Doug is on a ventilator now.
When I got there this am, he was drinking his breakfast of Ensure. He had no fevers during the night. We went for a short walk. When we got back to his room he was extremely fatigued but that is nothing new. He said he wanted a shower but had to rest first. While he was resting, one of the docs came in to check on him. He was answering her questions but then suddenly he had some kind of eipsode -- his eyes got huge, his face got all contorted and red, and he lost consciousness for about 10 or 15 seconds. A few minutes later he had another one. I was calling them seizures. By then several nurses had come in and the doc had decided to move Doug to ICU where he could be more closely monitored. Then he had two more episodes and they decided to do an emergency brain CT scan.
From CT they took him directly to the ICU. I was shown to the waiting room and told someone would come out and see me shortly. After waiting 30 minutes I went into the ICU dept and could see down the hall -- a lot of people going into a room and some standing outside looking in. One of Doug's doctors saw me standing there -- she came over and said the brain scan didn't show anything and that they wanted to take Doug to the cardiac cath lab to look at his heart.
A few minutes later the cardiologist came to talk to me -- he said that when they hooked Doug up to the heart monitor, it showed that the heart was having periods when it stopped beating for several seconds. That caused the episodes of blacking out. So they put in a temporary pacemaker to stimulate the heart to beat. They also did a repeat echocardiogram that showed no evidence of any damage to the heart.
And they deeply sedated him and put him on a ventilator so he can get enough oxygen. I finally got to see him. Not a good sight, all hooked up to wires, hoses, pumps, etc. He wasn't able to respond to me but I talked to him anyway.
So his heart seems okay, his brain seems okay, and the docs don't know what is happening. I hope to get some answers tomorrow. I stayed with Doug for a while but then came back to the hotel. I need to get some rest so I can cope tomorrow. I feel wooden, like I have no emotions. This does not seem real.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Having gone through having my Hubby on a ventilator I know how terrible it is for you Pat.Perhaps having a wooden head and feeling that everything is unreal is somehow protective for you right now. I can tell you that Douggie will not remember this part, so, if you can, use all means necessary to rest your body and mind, Lean on the folks there that are specially trained to help. Know that although we can't be with you in body that we are all with you in spirit.I feel terrible that I only became aware of this most recent struggle a few days ago. I have read the entire blog. It is beautifully written. Take solace if you can from the fact that you do not have to be at work so can spend all the time you are able with Douggie. Please make sure that he is getting nourishment. My Hubby went for 6 days without it and lost almost 30 lb! Also ask the caretakers to try to get the electrolytes and minerals in his system in order.His heart will be better behaved with them! If there is a way to have soothing music played through earphones for him please do it. Also see if he can have therapeutic touch given him. The ICU never sleeps, is noisy and hectic, and he should be kept as calm as is possible. Know that we are all thinking of you dearest Pat.We wish you were both closer at a time like this.God Bless and hang in there as best you can.xoxox
Post a Comment