What a week!

It's been a wild week for us. The picture is the Indianapolis skyline taken from the 5th floor of Methodist Hospital where Terry and I are spending the night in the Advanced Heart Care wing. The good news is that we should be released from here tomorrow.

It all started at midnight Saturday when Terry started coughing. He couldn't seem to stop and then he started having shortness of breath. He wouldn't let me take him to the hospital, but when I got up at 3 a.m., I didn't give him a choice.

We drove over to the Elkhart Hospital and he was taken into the ER. He was experiencing congestive heart failure--something we and his doctors have always been alert to and watched for. Key factors for preventing attacks include monitoring fluid intake and a low sodium diet. Within a couple hours, Terry was feeling much better and the ER doctor said he would be dismissed later in the afternoon. Well, that was before the cardiologist saw him. They admitted him to the cardiac floor and Sunday, Monday and Tuesday he ran tests. Interestingly enough, he didn't find anything wrong, but insisted that he then have a heart cath. Terry told him he would not have one there, he wanted to go to Indianapolis. It makes sense that since we are just three hours away, he wanted to be with his own doctors who have treated his heart condition since 1998.

Eventually we prevailed and today they took Terry by ambulance to Methodist Hospital. He was cathed at 5:15 and they were done in record time. He has no blockages, his arteries are clear and clean and his 12 year old stents are in great shape. There is good pulmonary function and the problems he has experienced with fluid will be treated with medication.

Let me hear a BIG WAAAH HOOO!

We are relieved. While our doctors here did not believe a cath was indicated based on the tests he had in Elkhart, they agreed that after twelve years, it wouldn't be a bad idea. The same doctor who cathed him 12 years ago did the procedure today. A much different result. That cath lasted over 4 hours and he nearly died, but today's was about 30 minutes. Terry's EP doctor is talking about a new ICD for Terry--one that improves heart function in people with complicated problems, but that will be another time.

So for the present, all is well and we should be back home to Phaeton Place tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale