Quite the month, actually. It started off with a bang, literally, when Jim blacked out in the kitchen and fell flat on the floor, giving himself a good goose egg on the back of his head. That was on January 1. I called 911 and the EMTs came with the ambulance and hauled him off to the ER in town here.
Several tests later the Dr. was unable to say why he had blacked out. He was still very pale, very weak, and not fully present. They took him by ambulance to Red Deer for a CT scan of his head, but that was all clear so he came back, and I retrieved him from the hospital at 12:30 a.m of Jan.2.
Since then there have been several bouts of dizziness and nausea. He wore a 24 hour heart monitor that showed irregular heartbeats. Our Dr. made an appointment for him with a cardiologist in Red Deer, and also for a stress test and echocardiogram. The results showed atrial fibrillation, but for the rest, the heart looks good.
Tuesday was the day he saw the cardiologist and was put on a list for a pacemaker implant. Tuesday evening he had another severe attack and spent the night in the ER here in town.
Wednesday we were told that the appointment for the pacemaker would be March 6! I told the nurse that he couldn't possibly wait that long and that he had spent the night in the ER. She got the information from this hospital and later in the morning phoned back that he should come into Red Deer hospital the next morning and be admitted.
Thursday they admitted him and said that he might have to wait until Monday for the pacemaker, but that he would be cared for until then. Late Thursday afternoon a nurse phoned that he had had the pacemaker implanted and was doing well.
Friday he phoned and said he'd had a terrible night with racing heart rate and sweating. Apparently one of the wires is not in the proper position. So he was supposed to go back to the OR and have that repositioned. It didn't happen because the OR was too busy to get him in. So he is spending the weekend resting in the hospital, for which we are both very thankful. It's pretty scary to have him at home when he has one of those attacks and have to rush him to the hospital here.
I hope he gets taken care of on Monday so he can come home again on Tuesday. And I hope that that's the start of feeling much better for him. Now that we know what's going on, we can look back and see many times when this was probably happening. He doesn't actually feel his heart racing, he just feels dizzy, nauseous and very awful.
I'm very grateful to all the doctors, nurses, lab technicians, ward clerks, cleaners and everyone else who creates the health care system, which we find does work when you really need it!
Several tests later the Dr. was unable to say why he had blacked out. He was still very pale, very weak, and not fully present. They took him by ambulance to Red Deer for a CT scan of his head, but that was all clear so he came back, and I retrieved him from the hospital at 12:30 a.m of Jan.2.
Since then there have been several bouts of dizziness and nausea. He wore a 24 hour heart monitor that showed irregular heartbeats. Our Dr. made an appointment for him with a cardiologist in Red Deer, and also for a stress test and echocardiogram. The results showed atrial fibrillation, but for the rest, the heart looks good.
Tuesday was the day he saw the cardiologist and was put on a list for a pacemaker implant. Tuesday evening he had another severe attack and spent the night in the ER here in town.
Wednesday we were told that the appointment for the pacemaker would be March 6! I told the nurse that he couldn't possibly wait that long and that he had spent the night in the ER. She got the information from this hospital and later in the morning phoned back that he should come into Red Deer hospital the next morning and be admitted.
Thursday they admitted him and said that he might have to wait until Monday for the pacemaker, but that he would be cared for until then. Late Thursday afternoon a nurse phoned that he had had the pacemaker implanted and was doing well.
Friday he phoned and said he'd had a terrible night with racing heart rate and sweating. Apparently one of the wires is not in the proper position. So he was supposed to go back to the OR and have that repositioned. It didn't happen because the OR was too busy to get him in. So he is spending the weekend resting in the hospital, for which we are both very thankful. It's pretty scary to have him at home when he has one of those attacks and have to rush him to the hospital here.
I hope he gets taken care of on Monday so he can come home again on Tuesday. And I hope that that's the start of feeling much better for him. Now that we know what's going on, we can look back and see many times when this was probably happening. He doesn't actually feel his heart racing, he just feels dizzy, nauseous and very awful.
I'm very grateful to all the doctors, nurses, lab technicians, ward clerks, cleaners and everyone else who creates the health care system, which we find does work when you really need it!
"which we find does work when you really need it!"...that statement is the crux of our health care issues. Health care in Canada is 'free' (not really for those of us who pay LOTS of personal income tax). However, being an extremely socialistic nation, we support a great populaton of people who not only don't pay, but are firmly entrenched with their hands out for a free existence. 'Free' anything gets abused which means using up resources, stretching health care professionals to deal with limited resources. And as a frontline health care professional, I can tell you, we know who the abusers are. There are people who present to the ER not just every day, but several times in ONE day!!! We can't turn anyone away, and must deal with the 'frequent flyers', but yes, if you need the system we make it work.
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