Thursday, December 4, 2008

Another Angiogram


About three months ago, Dutch had 3 stents placed in the arteries of his heart. Last Monday he had to go back and have another Angiogram to check on the status of the stents. Because of his liver disease he is prone to bleeding. Because of this the cardiologists can't follow the normal protocol of blood thinners to keep scarring of the stents at bay.





We didn't approach this procedure with much apprehension because he had been through it before and knew what to expect. What happened last time was that they used a drill bit to clear out plaque to open the artery because he can't have open heart surgery. After the procedure, I was ushered down a long hallway into a small waiting room and told to wait here for the doctor. Well I sat in the regular waiting room and I saw plenty of doctors come out and talk to families and give them whatever news there was to give, right there in front of everyone. Here I was, being ushered into this secluded private little room and I thought: oh no! this can't be good!!! I waited there for what seemed to be forever and went through all of the emotional ups and downs, trying to prepare myself for the bad news I knew was coming. All of a sudden the doctor bounced in, all smiles and gave me GOOD news. I was so prepared for bad news that the good news almost seemed harder to take.

So on Monday, again I was ushered into this little waiting room. This time though, I was not going to assume the worst! Another family joined me to wait for their report. The doctor bounced in and reported on Dutch and then I stepped outside to give the other family some privacy. When they came to get me so I could go up to the room with Dutch I was just outside the door and missed them!! All these little details add to the emotional stress that is already going on and kind of gets your head spinning.

The doctor reported that they had, indeed, found scarring on the stents and had to use balloons to open the arteries again. Dutch later reported that this was painful and felt to him like he was having a heart attack. He knows that we have to do this again in three months and told me this morning that he was now a bit scared to have it done. No fun!! The doctors chose
not to repair the third artery which still has blockage because to do so would require blood thinners, which at this time would not be good for him to have.

When I caught up with Dutch in the ICU this is what I found. They had placed a towel over his eyes to shield him from the bright lights. He was on nitroglycerin for the pain in his chest. They told me that this would give him a headache. Turns out it also made his blood pressure go extremely low. The nurses came running and they called the doc on duty, but it all got better when they lowered the nitro, gave him a shot for pain and gave him some potassium. Just a little more excitement.
I always stay with Dutch 24/7 when he is in the hospital. I love doing it and there is no amount of nursing care that can respond to all his requests for more blankets, urinals and whatever else. Besides, he was HUNGRY!! Of course a chair, even a semi-recliner is no place to spend the night, so the next day found me pretty cross eyed!
Long story short, he was discharged around 2 the next day and we both looked forward to getting home into our own beds!
















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