A Day and a Night at the Hospital

 

by Pa Rock

Impatient Patient

Yesterday I spent a preplanned day at the Baxter County Community Hospital in Mountain Home, Arkansas.   I was there because I have been experiencing fairly significant shortness of breath issues and my cardiologist wanted to get an insider’s view of my heart and see if my arteries were doing their jobs properly.  I had major heart surgery in 2013, and things often start going wrong after heart surgery at about the ten-year mark.  
 
The procedure that I had yesterday was called a “heart cath” or an “angiogram.”  It involves running a cable with a camera either up an artery in the wrist or the groin to the heart and then having a look around.  With me they ran the cable up through the groin.  I was awake for the entire procedure, though drugged and groggy, and did not feel anything connected with the procedure.
 
The cardiologist found three arteries with blockages in the area of 90 percent each and was able to put stents in two of them during the process.  He will do the third one in early July.   Because stents were inserted, I had to spend last night in the hospital for observation.
 
I had an upset stomach after a day of not eating and then having a hospital Mexican-flavored supper, and I sat up in a chair to have quick access to the bathroom until three a.m.  Then I crawled into ed and spent the rest of the evening visiting with the nurses as they kept interrupting my night with the necessaries that come with being in a hospital.
 
The cardiologist did tell me that my symptom – extreme shortness of breath – was real, and that I was not being a hypochondriac!
 
My son, Nick, did a super job of getting me to the appointment and then staying with me both before and after the process.  He went home last night to take care of Rosie, and came back and  collected me this morning. Thanks, Nick!

Early this afternoon as we were pulling into West Plains, which is fifty miles or so northeast of Mountain Home, I got a call from the hospital - seldom a good thing.  A very nice lady at the nurse's station told me that I had left my laptop computer in my room at the hospital.  I had another medical appointment scheduled in West Plains this afternoon, and was able to get that one moved up - and then I made a quick round-trip to get the computer - which is why this blog is being posted so late.  
All of this running around has given Rosie some serious abandonment issues.   She will be my focus for the rest of the evening!