As you have probably noticed, my blogging has been few and far between the past 30 days. With everything that's been going on with my father's health, I haven't had much time or energy to devote to blogging. I'm hopeful that this will change over the course of the month as I have plenty of items I would like to blog about.
My first blog entry of Aug 2009 is related to my father's health issue. I took a half day off from work to accompany my father to consult the doctor who will be performing the procedure to implant the defibrillator. It was a mid-afternoon appointment, but like most doctor appointments, they are never on time. We waited an hour past our appointment time before we finally were seen by the nurse. The nurse did her thing and checked my father's vitals (which included an EKG) which took about 15 minutes total.
After that was done, we were told to sit tight as the doctor would be right with us. Well, we waited for another 20 minutes before the doctor came in. He basically told us that he had consulted with my father's cardiologist and agrees with the assessment that my father would benefit from a defibrillator. After a brief discussion, my father gave his approval to have the procedure and we had it scheduled.
Unfortunately, the earliest they could do it was late this month. I was hoping to have it done sooner, but the doctor's schedule was already booked for the next 3 weeks. He said my father should be fine in the meantime as long as he gets plenty of rest, continues taking his medication, and takes it easy for the next few weeks. I asked my dad to do just that and to minimize his activity.
As I stated before, I'm going to be anxious between now and the day of the procedure. Here's hoping to no emergency room visits or additional health-related drama. I've had my fill of them.
Showing posts with label Dark Clouds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dark Clouds. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Dark Clouds Have Returned
The dark clouds have returned and may be with me for a bit....
I received another scare with my dad this past week. I got a call from mom one evening where she told me that my dad had weakness and numbness in both his arms and legs. Obviously, I rushed over and had him taken to the hospital emergency room.
It wasn't a heart attack, so we feared that it may be a stroke. At the hospital, they performed a CT scan and a neurologist checked him. The neurologist ruled out a stroke (much to our relief). The cardiologist, however, believes the weakness my dad experienced was a result of his weakened heart from the cardiac episode 3 weeks back. With that said, the cardiologist highly recommended that my dad get a defibrillator. He stated that my dad is susceptible to sudden death due to his weak heart and having the defibrillator could prevent that from happening.
My dad was hesitant to get it. He's regained feeling in his limbs and isn't keen on undergoing further surgery. However, the cardiologist explained to him that this procedure isn't open heart surgery. The procedure for the defibrillator is a 1 to 2 hour procedure which can be done on an outpatient basis for most people. Being that my dad is in a weakened condition, the cardiologist said that they would keep him overnight at the hospital just to ensure that everything is okay. He would get to go home the next day.
We're now setting up a time to have the procedure. Between now and then, I'm going to be a bit anxious and hope that we'll be able to weather the dark clouds that are upon us.
I received another scare with my dad this past week. I got a call from mom one evening where she told me that my dad had weakness and numbness in both his arms and legs. Obviously, I rushed over and had him taken to the hospital emergency room.
It wasn't a heart attack, so we feared that it may be a stroke. At the hospital, they performed a CT scan and a neurologist checked him. The neurologist ruled out a stroke (much to our relief). The cardiologist, however, believes the weakness my dad experienced was a result of his weakened heart from the cardiac episode 3 weeks back. With that said, the cardiologist highly recommended that my dad get a defibrillator. He stated that my dad is susceptible to sudden death due to his weak heart and having the defibrillator could prevent that from happening.
My dad was hesitant to get it. He's regained feeling in his limbs and isn't keen on undergoing further surgery. However, the cardiologist explained to him that this procedure isn't open heart surgery. The procedure for the defibrillator is a 1 to 2 hour procedure which can be done on an outpatient basis for most people. Being that my dad is in a weakened condition, the cardiologist said that they would keep him overnight at the hospital just to ensure that everything is okay. He would get to go home the next day.
We're now setting up a time to have the procedure. Between now and then, I'm going to be a bit anxious and hope that we'll be able to weather the dark clouds that are upon us.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Dark Clouds Have Parted!
It appears that the dark clouds have parted and the sunshine is out!
My dad was released from the hospital this afternoon. In the span of 3 days, my dad was given 3 doses of medication to expel fluid from his system which resulted in him losing a total of 5lbs. I can't imagine that he had that much fluid built up in his lungs, but he absolutely swears that there is no more discomfort in his chest. After he does something as simple as walking to the bathroom, he says that he no longer exhibits a shortness of breath or any discomfort (as he had experienced last week). This is, of course, great news!
The downside of this cardiac episode is that there probably is some impact on the health of his heart. To that extent, his cardiologist made an appointment to see him this Tuesday to have another checkup. He'll have another battery of tests run, so we'll see how that goes. But right now, I am just ecstatic that he's home. I can finally get some restful sleep!
My dad was released from the hospital this afternoon. In the span of 3 days, my dad was given 3 doses of medication to expel fluid from his system which resulted in him losing a total of 5lbs. I can't imagine that he had that much fluid built up in his lungs, but he absolutely swears that there is no more discomfort in his chest. After he does something as simple as walking to the bathroom, he says that he no longer exhibits a shortness of breath or any discomfort (as he had experienced last week). This is, of course, great news!
The downside of this cardiac episode is that there probably is some impact on the health of his heart. To that extent, his cardiologist made an appointment to see him this Tuesday to have another checkup. He'll have another battery of tests run, so we'll see how that goes. But right now, I am just ecstatic that he's home. I can finally get some restful sleep!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Dark Clouds Above Me?
There must have been a few dark clouds above me as I spent the evening at the hospital emergency room with my dad. Let me explain...
At around midnight, I receive a call from my mom. She tells me that my dad isn't feeling well and wants to go to the emergency room. As you can imagine, I put on the first thing I can find and my wife and I head on over to my parents' house. We pick them up and head to the hospital.
On the way there, my mom tells me that my dad had been feeling discomfort all day long. He had wanted to go see his doctor, but it turns out the office is closed on Thursday. My dad decided to stick it out and see his doctor tomorrow rather than go to the hospital. Unfortunately, his body didn't quite agree - the discomfort got worse, he became short of breath, and he starting experiencing discomfort in his chest. He was also looking pale. The chest discomfort was the most worrisome thing as my dad has heart disease and went through a quadruple bypass some years ago. As you can imagine, we were all very worried.
We spent a total of 4 hours at the emergency room where they did the following:
The emergency room staff got in contact with my dad's doctor once they had stabilized my dad's condition. They briefed him on what had happened and they decided to have my dad admitted to the hospital for continued treatment and observation.
We got home around 4am which means I had been up for almost 24 hours straight. I was very tired and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up at 9am, sent off an email to let my manager and team know that I wasn't going into work today, and washed up. I then went to pick up my mom and we visited my dad.
Happily, I can report that my dad looked better this morning. He was awake and alert. The doctor had visited with him at 7am and now we're waiting for his cardiologist to swing by to check him out as well. I suspect he'll be in the hospital for at least another day or two, but hopefully all will be well and these dark clouds will break for some much needed sunshine.
At around midnight, I receive a call from my mom. She tells me that my dad isn't feeling well and wants to go to the emergency room. As you can imagine, I put on the first thing I can find and my wife and I head on over to my parents' house. We pick them up and head to the hospital.
On the way there, my mom tells me that my dad had been feeling discomfort all day long. He had wanted to go see his doctor, but it turns out the office is closed on Thursday. My dad decided to stick it out and see his doctor tomorrow rather than go to the hospital. Unfortunately, his body didn't quite agree - the discomfort got worse, he became short of breath, and he starting experiencing discomfort in his chest. He was also looking pale. The chest discomfort was the most worrisome thing as my dad has heart disease and went through a quadruple bypass some years ago. As you can imagine, we were all very worried.
We spent a total of 4 hours at the emergency room where they did the following:
- Blood pressue and heart rate monitoring
- ECG
- Chest x-ray
- Blood work
The emergency room staff got in contact with my dad's doctor once they had stabilized my dad's condition. They briefed him on what had happened and they decided to have my dad admitted to the hospital for continued treatment and observation.
We got home around 4am which means I had been up for almost 24 hours straight. I was very tired and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up at 9am, sent off an email to let my manager and team know that I wasn't going into work today, and washed up. I then went to pick up my mom and we visited my dad.
Happily, I can report that my dad looked better this morning. He was awake and alert. The doctor had visited with him at 7am and now we're waiting for his cardiologist to swing by to check him out as well. I suspect he'll be in the hospital for at least another day or two, but hopefully all will be well and these dark clouds will break for some much needed sunshine.
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