Knitting Passion

still more about the Knitter - but, hey, be sure to check out Summer at Creative Mom Cafe on Monday for a crafty sorta giveaway, okay?

On Tuesday before the docs would let me out of our local hospital I had to do the dreaded treadmill stress test. Oy!

I was trussed up rather fetchingly with leads and wires and whistles and beeps - while the tech told us about his next patient who would have his heart stopped thru medication and immediately restarted with medication. He seemed much too thrilled about all that - “it’s so cool,” he said. “They just go along on the treadmill, I push the button and they sorta slump and go ‘uhhh’ and then I reset their heart with the next button.”

Okay . . . . then he plopped me up onto the treadmill and started that baby up. Yeah, I made sure he didn’t have that plunger anywhere near me.

The doc looked at my short legs and took pity on me after 5 minutes. He was going to make me do 6-10 minutes and then said that he forgets women have shorter frames - a 6 foot guy can easily do 10 minutes. Hahaha.

I passed this test with flying colors, btw. While driving to Anchorage later that day I nosed through all the documentation I was taking up with me and found this doc’s notes on the stress test . . . “patient was dyspneic, but joking.” Yup that’s me - breathless, but always with the jokes, baby. lol

Once back in my ICU room, I was allowed to begin getting ready to go home - well, to Anchorage - while they readied my discharge paperwork and prescription orders. About 4 pm I finally got all that, we stopped at the pharmacy, and then ran home to get some clean clothes for the Anc. trip. I was going to Providence Heart Center for an angiogram! Woot!

Now, my daughters will tell you that I would rather drive than be the passenger - so I can tell you that I was on edge slightly (!!!) while hubby drove. It got really dark - he doesn’t see well in the dark - I tried to sleep so I couldn’t feel him driving the saturn like it was his van - that didn’t work. I made it 115 miles or so to Girdwood where we made a pit stop - and I took the keys away from him for the last 35 miles. Yes, I wasn’t supposed to be driving (due to the new drugs) but dagnabbit! I wanted to make it there in one piece!

We spent the night in our favorite B&B where hubby would stay while I was fussed over at the hospital. I spent Tuesday night there with him and was able to watch him eat brekkie the next morning while I had to be happy with juice only. (sigh!) Then off to the hospital we went.

What a great staff in the cath lab!!! I cannot say enough good about them as I was treated so well by them all. They got me (yet again) trussed up into an ohsolovely open backsided gown and the IV started while question after question was asked. Then I met the doc and began my wait until it was my turn for the angiogram. And, this, my friends, is where it begins to get a bit surreal.

I’m not an itty bitty gal by any means and my cholesterol levels have been elevated. I fully expected the doc to tsk and moan a bit as he searched out my arteries. Instead he was quite pleased to note that my arteries were BIG and BEAUTIFUL and just like they should be - a cardiac doc’s dream! (yes, he speaks softly, but with many exclamation points!) Of course, that being the case, he does not know WHY I had the heart attack. He knows that I did - the ekg and enzyme changes show that - but, he likes to know WHY and how it can be fixed.

I’m an enigma!

So, they kept me overnight for observation - more forms - more questions on birthdate - more pokes and prods and vital checks. More fun nurses - more laughter - I love being me!

On Thursday I was scheduled for a chest CT to rule out blood clots - and an echocardiogram to check my valves and blood flow.

The doc again came in to visit with me and to tell me that they just don’t know what happened to cause the heart attack. I do have a congenital “defect” as one artery is not where it is supposed to be - but that didn’t cause it. I do have a teensy artery that may (or may not) have had a blood clot slide through, causing a spasm, causing the heart attack. But that artery is SO SMALL that even if I had a problem there they do not make stents or balloons that small - sooooooo -

And - I am a bit anemic - that and the (possible) blood clot could have been caused from the kidney surgery 7 weeks ago.

Have made an appointment with my urologist to check on that - and an appointment with the internist to followup on the Anchorage stuff - sigh, my insurance is gonna love me!

So, there you have it in a nutshell. And, now I will quit talking about it. Thank you all for caring and reading and commenting and guest posting. As one of my friends says, maybe God just healed me during the drive to Anchorage. You never know - He does have that power!!!