Well, it was an 11 hour day at the hospital and I am SO glad to be home. Bruce left some sweet and sour beef in the crockpot, and I made some pasta. It was after 9 before we could eat dinner.
Thank goodness the other day I had the inclination to make a big bowl of green bean salad - it's been the vegetable the past few nights.
Bruce came home this morning and reported Mother had a good night last night. I could tell as much when I got to the hospital - her color was better.
She had a heart catheterization done today, to determine if there was any blockage. The doctor told me afterwards her arteries are totally clean - probably better than his arteries.
Oh, and just FYI - she eats regular bacon almost every day. Has for years. Still has clean arteries.
What caused all the trouble was that Mother developed a condition called ventricular tachycardia. She was having shortness of breath, some dizziness, and ultimately the fainting that happened Monday. The doctor told me that with most older people that pass out from V-Tach, is they live alone and nobody revives them and they die. I got Mother revived on Monday by hollering at her and wiping her face with a wet paper towel. I didn't realize the seriousness of the situation until the doctor told me that, and I am still emotionally processing the fact that my mother could've died.
I had just come in from running errands with Alesia and so the timing was from God, I am sure.
I told Mother yesterday, it wasn't your time. You've got more to do here. Hard for me to think about that too much or I will start crying.
Mother was restless all afternoon. Her legs ache from falling the other night when she fainted. Though it was a gentle fall, her legs were at funny angles under her for a few minutes until the kids and I could help her. The place in her groin where they put in the catheter is sore, too, and of course the site where they implanted the pacemaker.
She was moved to a regular room early this evening. The rooms at St. Josephs are set up in a circle surrounding the nurse's station. It's kind of cool.
The nurse tried to give her Zocor and I said nope, we're refusing that one. She has never had high cholesterol, ever, and her arteries are free of plaque, so WTF?!? They just assume all heart patients have high cholesterol. It's ridiculous. Other than that, though, the nurses have been outstanding.
I read part of the literature they gave us about the pacemaker. She can use a microwave and go thru airport security OK, but can't operate a jackhammer or power tools. What a huge impact THAT will have on her life. LOL
She is coming home tomorrow, and I hope she will mend more rapidly after that. Please Pray I will have the stamina and patience I need while nursing her. She is not a great patient...
