AWB had a Heart Attack - Part 2

Now that they had blood and a better IV in me the testing continued.  X-Rays every morning.  Ultra sound of stomach and chest, MRI's and Cat Scans.  Guess what?  THEY FOUND NOTHING! In the mean time I was getting next to zero sleep as I was monitored round the clock and they kept waking me to make sure I was ok.  On the 4th day this nice looking young man identified himself as a Dr and told me they needed to do an angiogram.  What's an angiogram?  I'm glad you asked.  This is where they insert a needle into your wrist, find a vein and run a scope to your heart.  I happen to inquire about the pain threshold and the nice looking young Dr said, "Oh, very minimal, we're going to apply some lidocain and phentonol."  So ok on we go.  They wheel me to this room and strip me naked and make me get on this small table.  I suspected something was amiss when they started strapping me down.  They jam the needle into my wrist and not only is it agonizing but you can hear it crunching through.  I'm not ashamed to say I let out a scream. The Dr comments that I'm a big guy and should be tough.  Don't know about you, but when I hurt like that I get seriously mean.  I provided some very choice words while indicating the many different ways I was going to rip his face off.  But those darn straps are good!

Well, on the other hand, the angiogram results showed 2 blocked arteries and the worst was one doctors literally have named the "widow maker".  Next comes the cardiologist Dr Betty Kim.  She explains in great detail how they're going to split my chest open, pull my heart out, take an artery from my arm and one from the left wall of my chest and then put me back together.  HOLY CRAP that's scary.. BUT the geek in me was fascinated,  She said they were taking an artery from my arm instead of my leg because in terms of this surgery I was a young patient.  This is also when she told me my weight did not cause the heart attack but it was inherited.  Please remember that if you have a family history of heart disease,

Friday 24 Aug 2018 is when they did the surgery.  As they were wheeling me into OR, I distinctly remember not being afraid to die.  I knew once they gave me the go go juice I wouldn't feel anything and if I didn't wake I would go painless.  A very selfish thought, but true non the less.  Instead of a 3.5 hour surgery it took over 6.  That's where my weight comes in, the fatty tissue created problems for the surgeon.  Enough so, I now have a titanium plate in my chest.  On the plus side I came out of surgery fine.

You want to know what's terrifying?  Waking up!  Like in the movies I heard someone announce, "he's coming out of it."  It was extremely disorienting, the room was spinning while people were moving everywhere.  There was a giant tube down my throat and once again I was strapped so I couldn't move.  Let's not forget the pain or the giant IV in my neck. My entire chest was in dire need of relief. I was terrified.  I've been stabbed and even shot at and combined they do not convey the fear I had at that moment.  Thank god they let The Boss and my mother into the ICU.  Steph took my hand and my mother grabbed my foot and it was then I wanted to live.

The next 2.5 days were crazy with them pulling tubes out of my chest.  Not to mention wires that were actually attached to my heart.  They had me slated for a week at the hospital but I was released Tuesday early morning.  Steph deserves tons of credit here since she stayed with me every night and tended to my every need.  The staff couldn't believe how fast I was released.  I also have to give huge credit to my family (mom and bro flew in from TX) and yes my old buddy Kev-o for visiting and encouraging me.

       Know this is getting a bit long now, but have to take a moment to boast a little.  A week after my release I was with the cardiac nurse for a follow up when Dr Kim stepped into the office to speak with the nurse.  She looked at me and had a visible reaction.  The good Dr couldn't believe how healthy I looked in such a short time.  I can't thank Steph, my family and friends enough for their support to help make it possible.  Also, the staff, nurses, and doctors at St Francis were absolutely spectacular.