“The Kind that Takes Care of Hearts”

Being an account of the events of week-before-last in e-pistolary form.

Hello all~

A few hours ago Tom had some minor chest pain accompanied by some left arm strangeness. Rather than wait for [our son] to tell us to go to the hospital, we called 911 (hey, at least I thought of it this time!). They came, and though most of his vitals were okay, his EKG was abnormal -- but as they put it, it could be "normal" for him now that he's got the stent. They suggested the hospital, so away they went in the ambulance, [Cute Bear] and I following close behind.

The ER doctor felt that the best course of action was to call his cardiologist and see what he wants to do. The two choices are either a stress test (please keep your fingers crossed) or another angiogram, to see if the stent has either been dislodged or clogged, or something else we don't want. It's also possible that he will suggest something that the ER doctor wouldn't know about. Given how recently the stent was put in (about 5 weeks ago), and the fact that he's been on his meds, watching his diet, and began exercising, it's unlikely that there's any problem with the stent. However, sometimes the body rejects the foreign object despite the meds and problems happen.

We're hoping that it was a big fat nothing, and that Tom and I were overreacting due to the seriousness of the last event. Best case scenario, he stays in the hospital . . . for 24 hours for observation.

So in the meantime I need 3 things:
1. Prayers, good intentions, or whatever spiritual thing you do that will send positive and healing vibes to us all.
2. Help with childcare. I still need to work, and I would really love to visit Tom (he doesn't do well in hospitals alone).
3. Visit Tom at the hospital. As of this moment (3:53am) he's not yet in a room, but that should happen within the next hour or two. He does have his cell, but I don't know how accessible it is to him -- what with all the wires and such.

Again, help with [CB] is critically important right now. If you have some time you can come over, PLLLLEEEEEAAAASE let me know. Help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million~
Much love~

Jenny


Hello everyone~

Well, thanks to your thoughts, prayers, and good intentions, Tom pulled through the heart cath this morning with flying colors. I haven't spoken with the doctor yet, but my mother-in-law did and she told me that there was nothing new (bad) going on, and some minor adjustments in Tom's meds should do the trick. Likely the cause of the pain was triggered by anxiety (who knew?) and being that he'd just had a balloon and a piece of metal in that part of his body, it's the weakest link in his system so logically would be affected.

Anyway, I think he comes home from the hospital (Florida South) tomorrow sometime (but in hospital time that means this year... maybe).

This has been incredibly stressful for [our son] and me as well. Thank you to everyone who's helped locally, and from afar. I . . . we couldn't have done this without your love and support.

Much love~

Jenny


Hello everyone again~

I'm delighted to let you all know that Tom came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon (Thursday). He's been feeling significantly better, especially compared to how he felt after the episode six weeks ago.

The heart cath revealed that there was no problem with the stent, no additional blockage, calcification, clots, narrowing, or any other icky thing that could have gone wrong. In essence, what he felt in his chest and arm was a normal result of the procedure. The thing that triggered it was 2-fold: 1. stress (Really?!! Us?!?!?!? NO WAY!!!), and 2. He had stopped a medication (the doc said he could) that would have made those sensations unnoticeable. He's now back on it.

And now we know: we know that's he's fine, that the stent held, and that no further complications are developing. So now we move on to the stress-less lives we are creating for ourselves.

Again, we couldn't have made it through this ordeal (or the one six weeks ago) if it were not for you, and so many others not on this email list. Thank you for your loving thoughts, prayers, and good intentions. It all matters. YOU matter. And thank you everyone for help with childcare, or for your offers to help. He seemed to have escaped this with as little stress as possible. As a matter of record, just now when Tom and I were tucking him in, we had the following conversation:

Jenny Daddy is so grateful to be home and do bedtime with you, instead of being in
the hospital.

CB But I LOVE hospitals!

Jenny Well then, maybe, when you grow up, you could be a doctor and work in a hospital.

CB Ok.

Jenny What kind of doctor would you like to be?

CB I want to be the kind of doctor that takes care of hearts.

Jenny That kind of doctor is called a cardiologist.

CB Car...di...o..lo...gist.

Much love to all~

Jenny

From Tom: Thanks to everyone who pitched in. Feeling MUCH better now. The Young Doctor and I went on another field trip yesterday, just to prove it. Trains were ridden. Monorails too.

I promise some non-health related posts in the coming weeks.