Sorry for the drought of posts, o fair readers. Just when I was getting back into the swing of things, catastrophe struck. However, I'm relieved to say, things are finally smooth again on the familial waterfront. Here's what happened:
Last Monday my mom was scheduled to have a couple of stents put in the veins near her heart as they were completely blocked (imagine putting your hands into a rubber band and pulling them apart - this is kind of how a stent opens the vein). She'd been having trouble with some severe shortness of breath and this was thought to be the cause.
So they loaded her up on blood thinners and went in through her femoral artery (the one in your leg). Once they had gotten the equipment in there, a blood clot spontaneously formed and made it's way to her heart. With the equipment in one end and the clot in the other...yeah, it wasn't good news. The clot caused her heart to stop. The doctors had to abandon the procedure and resuscitate her. They worked for 45 minutes until they had a consistent heart beat. They put a balloon pump near her heart (in her body - isn't that crazy?) to do the work of her heart so her heart could rest and they intubated her to aid her breathing. She was in ICU for the first two days. That was the scary part.
Fortunately she turned the corner and recovered like a champ. Her heart did not sustain any damage and she is healing well. Her memory was quite foggy for a few days, but there was no loss of brain function from the resuscitation episode. She spent the next week in the hospital slowly gaining her strength back. She's been pretty tired and it's still difficult to breathe (and she has pneumonia now to boot - thanks to the intubation), but she's finally starting to feel better.
Last night she was able to get a full night's sleep (the first time in a while) and she's regaining her mobility. Just a couple of days ago she could only go a few steps at a snail's pace before she was completely winded. She's not quite up to full speed yet - but she's walking all around the house like it's nothing and is only slightly out of breath. Praise the Lord!!
She's bruised beyond belief (see pic)
and you can still see the burn marks from the paddles, but she's going to be fine. (Apparently CPR is hard on your body...) Once she recovers enough they'll discuss going back in to actually put the stents in place (unfortunately they weren't able to do it while they were in there because her dang heart stopped).
In the mean time - we're all thankful she's alive. Let me tell you: being confronted with your parent's mortality is about the least fun thing in the world. I know it's something we all have to come to terms with one day, but I expected it to be a slow and gradual process, much like aging itself. The older they got, the more I would slowly leak the message that I won't have them around forever to my sub-conscience. Instead this was morel like being punched in the face by a stranger, then having my assaulter say, "whoops - thought you were someone else" and go on their merry way. I wouldn't say I'm thankful for the experience, but it's certainly shown me what I'm made of, opened my eyes a bit, and oh-so-relieved that my assailant didn't set his sights on me for a royal ass whooping.
Despite my lack of contact with the outside world, all of the phone calls, emails, and voicemails of support have been greatly appreciated. When push comes to shove, it's the greatest blessing to know just how many people really love you and are praying for you. Thank you.
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