Ablation #4 done and flopped PART 1

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG

Well ok here is the update everyone is waiting for. I went had it done and am home. End of story. That's all she wrote.








No seriously I think if that was all I posted a few people would shoot me.

Well I went to the hospital on Tuesday January 15, 2008. I got there and went to admitting where I was told to go on Monday. What do you know wrong place. I was supposed to go straight up to the floor. Screw up number one but not by me cause I was just doing what I was told to do for a change. HA HA. So I get settled in my room (I had a private room which was kinda nice) and was supposed to have chest x-rays at 10:50 am. So by 11:20 am and I still hadn't gone down I figured they were getting cancelled. I had to be in the Echo Lab at noon and the CCU (Coronary Care Unit) at 12:30 pm for a TEE (Trans Esphogeal Echo). Finally they take me down for the chest x-rays and we (mom and I) stress to them I need to be sent straight over to the Echo lab right after.

I get to the Echo lab at like 11:55 am and sit there for about 10 minutes before they take me in for the echo. At this point I send my mom home cause there is no point for her to hang around anymore. So she leaves and will return on Thursday to bring me home. What I don't know is she stops by Dr. Downar my EP's (Electrophysiologists) office and tells Julie his secretary that I am in very bad shape and would she make sure that Dr. Downar comes to see me.

So I am done having the echo and then it is time to go to the CCU to have the TEE done. This test I hate having done. I only trust my Cardiologist who is not at this hospital. So we get down in the room and I am expecting Dr. Heggie to come and she doesn't someone else does. Well I was rather upset. Partly cause I don't want the test done, partly cause I am in the hospital, and partly cause Dr. Heggie is not there and I don't do well with change. So the Respiratory Therapist was Andrew and he was wonderful and the Anesthetist was Max and another fellow. Max was really nice as was Andrew. So I am in tears really upset about having the test and not having Dr. Heggie there. I have never seen three grown men fuss over one person like they did with me. Andrew sat and just held my hand for a few minutes and talked with me. Max was behind him drying my tears reassuring what Andrew was saying and the other fellow was at my feet talking to me as well. Then they called Melitta she is the head of Echo Department so she came in and when she saw me I lost it. She was there in October and knew how upset I was then. When she saw me she said " I thought we said we were never doing this test on you again". She told me it was going to be ok. She told the guys that they could go ahead as I was alright. I think me being that upset really bothered them. Melitta just held my hand till they knocked me out. So they knocked me out did the TEE without freezing my throat this time which made recovery faster. When they woke me up out of the anasetic I was out of rhythm. So we called Dr. Downar and he called the Pacer people to come and over ride the pacemaker. Dr. Donwar stayed with me for a few minutes after the TEE. He told me my mom stopped by his office and mentioned to Julie I was rather distressed. I was still really upset while he was there talking with me. Dr. Downar held my hand a talked with me. He was wiping the my tears with the blanket they had on me. It really bothers him when I am upset. He is always telling me to be brave and that he will do everything for me that he can. I know that and appreciate that very much. But it still doesn't make things easier.

So I was sent back up to my room and things were done for the day. Well cause I have no support system in the hospital I had them call the Chaplain on call. So he came. He was just a young fellow. His name was Ajit and he was very nice. We talked for quite awhile. I could see that how upset I was really bothered him as well. He told me he felt like crying right along with me and I think he did a few times. He told me that he was only 30 years old ( I didn't think he was younger than I am but thought close to my age). Ajit told me he could understand how I felt about being alone, mad, frustrated, and feeling like I had no support because when he was 22 he was totally paralyzed and spent a long time in the hospital. That really helped having some one that understood. While Ajit was there I was out of rhythm again so he went and told the nurse. When the nurse came, Ajit left and said he would be back on Thursday. I told him if he wanted to he could come back later that night as I wasn't going anywhere and would be up and probably could use the support.

So the nurse asked me what I did when I was out of rhythm and I told him I either took my meds, did nothing, or sometimes they had the pacer guys come and over ride the pacemaker. So he went and called Dr. Downar to find out what to do. So when he came back he was a little surprised Dr. Downar wasn't too concerned. Apparently he was told to do what I suggested. I really should have my MD by now. So that make twice I have been out today.

I didn't get to sleep until 3am.

Wednesday January 16, 2008 the big day. I am first case to be done today which is good. I go down around 7:30 am to the holding. The holding nurses start to put an IV in and the Anesthetist comes in and stops them. He wants to do it all. He didn't seem to knowledgeable but he was nice. So he finally gets organized makes a mess of my hand and Greg one of the EP techs gets anal. Greg and I have dealt with each other a few times now so I was joking around with him. Finally we go in to the Cath Lab and get me situated. Dr. Donwar comes in and comes to talk to me. Reassures me that everything will be ok and that he will be there and do his best and he won't let anything to happen to me. Rajh was the resident working with Dr. Downar again ( had him in October too) he is very nice. As he was turning the therapies off on the pacer the anesthetist knocked me out. I was out for a bit then started to come to. I heard Dr. Downar's voice and could see him so I tried to fight the sedation to stay awake. But I think they noticed and the anesthetist must have done something cause I was out again. I know Dr. Downar would have been ok if I was awake while he was doing the mapping cause he would have kept me informed as to what he was doing. So I wake up in the recovery after everything is all done. I am lying there waiting for them to take the sheeths out of my groin and I am in pain. So they give me 400 mgs of Motrin to try and help with the pain. Rajh told them to give me that and I could have the Motrin PRN as well. Well that order never got written up. So I am laying there on my back in aggony and tears cause the Motrin never did anything. My blood had to be a certian thickness so they can take the sheeths out. I was fading in and out because of the sedation.

So Dr. Downar comes to see me. Explains that things went well. Told me that he was getting depressed while he was mapping the electrical circuit because part of it wasn't making sense and he wasn't getting anywhere. So he decided to scrap what he had done and started over. Once he did that he got some success and was pleased with that. Apparently this arrhythmia was down in the Tricuspid Valve nub that I have and was very difficult to map and burn. He told me he got it and it was successful. We talk a few minutes and I asked him a few questions. I asked him if he would come and see me in my room that night so that we could kinda talk long term but not set in stone plans. He said he didn't know if he could because he had another case to do but we would talk.

Well I am going to stop here and go to bed now. I will pick up very soon with the rest. I know the suspense is probably going to kill you all as the best is still yet to come.