We had a department meeting yesterday. In the middle of the meeting someone from Human Resources interrupts to tell the boss that he has an emergency. He immediately stops the meeting because he has to leave. The weird thing is that he constantly halts or interrupts meetings to answer his cell phone. So why didn't this call come to his cell phone like all the others instead of going through HR? It doesn't make sense.
To preface this, he stated first thing Monday morning that both he and his wife blew out their knees on Thursday and since it was the Thanksgiving holiday, they did not seek medical help. But their holiday weekend was ruined because of it. So we assumed this emergency was something with the wife.
This morning the boss shows up with a cane. He limps occasionally, sometimes he picks up the cane and walks normally. He explains that his emergency yesterday was with his wife. She was in so much pain that she needed immediate medical assistance for the knee she blew out 5 days earlier. He goes on to explain that while he was in the ER, the doc noticed his limp and diagnosed him as having something he called weak knee and thus the cane today.
In all my years working in health care, this is the first time I've ever heard of a doctor examining and diagnosing someone who was not a patient at the time. Amazing luck. He also says he has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. Funny coincidence is that the doctor appointment was on his calendar Monday morning before the emergency call from HR.
Hmmm. I bet the limp is gone within a day or two.
To preface this, he stated first thing Monday morning that both he and his wife blew out their knees on Thursday and since it was the Thanksgiving holiday, they did not seek medical help. But their holiday weekend was ruined because of it. So we assumed this emergency was something with the wife.
This morning the boss shows up with a cane. He limps occasionally, sometimes he picks up the cane and walks normally. He explains that his emergency yesterday was with his wife. She was in so much pain that she needed immediate medical assistance for the knee she blew out 5 days earlier. He goes on to explain that while he was in the ER, the doc noticed his limp and diagnosed him as having something he called weak knee and thus the cane today.
In all my years working in health care, this is the first time I've ever heard of a doctor examining and diagnosing someone who was not a patient at the time. Amazing luck. He also says he has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. Funny coincidence is that the doctor appointment was on his calendar Monday morning before the emergency call from HR.
Hmmm. I bet the limp is gone within a day or two.
I am happy to report that I am still running outside. I don't think it's going to last much longer though. I can't believe that the fishermen are still on the lake every morning too. Die hards like me. My face is getting chapped, I worry about ice on my path but the run is still bearable. The temperatures this week were in the low 30's and I am pretty sure that that is my lowest limit because it is tough to start and my fingers and toes are pretty cold when I'm done. Under Armor does help. I am grateful for everyday.
As I drove to work today, in the dark as usual, I saw something white, like a flash, out of the corner of my eye. I instantly took my foot off the gas while getting my bearings on whatever it was that was moving to my left. It's funny how sometimes you just know, like a sixth sense, that you should be wary. It turned out that the little white flash was a cat streaking across the six-lane road I was travelling. I saw it before it got to the road and it was moving so fast that it had crossed the three lanes on the other side and the median before it got to me. As I applied the brakes hard, it was looking right into my right headlight. I could see its eyes clearly. Of course, it kept going at its constant gallop until it disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the road.
I was mad at the cat - if I would have hit it, the experience would have left me traumatized for a very long time. How dare that cat almost ruin my day. And of all days, here we are on Halloween, I have to have a cat run right in front of me! All this happened in the course of a few seconds and I continued on. As I drove on with my heart pounding, I started to think about black cats bringing bad luck when they cross your path. Since the cat that ran in front of me was totally white could that mean it brings good luck?
At that moment I pulled into a gas station and purchased a Power Ball, Mega Bucks, and Super Cash lottery ticket. Couldn't hurt to try.
I was mad at the cat - if I would have hit it, the experience would have left me traumatized for a very long time. How dare that cat almost ruin my day. And of all days, here we are on Halloween, I have to have a cat run right in front of me! All this happened in the course of a few seconds and I continued on. As I drove on with my heart pounding, I started to think about black cats bringing bad luck when they cross your path. Since the cat that ran in front of me was totally white could that mean it brings good luck?
At that moment I pulled into a gas station and purchased a Power Ball, Mega Bucks, and Super Cash lottery ticket. Couldn't hurt to try.
If a cat could have a favorite day of the year, Trick or treat day would be Toby's. I set my old rickety baby gate up in front of the storm door. That way when kids come, I can open the door to hand out candy, and the gate will prevent Toby from trying to sneak out the opening. Since he quickly figures out that he can't walk right out, he'll put his front paws on the top of the gate as if to stand tall to look over it. The kids immediately respond and want to pet him which he adores. It doesn't take him long to figure out how this trick or treat thing works. Kids come, get candy, pet cat, and off they go. Within the first ten minutes, Toby is meowing at the sight of kids walking up to the house; they don't have to ring the doorbell, he's already let me know someone has come.
After the first hour, Toby is struggling with a tough decision. To nap or not to nap.... As to all cats, nap time is extremely important but the thought of missing out on the curiosity of these kids coming to the door it too much to allow a nap. He decides not to nap but he can bearly keep his eyes open. He's a trooper though, he stayed at the door for almost the entire two hours. He finally pooped out 10 minutes before the end of the two-hour limit. He almost made it all the way through.
I bet he sleeps good tonight.
After the first hour, Toby is struggling with a tough decision. To nap or not to nap.... As to all cats, nap time is extremely important but the thought of missing out on the curiosity of these kids coming to the door it too much to allow a nap. He decides not to nap but he can bearly keep his eyes open. He's a trooper though, he stayed at the door for almost the entire two hours. He finally pooped out 10 minutes before the end of the two-hour limit. He almost made it all the way through.
I bet he sleeps good tonight.
Jeff had angioplasty yesterday. It's been a tortuous time since last Wednesday. It all started when Jeff went to see his cardiologist. He told the doctor that he wasn't feeling the greatest. After the doctor's inquisition, he decided to schedule Jeff for a cardiac cath, angioplasty, and a probable stent to clear the blockage he's been living with for the last year. The news was somewhat surprising and yet a relief since the old blockage will finally be fixed.
After the cardiology visit, Jeff headed to the arrhythmia specialist for his yearly exam. The nurse was alarmed after a quick check of his heart. It turns out that Jeff also has atrial fibrillation. His heart is erratic which probably better explains his symptoms than the blockage. With a consultation between the two doctors, it was determined that Jeff will go to the hospital this Friday, he can't wait until next week.
We check in Friday morning and go through the usual pre-procedure check-up. It turns out that Jeff hasn't been off some of his medication long enough to do the procedure without real complication so it's rescheduled for Monday. Here he spent his time emotionally prepping for today and he has to wait. The disappointment is weighing heavily on both of us, moreso on him for sure. We tried to spend the day occupying our time with fun things but the weight of the situation wasn't making it easy.
Monday came and we were packed and ready to go. Hopefully there are no complications this time. We checked in to St. Luke's first thing in the morning and Jeff went through all the pre-procedure examinations including a heart ultrasound. By the time he actually headed out for the cath, it was after noon. Time went on extremely slowly which was OK since it was a sign that the doctors could actually perform the angioplasty. Last year when Jeff was catheterized the team couldn't get to the blockage so he was back from the procedure pretty quickly. The nurse came back to the cath lab to tell me that angioplasty was completed and a stent was placed in one of Jeff's arteries. This meant he wouldn't be returning to the lab, but instead he was admitted to a room somewhere else in the hospital. The nurse took me to his room around 4 pm.
Jeff was happy that it was all over and relieved that the blockage was corrected. All the monitors hooked up to him still proved out the atrial fibrillation, like a little black cloud hanging around. The nurses kicked me out at 6 so they could pull out the catheter lines that were still in his groin. This part of the cath requires constant pressure on the incision for half an hour until they are sure it stops bleeding. During this process his heart rate dropped to 36 beats per minute. Immediately, a team rushed in and atropine was administered. His heart rate raced up to 12o then settled to a regular rhythm. Unfortunately, the process of putting pressure on the wound cut off his blood circulation a little too much.
Jeff was exhausted after the whole incident. Jen and Matt were there as well so we hung out and chatted while Jeff slept. They left around 8 and I went home a little after 9. It was a tough day but it was over and things could only get better now.
I got to the hospital first thing this morning. He was excited at the news that he could go home. The cardiologist's new PA came in and decided he needed an ultrasound; she didn't like something she heard when listening at the wound site. Jeff was pretty antsy after that. We sat around for the next 4 hours still waiting for the ultrasound. His anticipation was turning into anger so he got to the point where he just told them forget it, he wants to go home, there will be no ultrasound. I'm certain I was no help; I told him that I had a dentist appointment at 3 so if we didn't go soon, he would have to wait until after 4 when I was done with the dentist.
So we left with a new batch of prescriptions and instructions in tow. I headed to the dentist then the pharmacy. There are so many medications, I can't keep up. I just hope he can. Hopefully this will be the beginning of recovery, although the atrial fibrillation is still an issue. In a few weeks we will be back to the arrhythmia specialist and hopefully things will be better.
After the cardiology visit, Jeff headed to the arrhythmia specialist for his yearly exam. The nurse was alarmed after a quick check of his heart. It turns out that Jeff also has atrial fibrillation. His heart is erratic which probably better explains his symptoms than the blockage. With a consultation between the two doctors, it was determined that Jeff will go to the hospital this Friday, he can't wait until next week.
We check in Friday morning and go through the usual pre-procedure check-up. It turns out that Jeff hasn't been off some of his medication long enough to do the procedure without real complication so it's rescheduled for Monday. Here he spent his time emotionally prepping for today and he has to wait. The disappointment is weighing heavily on both of us, moreso on him for sure. We tried to spend the day occupying our time with fun things but the weight of the situation wasn't making it easy.
Monday came and we were packed and ready to go. Hopefully there are no complications this time. We checked in to St. Luke's first thing in the morning and Jeff went through all the pre-procedure examinations including a heart ultrasound. By the time he actually headed out for the cath, it was after noon. Time went on extremely slowly which was OK since it was a sign that the doctors could actually perform the angioplasty. Last year when Jeff was catheterized the team couldn't get to the blockage so he was back from the procedure pretty quickly. The nurse came back to the cath lab to tell me that angioplasty was completed and a stent was placed in one of Jeff's arteries. This meant he wouldn't be returning to the lab, but instead he was admitted to a room somewhere else in the hospital. The nurse took me to his room around 4 pm.
Jeff was happy that it was all over and relieved that the blockage was corrected. All the monitors hooked up to him still proved out the atrial fibrillation, like a little black cloud hanging around. The nurses kicked me out at 6 so they could pull out the catheter lines that were still in his groin. This part of the cath requires constant pressure on the incision for half an hour until they are sure it stops bleeding. During this process his heart rate dropped to 36 beats per minute. Immediately, a team rushed in and atropine was administered. His heart rate raced up to 12o then settled to a regular rhythm. Unfortunately, the process of putting pressure on the wound cut off his blood circulation a little too much.
Jeff was exhausted after the whole incident. Jen and Matt were there as well so we hung out and chatted while Jeff slept. They left around 8 and I went home a little after 9. It was a tough day but it was over and things could only get better now.
I got to the hospital first thing this morning. He was excited at the news that he could go home. The cardiologist's new PA came in and decided he needed an ultrasound; she didn't like something she heard when listening at the wound site. Jeff was pretty antsy after that. We sat around for the next 4 hours still waiting for the ultrasound. His anticipation was turning into anger so he got to the point where he just told them forget it, he wants to go home, there will be no ultrasound. I'm certain I was no help; I told him that I had a dentist appointment at 3 so if we didn't go soon, he would have to wait until after 4 when I was done with the dentist.
So we left with a new batch of prescriptions and instructions in tow. I headed to the dentist then the pharmacy. There are so many medications, I can't keep up. I just hope he can. Hopefully this will be the beginning of recovery, although the atrial fibrillation is still an issue. In a few weeks we will be back to the arrhythmia specialist and hopefully things will be better.
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