Thursday, May 13, 2021

It's been an interesting few days

Sunday my husband sat on the couch all day and napped.  Monday, it was the same thing, and he didn't even surf the web much, if any; that's highly unusual.  He tried to eat but just couldn't.  In fact, I couldn't even get him to drink much water.  That evening I told him he had to go to the emergency room, because something was obviously wrong; he protested, but not too much.  The grandson took us to St. Mary's and it wasn't long before they took him in.  He was having trouble breathing... that seemed to be his main problem.  But he also had heartburn (that's what he thought was wrong just before he ended up having a four-way bypass, sixteen years ago).  As soon as they hooked him up to an IV and did a little testing, they began checking his heart.  His blood pressure was up quite a bit and his pulse was faster than it should have been.  Once he'd been there awhile, he started feeling better.  None of the folks working with him had much to say about what was wrong.  Later a sweet nurse said they hadn't wanted to worry us until they knew what the problem was.

They checked Cliff's vitals, did a EKG, took blood, and mentioned a chest Xray.  Honestly, I'm not sure what all they did for him, but everyone remained cool, calm, and pleasant during our ER visit.  After an hour or so, a doctor came back and informed us my husband had atrial fibrillation.  I was familiar with that term because my mother had the condition for years.  Cliff had never had problems before with irregular heartbeat, so this was unfamiliar territory for him.  I suspect since I have an irregular heartbeat, he wanted to out-do me.  I'm kidding, of course.

They said they were keeping him overnight so they could try to get his heart beating properly and monitor him closely.  The next morning his heartbeat was still irregular.  We had assumed he'd go home the next morning, but no.  They weren't going to let him go until the situation got better.

Just about the time they were preparing to take other measures to get his heart back in rhythm, his ticker settled down and started beating regularly, all by itself.  

They dealt with his breathing problems all during his stay, also.

He was released around noon yesterday with two new pills to take:  A blood thinner and something else.  It's been an exciting couple of days and I am not recalling everything very well.  

I spent both days with him, coming home at night.  I don't drive, but I have a pretty good family network to take me to and from the hospital.  Our daughter, my grandson, and his girl-friend all did a great job of shuffling me back and forth to the hospital as they made their rounds to and from their jobs.  Cliff's sister lives five or ten minutes from the hospital and she and I decided that if he is ever in the hospital longer than two days, my dog and I will stay at her house.  She has dogs of her own and a well-fenced back yard, so Gabe would fit right in.   Let's hope that doesn't happen, but my husband and I are at an age when nothing surprises us.

And now, back to your regular programming.  My blog is beginning to look like a medical journal lately, but I'm just keeping it real, as Pioneer Woman always said.   

18 comments:

  1. My brother-in-law had atrial febulation and they usually got his heart to get regular again with an IV. Once they had to shock him with a paddle. He had 11 different incidences of it over the years.

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  2. Oh gosh! What a scary time for you. I don’t drive anymore either and it’s times like this that I can feel helpless. Sigh. I’m so glad you have support you can rely on.

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  3. I've been battling irregular heart beating for several months in the form of my grandmother. In her case, after three emergency room visits and dozens of assorted other specialty visits in between, they have narrowed it down to her body not regulating her magnesium levels like it should. Still no word on what is causing that. But at least with monitoring and magnesium supplements, she hasn't had an episode in several weeks so we're hopeful.

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  4. Northern AB gal7:00 PM

    Hubby suffers from afib and has had several episodes where he needed to be shocked to get his heart beating normally. The nurses always comment on his irregular beats, something I'm sure you are familiar with :) Good that they kept him overnight for monitoring. Seems getting older comes with a whole set of problems that involve taking more pills! You are fortunate to have a great support team to get you back and forth to the hospital. Hope Cliff and you are feeling better soon. Take care.

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  5. Hope you both have some uneventful days soon.

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  6. Oh man, Donna... poor Cliff... and poor YOU too! I don't know what's more stressful... being in the hospital yourself or having a loved one there. At any rate I'm glad Cliff is home again and his heart rhythm is better. What a crazy thing! Afib is nothing to mess with. I will pray for you both. Keep us posted, would you? Much love~ Andrea xoxo

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  7. I'm glad Cliff's heartbeat got back to normal! My brother, who is 78, had to have a pacemaker/difibrilator(sp?) implanted a few years back. So far (knock on wood) he is doing okay with it. I just sent a little prayer up for you and Cliff. I hope yall get some rest.

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    1. Thank you, dear friend. You know how it feels to be in my situation. My goodness, how long ago was it when you lost your husband? Time does fly.

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  8. I'm so sorry to hear whats been happening to you and Cliff healthwise the past couple months. I hope things turn around for you both soon. i'll be saying prayers for you. i've been missing in action from commenting these days cause of my own health issues. all we can do is take things one day at a time. take care. you guys are in my thoughts.

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  9. So sorry he has to deal with AFIB but luckily there are some great meds available. I also have it and a pacemaker, blood thinner and a pill to regulate my heart have worked wonders. No problems at all for years. Hope his will be easy to control also.

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. I signed up for the weekly email, just so I could check it out. Thanks.

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  11. My goodness. A lot of worry for you both the last month or so. Happy to read that his heart went back into rhythm. you both take care now. Wendy

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  12. My heart is okay, but I do have irregular thoughts.

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  13. Donna, my blog has been hacked and your comment link is gone and my photo too. Will you log on to my blog this morning some time this morning and see if it will reinstate?

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    1. Margie, I doubt if it was hacked. Yesterday a lot of the bloggers I follow had an issue, and I did too. The message said something about it being a dangerous site. Scared me yesterday, but this morning all was well. Just reboot your computer and everything will be fine.

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  14. Glad he's home and that everyone was pleasant and helpful. Heart issues are scary.

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