When it rains it floods
Jul. 7th, 2016 12:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkSo... Richard finally scheduled a hip replacement, a procedure that has been in the "when not if" category for some years. At his required pre-op physical he mentioned to his primary doctor that the brief episodes of light-headedness he has been complaining about for years have been getting more frequent, so doc did an EKG. Results were vague but concerning, so he was scheduled for some additional heart tests for right after the Fourth.
On July 3 he had a camp chair malfunction at the Bloomington fireworks display, falling over backwards and landing hard on his back. This resulted in continuing pain that fits the diagnosis of cracked ribs, although in his case it is more likely cracks in the latticework of bone spurs that glues his ribs and vertebrae together. Not much pain sitting still, but moving around causes sharp pain. Last time this happened it took at least a month for the pain to clear up, so he didn't think he'd be able to handle hip surgery next week. So we rescheduled the hip surgery for early September (the first time slot available) and cancelled the nuclear stress test. However, he had already done the 24-hour Holter Monitor, and I finally got around to driving out to the heart center yesterday to turn it back in for analysis.
Well, this morning we got an urgent phone call from the Heart Center. They looked at the Holter results and he needs a pacemaker, STAT. They really wanted him to come in TODAY and get it installed, but he'd eaten by the time they talked to him. So we talked to the nurse just now and scheduled the whole thing for tomorrow - consultation with electro-cardio guy, echo-cardiogram, and pacemaker installation. The pacemaker installation is apparently pretty routine, but he'll be in the hospital overnight Friday for observation.
Considering that his symptoms have not changed a bit in at least a year, the sense of urgency conveyed by the cardio nurse seems a little overblown. Certainly his daytime symptoms don't seem severe. But apparently it's worse at night, with pauses of up to 5 seconds, which is cause for serious concern. Well, now that we know that he could die in his sleep it is worth worrying about, but chances seem good that he'll make it through another night. A lot of older people have a lazy sinus node, which is pretty easily fixed by a pacemaker. I just hope that's the only problem. Well, we'll find out tomorrow, I guess. I'm thankful we have good insurance and access to a top-notch heart center like Methodist Hospital.
On July 3 he had a camp chair malfunction at the Bloomington fireworks display, falling over backwards and landing hard on his back. This resulted in continuing pain that fits the diagnosis of cracked ribs, although in his case it is more likely cracks in the latticework of bone spurs that glues his ribs and vertebrae together. Not much pain sitting still, but moving around causes sharp pain. Last time this happened it took at least a month for the pain to clear up, so he didn't think he'd be able to handle hip surgery next week. So we rescheduled the hip surgery for early September (the first time slot available) and cancelled the nuclear stress test. However, he had already done the 24-hour Holter Monitor, and I finally got around to driving out to the heart center yesterday to turn it back in for analysis.
Well, this morning we got an urgent phone call from the Heart Center. They looked at the Holter results and he needs a pacemaker, STAT. They really wanted him to come in TODAY and get it installed, but he'd eaten by the time they talked to him. So we talked to the nurse just now and scheduled the whole thing for tomorrow - consultation with electro-cardio guy, echo-cardiogram, and pacemaker installation. The pacemaker installation is apparently pretty routine, but he'll be in the hospital overnight Friday for observation.
Considering that his symptoms have not changed a bit in at least a year, the sense of urgency conveyed by the cardio nurse seems a little overblown. Certainly his daytime symptoms don't seem severe. But apparently it's worse at night, with pauses of up to 5 seconds, which is cause for serious concern. Well, now that we know that he could die in his sleep it is worth worrying about, but chances seem good that he'll make it through another night. A lot of older people have a lazy sinus node, which is pretty easily fixed by a pacemaker. I just hope that's the only problem. Well, we'll find out tomorrow, I guess. I'm thankful we have good insurance and access to a top-notch heart center like Methodist Hospital.
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Date: 2016-07-07 06:56 pm (UTC)Though who knows if the camp chair would have behaved properly in another local. In any case, I hope all goes well for the pacemaker installation, even if that does make him sound rather like a household appliance.
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Date: 2016-07-07 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-07 09:56 pm (UTC)I think the closest you can drive to where I usually watch is 67th and Eliot, which does mean at least a couple of blocks of walking.
Next year, perhaps.
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Date: 2016-07-07 07:28 pm (UTC)P.
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Date: 2016-07-07 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-07 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-08 03:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-08 03:49 am (UTC)It sounds like Richard's EKG is running similar to my dad's was the day he got his pacemaker. Here's hoping he gets a similar energy boost once everything is beating steadily again.
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Date: 2016-07-10 07:12 pm (UTC)I get that you might not have time to update, that's cool - If you do have time, I am interested to know.