide was there to prep me for surgery. My transportation showed up at the same time and they had to wait in the hall until the prep was done then I was on my way to the pre-surgical area.
My family got to come in and see me briefly before I went into the cath lab. I didn't have to wait long and I was being sedated. When I came to the doctor was talking to me and my family was there with me. He was showing me the images from my cath and the blockage he removed. He said the blockage was in my LAD, which didn't mean anything to me. He removed it and put a stent in there to be safe. He then disappeared and I didn't see him again until a month later.
Post catheter was the worst experience I have ever had. They threaded the cath up my femoral artery, with they access through the groin, to my heart. After surgery I had to lay on my back for an hour before they removed it. When the nurse finally removed it, I wanted to die. That was one of the most painful experiences in my life. She then had to apply lots of pressure to the area to keep me from bleeding to death. After she was done torturing me, they put a pressure dressing on the wound and I had to lay on my back and not flex any muscles for 6 hours. If I did move I could re-open the wound and the process would start all over. Luckily, I was able to complete the process the first time around. Using a bed pan was not fun or easy so I really had to go by the time I was able to get up. It was around 1 A.M. when they got me out of bed and took me for a short walk. I then disappeared into the bathroom for the next 10 minutes. After that I didn't get much sleep. I slept for a few hours at a time and then I would be wide awake for an hour or 2 and then I would fall asleep again.
I got a really obnoxious roommate while I was sleeping and I really wish I could have slept until they released me. Every time the nurses came to check on her, they checked on me too. Every time a new one came in they would look at my chart and ask about my heart attack. Then they all said the exact same thing, "But you are too young for that." Apparently, I am not too young for that. I was so annoyed ready to go home. The doctor that was on call for the weekend didn't show up until almost 7 P.M. on December 13th to send me home. I have never been so happy to be home in my life. Little did I know, the fun was just beginning.
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