Just need words of encouragement, support or advice for medical emergency

[flyingdumbo127]

Just an extra hug with much care, Shellsbutt

 

[Dan Murphy]

Back from morning hospital visit and it was not good, in fact quite terrifying. My husband was on his phone with work/his boss trying to get stuff straightened out for leave of absence or disability and started having chest pains. I called the nurse and she took an EKG which was okay. Cardiologist came in during episode and basically repeated what he has said for the last two days-don't know when he will get transferred to other hospital for surgery, still waiting. My husband said so basically I need to have a heart attack to be moved. I'm just in a negative head space right now. Just want him stable to survive long enough for surgery and chance at life. And I called his boss and told him in future to call and speak only to me if he has questions.

's @Shellsbutt

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Back from morning hospital visit and it was not good, in fact quite terrifying. My husband was on his phone with work/his boss trying to get stuff straightened out for leave of absence or disability and started having chest pains. I called the nurse and she took an EKG which was okay. Cardiologist came in during episode and basically repeated what he has said for the last two days-don't know when he will get transferred to other hospital for surgery, still waiting. My husband said so basically I need to have a heart attack to be moved. I'm just in a negative head space right now. Just want him stable to survive long enough for surgery and chance at life. And I called his boss and told him in future to call and speak only to me if he has questions.

That’s why I said this:

You can help him deal with things that need to be dealt with outside of the hospital, but try to also let him relax as much as he can.

It’s very common for that to happen. It’s hard to just put your life totally on hold while you’re in the hospital so people try to continue to deal with things, sometimes on their laptops and phones, and they get stressed out, their BP goes up and they start having pain again. You may have to deal with his FMLA and work right now. He needs to just rest. Many people like to watch movies or play mindless games on their iPads. Hospitalizations today are a lot of “hurry up and wait” unfortunately. I was in meetings yesterday where we discussed some of the behind-the-scenes reasons for this and it is truly head spinning. People are working to solve these problems, but until then (which may be a long ways off), as patients (and staff), this is what we are left with right now in our post-Covid world.

And just to help you understand so you don’t worry as much, your husband is stabilized on heparin which will keep any blockages at bay until surgery, and other medications to slow his heart rate and lower his BP, which will improve filling and decrease workload on the heart, etc. I like to have oxygen tubing set up at the bedside that patients can put on if it helps them feel better while they’re waiting, so you could ask for that. You’ll probably hear, “He doesn’t need it, his sats are stable”, but that’s not the point. This whole problem is one of oxygen supply and demand. Demand HAS to be lessened (hence trying to stay relaxed as getting worked up increases demand) and we can increase on the supply side with a little supplemental oxygen and reassurance. It works for my patients. But I’m a little old school from the days when we put oxygen on for chest pain, they don’t always do that today. But it does work, and sometimes patients say they feel better having it, even just at night if they’re worried, and I’m all about that.

 

[kymom99]

OP, I know this may sound trite, but please take care of yourself too. This is very hard on you as well. I have a close friend whose husband recently spent 2 months in the hospital, most in ICU due to sepsis. She ran herself ragged dealing with doctors, nurses, and their everyday life. She had to address his work commitments, her FMLA, all of it. I was worried for her but she made it. I don’t know how.

 

[KPeterso]

Prayers for you and your husband. Went through similar with my Mom just over a year ago (end of Feb 2022). She was having off and on chest pains. It really hit a point on 2/20 that my Dad told me to take my Mom to the ER right now. He is not one to make commands, so I knew he was very concerned. He does not drive anymore and was no longer driving at night so it was up to me. My mom spent about 1.5 hours in the waiting room (we arrived at shift change) with me in the car. Once she was taken back, I was allowed to come into the ER and sit with her. Triage had taken blood and some vitals, so I was told right away that she was having a "heart event". She was admitted pretty quickly. And we found out the next morning that her "heart event" was a heart attack. They did a lot of the same procedures that your husband had and ended up with a double bypass a few days later on 2/24 (my birthday - although I got the only gift I wanted which was her to be ok). She did have to be transferred from the hospital where she was to another in the system as the one she was at did not do the cardiac surgeries. She spent about 2 weeks in the hospital and was released from the hospital 1 week post bypass as she was doing well.

My mom was a bit older than your husband as she was 83 at the time. We really did not see this coming. Her primary doctor even kept saying she was shocked and did not see it coming. My mom had even been to Disneyland on the morning of 2/20 so was feeling fine earlier in the day, but was hit with the crippling pain that evening about dinner time. I will warn you that things will be a bit different for a few months. He will have recovery time and then will start with the cardiac rehab. This is a special rehab that is very closely monitored with the patient wearing a heart monitor the entire time and should last about 3 months total with 3 sessions a week. My mom hated every minute of her cardiac rehab, but she went to every appointment as it was important. We see the cardiologist next week (hopefully - we are on the 3rd reschedule of the appointment) for a follow up appointment to see how she is doing now.

Good luck and I wish you both well in the coming days and weeks! Oh and lesson learned on my part, call the ambulance and have them take her to the hospital that does the cardiac right away.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good Morning extra and care to all of you.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am in the receiving hospital, but we have a lot of patients there waiting, as well. Whatever comes our way, we have to deal with. We get patients from all over (local, regional, global), and see the hardest cases there are. We deal with it all.

OP, I know this may sound trite, but please take care of yourself too. This is very hard on you as well. I have a close friend whose husband recently spent 2 months in the hospital, most in ICU due to sepsis. She ran herself ragged dealing with doctors, nurses, and their everyday life. She had to address his work commitments, her FMLA, all of it. I was worried for her but she made it. I don’t know how.

I’m glad things are better for them. People deal with these things all the time. None of us ever expect it to happen. Most people cope remarkably well, thankfully. It’s not easy to live through.

 

[maxaroni]

One thing that helped me, as I was getting a full history of cardiac terms, repeat back to the doctor, or whoever is giving you the information. When I would get tripped up, ask to have them repeat it. I found everyone to be very supportive and some took the time to write down key things for me. I also asked for any type of handouts that they had so I could refer to. Once discharged and the visiting nurse was coming, I made a list of any and all questions to ask. I would call when I had a question on anything. I’d rather hear from DHs care team, rather than Dr. Google. I have gone down that rabbit hole too many times! Lots of terminology that was all new to me. We also were given a box at discharge that had various items in it, a scale, pulse oximeter, bp cuff and something else that I can’t recall. The data was sent via Bluetooth to a machine that then transmitted the results to the care team. They would call if they saw something that was not right.

During these medical emergencies, we tend to hear so many things that we don’t know about, understand or just plain can’t focus enough to grasp it all. We made sure that our DS & DIL were also on the list of people that they could speak to so they could also get the Information. DH had his bypass surgery during covid, only one person at a time to be in the room. This way we were able to get the information without having to chase down the doctor.

My mom got sick at age 69 with her first diagnosed stroke. After a lot of testing, she was diagnosed with a blocked basilar artery, inoperable. This was an instance where we were completely out of our depth. Meaning that at least with the bypass, some of the information was things we had heard ofl before. My mom, when she did something, she really went all out. Couldn’t be blocked carotids or something, had to be something we had never heard of. I know more about a basilar artery than anyone would want to know about. We have a small family but my dad made sure I was able to talk to her doctors as well. Her care was complicated as it involved brain, heart, lungs, kidneys.

My point with that is make sure you communicate with your husbands care team, ask questions, have them repeat, if necessary. Perhaps have your sons able to also be allowed to talk to his care team as well. It’s all so terrifying to begin with but fear of the unknown is taking it to another level.

(((HUGS)))

 

[princesscinderella]

@Shellsbutt sending hugs and well wishes to your husband

 

[Claudia1]

sending hugs!

 

[Shellsbutt]

Hello-I'm still here, not sure how to edit title but I do have an update. He was transferred to another hospital on Monday and surgery was yesterday. It was a very long and stressful, emotional day. Thank god I had my best friend by my side to talk to and support me all day. He is now in the ICU and will be there for a few more days before being moved to another room if I'm understanding correctly. Thank you all for your kind words and sharing your stories with me. I am leaving for the hospital shortly but wanted to come back here to share the good news.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Shellsbutt. God is indeed with you and your husband always.

 

[Pooh2]

Hope things are improving for you at this point OP!

My 40 year old nephew had a heart attack last week, spent 3 days at one hospital, was sent to a different hospital by ambulance on the 3rd day after a failed attempt at putting in the stent.

The second hospital succeeded at the stent surgery and said he had a 90 percent blockage.
My nephew has never smoked,is very slim, runs marathons and does cross fit and eats pretty darned healthy.

His wife actually told him to stop messing around when he woke her up in the middle of the night to say he was having a heart attack.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

extra to you and your family, Pooh! Love your username

 

[AnnaS]

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hello-I'm still here, not sure how to edit title but I do have an update. He was transferred to another hospital on Monday and surgery was yesterday. It was a very long and stressful, emotional day. Thank god I had my best friend by my side to talk to and support me all day. He is now in the ICU and will be there for a few more days before being moved to another room if I'm understanding correctly. Thank you all for your kind words and sharing your stories with me. I am leaving for the hospital shortly but wanted to come back here to share the good news.

This is great news! The surgery is over now and he is on his way to recovery. (That seemed fairly quick once he moved, which is good.) By now they’ve probably gotten him out of bed and started him moving again. If all goes as expected, he could be looking forward to discharge home sometime next week. Make sure you have all your questions answered about medications, exercise, activity and follow up before you go home. Praying that things continue to go smoothly for him, and for you.

 

[Shellsbutt]

This is great news! The surgery is over now and he is on his way to recovery. (That seemed fairly quick once he moved, which is good.) By now they’ve probably gotten him out of bed and started him moving again. If all goes as expected, he could be looking forward to discharge home sometime next week. Make sure you have all your questions answered about medications, exercise, activity and follow up before you go home. Praying that things continue to go smoothly for him, and for you.

Thanks Pea-n-Me for everything, I appreciate it! He will be moved from ICU to progressive care unit room today. He seemed pretty talkative yesterday, was eating some of his food. His blood sugar was over 200 so needed 2 units of insulin if I understand correctly, they said it's based on a sliding scale. I really need to learn all this stuff but my brain doesn't want to cooperate at the moment. He's convinced he's in a diabetic state because of this heart emergency and otherwise would be fine. Maybe he's in denial? Any recommendations for heart healthy cookbooks?

 

[Shellsbutt]

Hope things are improving for you at this point OP!

My 40 year old nephew had a heart attack last week, spent 3 days at one hospital, was sent to a different hospital by ambulance on the 3rd day after a failed attempt at putting in the stent.

The second hospital succeeded at the stent surgery and said he had a 90 percent blockage.
My nephew has never smoked,is very slim, runs marathons and does cross fit and eats pretty darned healthy.

His wife actually told him to stop messing around when he woke her up in the middle of the night to say he was having a heart attack.

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew, glad he is okay now. That is so scary especially when it seems to come out of nowhere. I want to know how we can find out if we have blockages/coronary artery disease without the heart attack. I want to be checked myself. Can you get scans done as a preventative measure? That's horrible the way his wife responded and I'm sure she feels guilty now. Take those chest pains seriously.

 

[shh]

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about your nephew, glad he is okay now. That is so scary especially when it seems to come out of nowhere. I want to know how we can find out if we have blockages/coronary artery disease without the heart attack. I want to be checked myself. Can you get scans done as a preventative measure? That's horrible the way his wife responded and I'm sure she feels guilty now. Take those chest pains seriously.

plus, coronary issues are a huge risk for women too - and they often don't get chest pains like men do - or other more recognizable symptoms. I agree with you - wondering if there's a routine scan or test 50+ folks can get. It likely won't be covered by insurance, but may bring some peace of mind.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks Pea-n-Me for everything, I appreciate it! He will be moved from ICU to progressive care unit room today. He seemed pretty talkative yesterday, was eating some of his food. His blood sugar was over 200 so needed 2 units of insulin if I understand correctly, they said it's based on a sliding scale. I really need to learn all this stuff but my brain doesn't want to cooperate at the moment. He's convinced he's in a diabetic state because of this heart emergency and otherwise would be fine. Maybe he's in denial? Any recommendations for heart healthy cookbooks?

You’re welcome! Glad things are better.

Sliding scale insulin is used in the hospital for most diabetics because keeping blood sugars in normal range helps healing. He likely won’t be going home on insulin, but he’ll be prescribed either an oral diabetes medication or told to follow up with his primary care after he gets home, and it’s important that he does. Coronary artery disease does not cause diabetes. He needs to get real about this. Maybe when he’s better he can re-read everything I wrote here to help him understand things. Diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease, though, as well as a bunch of other health problems. He needs to keep his diabetes under control and to work on reducing his modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease in order to stay healthy over the long term. You can stay on him about that. The American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association has a lot of nutritional information on their websites.