Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Heartaches....

Yesterday was kind of a crazy day...

We just get to bed, probably asleep for 30 minutes & Ricky wakes me up with the most startled look on his face.  "Wake up - I think I'm having a heart attack"... nothing like that to jolt you from asleep to awake in 0.0002 seconds!

His said his left arm felt like it filled up with water & he couldnt raise it & it was hurting & his heart didnt feel right.  I laid my hand on his chest & I've never felt a heart racing so fast in my life... & remember, I'm running now & my heart can get pretty fast... his heart doubled that pace...

We jump in the car in probably 0.0025 seconds & I am zooming down the road.  70 mph, on country roads - running red lights - I'm doing what I gotta do to get to the ER.  That's the only bad thing about living out away from everything.  That drive can seem like forever when you HAVE to get there fast...

He gets in the ER - they take him back right away - do a EKG on him & it was so fast, they had him in a trauma room.  People were surrounding him - giving him aspirin, putting on a nitro patch, taking blood - it was like someone hit the fast forward button & things were just moving so fast...

Next thing, they came in & told him that his EKG results came back abnormal & he would be admitted & more tests ran.  At this point, Ricky was scared... making me scared...

Then he just started talking - conversations you dont ever want to really have with your spouse.  He started getting upset & saying that he felt like he was going to die.  He wanted to assure me he loved me & would always love me - he wanted me to do things for him, messages to pass on - I just kept telling him to stop it, he would be fine.. then he wanted to call his daughters & tell them he loved them in case something were to happen.  It didnt matter it was 2 am - he said he had to tell them how much they meant to him.  ... it was a rough night emotionally...

The nurses assured him he was in the best care & he was going to be alright, but once Ricky is upset - it takes more then that to calm him down...

Then it was a waiting game... we were still in the trauma room since there was no room on the cardiology floor.  We were in that room from midnight until 6:30 am... Luckily, they had a room open in the ER that had a real bed for him & a more comfortable chair for me... it felt like Heaven & we got about a half hour of sleep...

The cardiologist finally arrived & tests were ran on Ricky. 

They did a stress test & this is the story of Ricky - his heart was BETTER while he ran for 15 minutes!  How funny is that!  But the cardiologist was assuring to him & let him know he was going to be just fine...

In the end, they said that he had an abnormal heartbeat... Ricky is a VERY VERY VERY worrisome person.  The smallest things make him worry to such a degree...they said that could have been a factor in his heart getting out of rhythm.  Then add in the amount of caffeine he had that night & the doc said it was like a perfect storm of making the body feel like a heart attack. 

He said with that combo, it truly would make the heart feel like a heart attack - exactly like the real thing - & the whole body would even react like a heart attack (which caused his arm to hurt & do what it did as well)... then, being a worrier & stressed person anyways, that aggravated the out of rhythm heart - which just kept this circle going... which ended us up at the hospital... so in the end, the doc said Ricky's body felt like it would do with an actual heart attack, but there was no damage done to the heart...Praise the Lord!

They wanted him to get on beta blockers to help with the rhythm, but Ricky refused... I dont blame him - I know it'll make him feel slower then normal & if he can control his stress - which affects his heart - then he will be just fine.. its just getting him to that point...

So, we got to head home feeling much better... & I'm actually glad this whole event happened as a good wake up call for him.  Ricky needs to realize how stress hurts the body & how he eats (Mr. Sugar.. or as the nurse called him, Mr. Kit-Kat) affects him as well...

We went home & both of us knocked out for a nap... a half hour of sleep isnt good for anyone...

Life is back in swing today... it was quite a day....

20 comments:

  1. Glad to hear. I was praying for you all yesterday and I am glad to hear how manageable this is for Ricky. Have a good rest of the week.

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  2. Wow so glad to hear that everything turned out to be something you can manage. I know that was a scary/rough night. We will add him to our prayer journals and keep praying for him though.

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  3. That had to have been so scary! I'm so relieved that everything is alright! Tell Ricky to go easy on that sugar...but I love it, too!

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  4. I'm glad to hear that Ricky is OK! Keeping you both in my thoughts!

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  5. Glad all turned out well. Heart issues are scary and a wake-up call. I'll keep you guys in my prayers.

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  6. Nothing worse than getting advice from a stranger, but I just wanted to share my experience with you so you can have another's perspective on a similar situation.

    I had similar symptoms to your husband's last August at 42 yrs. old. I WAS having a heart attack, but it resulted in no damage to the heart so they call it a cardiac event. I was in the hospital for 3 days going through every imaginable test imaginable so I understand the panic and stress that you have felt while going through this.

    I'm so glad that your husband was NOT having a heart attack. Praise the Lord! I'm so glad that it woke him up and he was willing to go get it checked out. Glad you got there safely too. :)

    I just wanted to share that I am on the Beta Blocker, Lopressor (25 mg. twice a day) When I came home from the hospital I took naps for about 3-4 days (which could have been from the meds and/or just from not sleeping well in the hospital.) These naps were 30-60 min and I felt refreshed afterwards...not dragging around with exhaustion. After that first week I felt no fatigue.

    In the hospital when I shared my concerns about exhaustiion my doc said that if I were dragging around then more than likely I would be on too high a dose. I saw him once a month for the first 6 months to monitor how I was feeling. I had been taking the Lopressor once a day, but experienced dizziness within an hour of taking it. (Too high a dose at one time.) We cut the pill in half and I take it morning and night; it manages my blood pressure perfectly. This all got sorted out within the first week. I've now successfully taken it for 7 mo.

    For 2 years I procrastinated on taking meds for my hypertension because it wasn't very high, but I then ended up with something very serious happening. I would never want to be that person who pushed a drug on someone else, but I have felt so much better on meds and my anxiety has decreased because I know I'm doing all I can for my health NOW and can continue to work on my weight/stress so that I can get off the meds in the future.

    Of course, I'm not giving your or your husband medical advice and suggesting you do something other than what you've chosen, but I wanted to give you my perspective on how helpful and stress-relieving the medicine I'm on has been for me. There are a million stories on both sides. Just wanted you to hear ONE good one. :)

    Again, I'm thankful that all turned out well and that he is back home with you after the night's stay. What a blessing it is to be able to share with people all over the world and know they are praying for you.

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  7. RJ,
    I am so very happy that everhthing turned out well. Tell Mr. Kit-Kat to take it easy!!!

    Love you friend,
    Dawn

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  8. P.S. I just meant to come over and share in your fear of the sewing machine. Instead I felt led to share my "heart" story.

    Anyway, I know what you mean about the machine. I got out scrap fabric and tried the fancy stitches and I've purchased plenty of material and patterns in the last week, but haven't put my foot to the pedal yet. I start each conversation with the JoAnn Fabric clerks, "I'm not a "sewer," but I just got a machine..." Poor ladies. :)

    Will have to see how long it takes us to give it a try!

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  9. Praise the Lord that he was okay! Stress is the worst. I'll be praying for him!

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  10. Oh my gosh! That is so scary! I'm so glad his heart wasn't damaged and that it wasn't a heart attack. You two definitely needed that nap after that!

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  11. Oh my gosh! I am so glad everything is okay! I hope both of you are feeling better today!!! Hugs!

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  12. How scary. Hope he's able to get his stress under control so this doesn't happen again.

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  13. I'm praying for you both. Thank you for sharing. God bless, Lloyd

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  14. That must've been extremely scary for you. Glad he's okay.

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  15. Wonderful news that your husband was NOT having a heart attack, but rather a wake-up call. Also wonderful that you made it to ER and got such quick and excellent care.

    When the new healthcare system kicks in, be prepared for way less than the stellar service you received.

    A month ago when my friend asked her doctor what he would do if the healthcare bill passed, he said he would quit being a doctor and go into another line of work. Before the healthcare bill passed, a survey was taken among doctors nationwide and 43% gave the same answer as my friend's doctor.

    I'm beginning to think that the best line of defense is an offense--needing a doctor only rarely--which is best accomplished by changing our present lifestyles into being as healthy as possible: healthy eating, daily exercise, optimum sleep, and daily meditating in God's Word. There's a wealth of information available out there to help us do this.

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  16. I was so worried about him! Thanks for the update! I am thrilled to know he is OK!! Must have been a scary night for you both!!

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  17. Oh my gosh! I read through this post with lightening speed to make sure he was ok in the end! That's truly some scary stuff for yall. My Dad had a heart attack when I was 13 or so. Then my Mom had a nasty stroke when I was 15. Both of those occurred in the late night hours & it jarred the whole household. The family all sprang into action to get them to the hospital & today - both my parents are doing well despite their illnesses - but that still registers in my mind to this day as 2 of the most instant scary scenario's ever.
    Glad to hear Ricky is doing well & will be ok & that you too are doing well. Scared us all!

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  18. oh heavens! lady i am so glad to hear he is ok!!!!

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  19. So scary! I can't even imagine what you night must've been like! I'm SO glad that he's ok!!! (((HUGE HUGS)))

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  20. I saw your tweets about this, but I'm so behind on reading blogs. Been trying to catch back up after I was sick.

    Anyway SO GLAD he is OK!

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