So we finally got my mom admitted to hospital on the night of January 17th, late at night.
The next day, Thursday the 17th, after going through those three days (see previous entry), I was exhausted and couldn't go visit her. I felt SO bad. I couldn't drag myself out of bed and slept for over 12 hours, which included when I went to bed, well into the afternoon. When I called her she had many tests run and nothing was found. She was also still throwing up a lot.
This was the case over the next couple of days. Mostly she was unable to eat or was not allowed to eat because of certain tests or because she couldn't keep anything down, or both. She was kept on a liquid diet. It was very frustrating because test after test, nothing was found. At one point my mom told me that they also thought she might have something wrong with her liver, and if she didn't start getting better by the next day, they'd have to send in a liver specialist. They'd find some small infection here or there, but nothing major.
All the while, she kept feeling miserable, having dry heaves because she didn't have any food in her stomach, and becoming incredibly weak. She had all kinds of fluids going into her veins and continued to look like a human pin cushion and/or human voodoo doll. Her spirits went up and down. Sometimes I'd call her and she'd sound well, in good spirits. Sometimes not so good. One time I called her and she had to go because she was about to throw up.
Usually when I went to see her she was okay. I'd jabber on like I always did when I went to see her, to keep her mind off of being sick and now knowing what was wrong with her, trying to hide my nervousness and worry when the jabbering probably did more to show it than to hide it. And often she'd joke with the nurses. It was so weird going to see her, because this was around the time when she was sick and in the hospital last year too. Everything looked the same; the gift shop was decorated the same…it was eerie. The only difference was that the very day that my mom was admitted, all of the hospital room numbers were changed into different numbering systems.
My aunt went to see her on the evening of Monday, January 22nd. She said my mom wasn't feeling too well and was having pains in her chest. She told me that the doctor thought she might have a blood clot in her lung and that they were going to do tests for that. I hadn't seen my mom that day because I was feeling poorly and didn't want to pass anything onto her if I was coming down with something. They were also really worried about others being prone to infections, so they wanted her in a room all by herself. They had to move her roommate to another room. When I talked to her she wasn't sounding too great. I had a bad feeling, and called her back and asked her if she was sure she didn't want me to go see her and she said yes, for me to just rest up so I could feel better. I wish I hadn't taken her advice.
Later that night, I got a call from a nurse at the hospital. She told me that my mom had to be moved to ICU. She told me that after more tests, my mom's cardiac enzymes (proteins in your body that speed chemical and biologic reactions; when a person has damage to the heart, such as in a heart attack, these enzymes are released into the blood stream; an increase of the heart enzymes is one way your caregivers can tell if you have had a heart attack) were too high and my mom had to be moved to ICU because they suspected that she had a minor heart attack. Not a blot clot in her lung. A minor heart attack. A minor heart attack. I didn't go see her that day and she had a minor heart attack. I didn't know what to do. I didn't go to the ICU. They wouldn't let me in. Should I start calling people? It was late. I was helpless. There was nothing I could do for my mom. All I could do was cry. And wait.
I went to see my mom in the ICU the next day (Tuesday the 23rd). I couldn't go alone, I didn't feel like I could, so I had Jeff go with me. I was surprised at how well she looked and what good spirits she was in. I was in her room for about five minutes when I started to feel a little faint. Then I started to feel REALLY faint. Then REALLY REALLY faint. I had to go outside the room and sit down. Her nurse gave me some juice boxes and was chatting at me to drink them.
This has only happened to me one time before and not at the hospital (long story, won't go into it). All those times I'd been at the hospital for my mom…last year I was even in the ICU when she had a blood transfusion! I don't know if it was low blood sugar or what! Jeff stayed in there and talked to her. I went back in and couldn't handle it. I was so disappointed in myself. ICU visiting hours are limited, and I also think that even if they did let me stay longer because of this, I wouldn't have been able to go in. Her nurse told me to go home and eat, so I did and planned to go back later on that evening.
When I went back, same thing happened. I started to feel faint again. And I was alone. Back came the nurse with his juice…apple this time, blech. "Wow, you feel clammy," he said, "and look at your color." Yeah, how could I look at my color? Another nurse came by and pretty much echoed what he said. I felt so embarrassed. I wasn't able to stay long, but I did get to talk to the cardiac RN. She said that my mom's heart attack resulted from her cardiac enzymes being too high. Normal is less than 1.5, and my mom's were 2.8. To find out what was going on inside of my mom's heart, she had two options. One of the options was a Heart Stress Test, in which they would electronically stress out the heart, and the other was the Heart Catheterization Test, in which the doctors inserted a line into the main artery going into her heart to see what was going on. This was the most definitive test, but was the most risky one. After I talked to the nurse, who was VERY nice and accommodating, I knew I couldn't go back into my mom's room, so I stuck my head in and waved goodbye. What a wuss.
The second day that my mom was in the ICU (Wednesday the 24th), I was really afraid to go back because I thought I was going to get another fainting spell. All day long I went back and forth in my mind…should I go or shouldn't I go? Finally it was getting pretty late but I went. I was very glad that I did, and so was my mom. She said she felt lonely all day, especially since only family members can visit when someone is in the ICU. I told myself, "your mom is in the ICU, you have to go see her, you never know what could happen!" She told me that the doctor confirmed that she DEFINITELY had a mild heart attack. She told me that the doctor was pushing for her to have the Heart Catheritization test and she was really afraid to have it. She said she was supposed to have her answer in the morning. I told her to have them call me when he came in to talk to her about it.
The next morning (Thursday the 25th), I went to see my mom around…it was between 1-2pm. She was still in the ICU. I asked if the doctor had come to see her yet. She said he came a few hours prior, and I told her no one had called me. She said she asked someone to call me, but no one did. GRRRR. The nurse told me she had an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound, and that heart stress test. The doctor REALLY thought she needed the Heart Catheterization Test so she agreed to it. This is more than just a test; I'd say it was between a "procedure" and a "surgery." She was going to have it on Friday morning (the 26th) at 8am. I asked the nurse if I should be there that early, and she said it's just better to call and find out when my mom is back in her room. Good news was, she was ready to move out of the ICU and into her very own private room, though it was right by the busy, noisy nurses' station.
Friday morning (the 26th) I got a call around 9am from the Cardiac RN and she told me to be at the Cardiac Surgery Unit around 10am. I wasn't dressed yet, so I had to get ready FAST. I was supposed to take my dad with me but then I never would have made it. I got to the hospital around 10:15am, but by the time I found a parking spot (third row of the parking structure which is across the street from the hospital along with dodging construction) and took something like ten minutes to find where I was supposed to be, so about 20 minutes of that was on foot) it was close to 11am. When I asked if I was in the right place, the receptionist called back and said that my mom was still in procedure. That made me worry quite a bit.
A while later the doctor came out and said that my mom was refusing surgery. He wanted to do bypass surgery and she didn't want that, he also wanted her to have her parathyroid surgery and she didn't want to do that. I was confused about that. He was a cardiologist, not a thyroid surgeon. So he said all he could do was to recommend to her the 2nd best procedure, and she agreed to that. I was confused as to why she would refuse the best procedure.
So I knew he hadn't done anything major yet and sent back and sat down in the waiting area. Then I got tired and put my purse down on the arm of one of the couch-type seats and watched TV…it went from violence with African Americans vs. African Americans to "What is it like to be a Hooters Centerfold?" MY GOD what is wrong with Fox News???
Anyway, next thing I know I'm feeling groggy and it's like 2pm. 2pm??? I fell asleep? Someone must have come out to get me and I didn't hear. I asked if my mom was still in the back and she was and could now have visitors. So I went back and she said she asked them to call me back some time ago and I didn't come in, so she thought I wasn't there. Poor mom. I asked her why she refused the surgeries. She said she didn't refuse anything, that she said to do whatever needed to be done. I guess she was confused. THANK GOD she didn't consent to bypass surgery. When the nurse overheard, she said that bypass surgery was OPEN-HEART SURGERY. I said, "Ohhh nooo, I don't think we want that." I felt like a moron. My mom's body is just not healthy enough for that.
My mom was very hungry and was getting her first solid meal! And then they had to remove some stuff for her, so I went off for my OWN doctors' appt., and then had to go pick up my dad to bring him back and see her.
When we went back she was doing fine. She had to lie down flat for a long time though. We were there around 4pm and she had to lie down until about 8pm, and had been lying down quite some time before that. I felt really bad for her. I was still confused as to what they did. I found out that they did do the Cardiac Catheterization and also did Stenting. They put in two stents in her left artery, the most important one that runs to her heart. It was clogged, and they put the stents in to open it up the best they could. In about a month, they're going to have to put one in one of the arteries on the right side of her heart. It is so scary to think that my mom has these two wire mesh things in her arteries that are pretty much her lifeline…they are keeping her alive by helping blood get to hear heart…these two little wire mesh stents!!!
I asked the doctor why they were pushing for open heart surgery. He said she has something like a "Three (insert cardiac words here)," which is pretty serious. It means she has three blockages, but when they worked on her, it was too much to get to all of the blockages, so she has to get the third (right side) one done at another time. He also said she could get her parathyroid removed (which she wants to do) in six months. He said she was not a candidate for open heart surgery because of her age and underlying health conditions. This is something I agree with VERY much.
Late Saturday morning, on January 27th, we got the call…mom was being discharged!!! I was happy, but so soon? She had just had the surgery the day prior. So I was very nervous. I was still in my PJs as usual, had to get dressed, took me forever, and they were expecting me much earlier. I got a call from the nurse asking me if I was on my way, that they had a lot to go over. I hurried as fast as I could. I ran into my aunt on the way up to my mom's room. She was in the gift shop. In a way, it was a good thing that I was late, because I hadn't gotten in touch with her about my mom being discharged to go home, and if I had gotten there earlier, my mom would have been gone.
We watched 3 tapes on heart educational stuff and went over a bunch of stuff with a different cardio RN than the one I talked to last time. The tapes were actually very interesting and I'm glad I got to watch them (nerd). We also went over the discharge info, how my mom was going to have to change her diet, and TONS of other stuff that I am not going to get into because this is getting very long.
So for now it seems that my mom is going to be okay. This is one of the scariest experiences with my mom yet. A heart attack is a big deal. I mean so is a HUGE cyst in your leg, getting your kidney and gallbladder removed, and having a compression fracture in your back, but your heart…it runs your ENTIRE BODY!!!
I have no idea what started it. We put on the patch. She puked for what seemed close to a week, then she had a minor heart attack and minor cardiac surgery. Just like last year. We took her in for one problem, and they found three. I just don't get it. Would she have the attack had we not put on the patch? Because she'd complained of chest pain for quite some time on and off in the past, the same thing, and no one bothered to really look into it. No one checked her cardiac enzyme levels. Were those pains mini-heart attacks?
I guess we can't worry about that now. I do worry pretty much around the clock if I get a phone call and it's going to be "the" call, but I have to stop doing that. I just have to continue to enjoy the time I still have with my mom. The fighter. The strongest person I know.
Below is the procedure performed on my mom:
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