Tuesday, August 23, 2022

THE REASONS...

 




Our poor crepe myrtle tree

 blooming after last winter's storm.

 It is a shadow of its former self.



Hello everyone. 

 I hope you are all well and have a little time to spend with me today. 

 It seems like I have been away for a long time but, 

on the other hand, 

it seems like just yesterday that we last spoke. 

 I will try to bring you up to speed and explain why I have been absent for awhile.




The trees that we had cut down are coming back like crazy. 

One day they were gone and the next they were back.  

They look so pretty and innocent with their soft green leaves,

 but we will have to put something on the roots to get rid of them for good.



As far as we know this story started sometime last summer. 

 The Captain and I had just finished dinner after a day of working in the garden. 

 He went in the kitchen and called out to me.  He was hanging onto the counter for dear life

 and said he felt like he was going to pass out. 

 It lasted a couple of seconds and then he was fine.  The next morning we called his doctor 

and because it was so hot and he had been working out too long, 

we just thought it was dehydration and a dose of too much hot sunshine. 

 He seemed fine after and for the few months that followed.  

However, earlier this summer it happened again.  This time the doc ordered further tests: 

 #1: Lots of blood tests which all came back totally normal.

  #2:  An ultra sound of the carotid arteries, which also came back good.

  #3: A CT scan of the brain (which was a long scary wait for results) 

but that also didn't show anything out of the ordinary. 

#4:  A stress test which was normal. 

 He had a doctor appointment and was checked over pretty well and seemed fine.

  In the interim, he had episodes off and on.  Each time I threatened calling 911,

 he was adamant that he felt good right after and his blood pressure was also good each time. 

 The doctor had also ordered him to be seen by a cardiologist

 and I made the appointment but the docs were so backed up that I couldn't get one until two weeks later.  

 A week ago Saturday, he had another spell

 and I put my arms around him, patting his back and telling him to relax. 

This was what I did each time as there seemed nothing else that I could do. 

 He fell backwards to the floor, hitting his head on the way down on one of the cupboard knobs, 

blood was all over the floor and I fell on top of him.  It took awhile for us to untangle and get up

 and we then walked into the sitting room. 

We sat down on the couch and he had another one

 and he said to me that if he had one more we would go to the ER.

 He did have one more after a few minutes and we went in the car 

which I thought would be faster than calling an ambulance.


They took him in immediately and started hooking him up with more wires than I had ever seen. 

 Two of the technicians consulted and immediately called the cardiologist on duty 

and they took him to the ICU 

and scheduled him for a pace maker

 the following morning. 

 On Sunday morning they performed the operation 

and he was up and walking in a few hours and came home that night.


He is doing really well although complaining about the things he can't do.  

He still gets pretty tired and lays down a few times during the day. 

 He can't get the wound wet for awhile and he can't drive for five weeks. 

 He hasn't had to take anything for the pain more than Tylenol up to this point.  

He says he is feeling better

 as each day passes. 

 He is disappointed that we had to cancel his appointment to pick up his new hearing aids 

but just had to postpone it another month.


Tami came up immediately and was such a big help. 

 Without her, I don't think we could have coped completely. 

 She and Tim are coming up again next week and plan on doing yard work 

and driving me to my eye appointment, which is another story in itself.

  After his appointment on Thursday, 

we may have a few more answers

 as to how and what has happened 

to someone who was always so healthy 

and any heart problems were the furthest thing from our minds.


There won't be anything special going on around here for awhile 

so I won't be having anything new to show for it.  

I am looking forward to autumn, if only to get out of this hot weather,

 so I probably will still be AWOL in blogland for awhile longer anyway. 

 I will be keeping you updated every so often on his progress.

  Take care everyone and I apologize

 that I haven't always been good lately when answering your comments

 but I appreciate them all so much.


...xxooJudy...





Tami cut his hair. 

I have been cutting butchering it since Covid.

 He says he has been de-Goliathed but we all like it. 

If you are familiar with the TV show Breaking Bad, 

you will understand why I have been calling him Walter White 

(shown here with Nurse Ratchett Robin).


Sharing today at: 

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

 


27 comments:

  1. Oh Judy I am so sorry to hear that. Glad to hear from you but totally understand.
    Please just take care of yourself.

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    1. Thanks so much, Renate. It has been a hard time but think we are getting better each day. I was hoping to have his doc appointment tomorrow, but they cancelled it until next Monday. Things are getting better though..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy

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  2. Goodness, how scary! I am glad that your sweetheart is home and on the mend! I hope that your health and your husbands health continues to improve!
    Take care and know that you are in our thoughts :)
    ~K.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kerin. Yes, it was scary. He really has never been sick a day in his life so it was so unexpected and they had to rule out other things. We are glad we are on the home stretch now and looking forward to better days..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy

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  3. Judy,
    O MY! You two have definitely had your share of medical issues but now that they found out what was causing it, he should do quite well...I know many people who have pace makers and sometimes it is just an age thing with older patients and older hearts losing the contractility in the heart muscles ....I also know a lot of young people too who also have pacemakers... It is a very common thing any more, fortunately so because without them, many people died...So he is very lucky and it was probably a good thing that it happened 3 times in a row and you went to the hospital or it would have taken longer to find the issue....It usually does not take long to recover as it is considered minor surgery anymore. especially since he has been relatively healthy...Did the do a CT of his head since he hit that??? Glad that you did not get hurt when he fell....Please take care and keep us posted!!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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    1. Thanks so much, Deb. I was a long time of tests and days when we didn't know what was going to happen. I really feel like I should have taken him to the ER after the first one and not listened to him, but you can't look back. When he got to the ER and after they hooked him up to a monitor, they could tell right away what was wrong. The situation in this small town with cardioligists is a problem and you just can't get into see one at the spur of the moment. The ER was the way to go. He has always been very healthy. At 84 he is only on one medication for BP which was never too high. This was the first time he had ever been to the hospital. You just never know, I guess, and it is so important to listen to what our bodies tell us. We seem to be on the road to recovery now..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy

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  4. Sending prayers for you both. It's all scary when we have health issues and no answers. Seems it takes more and more drs and tests to find the problem. Hold tight to one another. relax when you can. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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    1. Thanks so much Susie and it is so good to hear from you. Hope you are doing well. It was a very scary time, trying to second guess what was happening and I am sorry I listened to him and didn't go to the ER right after it first happened. Once he was hooked up to machines they could tell right away what was wrong. The two parts of his heart were not in sync and that caused no blood to pump to his brain. Thank heavens it was just for an instant each time so he came out of it right away. He never had any chest pains or any of the problems that you would ask someone when you thought of heart issues. I'm having my eyes checked as I think I might be growing a cataract in the left eye. Things are looking a little blurry and believe me that was another problem because I had to do all the driving..I remember you said you thought you might have cataracts. Did you have them taken care of. Anything around my eyes makes me very nervous..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy

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  5. Oh my Judy.. you've had quite a time of it.. I'm so sorry! It's hard to believe that they initially did all those tests and it was all considered "normal"! Now how could they do that when not too long later, he had more episodes and then they discovered it? I would think the stress test should have/would have discovered the problem. Please let us know when you know exactly what was causing this, as I have a couple of friends who have these same things happen to them, but the doctor says there is nothing wrong! Yikes! I'm so glad they did put the pacemaker in and that your sweetie will heal quickly and totally, and feel much better too. Had he had any other signs prior to the "episodes"??? I hope YOU are OK too.. and how is your back after that fall with hubby? I will be praying that everything will progress smoothly and well. Hugs.. Marilyn

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    1. Thanks so much, Marilyn. I always thought that a visit to the doc would solve all your problems, but not really! There are certain tests that need to be performed for each special symptom and that is where the specialists come in I think. Generally, Jerry is a very healthy person, with nothing wrong in the areas where normal testing is done, but I thought the stress test would have shown up but I guess it just shows when he was actually having an episode and he didn't at that time. We couldn't get into the heart doc because they don't have enough to go around in this little town so it is hard to get an appointment right when you need it. I found that the ER is the answer. After all the other tests had been taken and shown nothing wrong, then we kind of assumed it was heart related so I told them when he signed in. They immediately hooked him up to monitors and noticed what the problem was right away. The two parts of his heart were occasionally not beating in sync so that caused the feeling of passing out. Mostly it was happening every three or four days but then it got closer together and those last three, thank heavens, made us get it done. He is doing much better and feeling better too. The doc says he will feel even better than he thought he could the more time that goes by..Hope things are well with you and that you are enjoying the last days of summer..Happy Tuesday..xxoJudy

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  6. I was just thinking about you wondering if you were alright and poof I see your post. So glad the Captain is doing good now. So very scary indeed. Just glad they finally figured it out. Way too many tests though before finding out. Janice

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    1. Thanks so much, Janice. Yes, I am so glad it is over and he is feeling better each day. Lots of testing but they seem to do the least invasive tests first just to rule out things.. Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  7. Oh, my Judy! I've been gone too, no reason other than a long trip and exhaustion. I hope you and your hubby can adjust. Upside is my Dad did well on a pacemaker for over 24 years...So hope it all evens out! HUGS, Sandi

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    1. Thanks so much. Sorry about the exhaustion but would love to take a long trip. So far, so good. He is feeling stronger and better each day and he is so healthy otherwise that it is all good news..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  8. Oh Judy you really have had some scary things. Glad all is going well with the pacemaker put in. Glad Tammy could come and help you guys out too. Take care. Prayers for you and your sweet Jerry that things will get better now. xoxo Kris

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    1. Thanks so much, Kris. Things are already much better. He is feeling stronger each day and I am more comfortable too with all this being done..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  9. Looking pretty smart Jerry! This is anonymous cause I don't see how to comment! Your sister-in--law Sid

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    1. Thanks so much, Sid. He didn't want his picture published but guess who won out? I love his new do!..Happy Weekend..xxoMe

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  10. I am grateful that you got him to the ER and he's looking very good! But I can see how terribly frightening this has been, how nervous you must have been during that time and that you still are on edge until the next appointment comes. I send all good wishes for full healing and no more episodes and that the doc report is a good one. Meanwhile, biggest hugs.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jeanie. He is feeling much stronger and better each day. He has had no more episodes since he has been "robotized". His doc appointment on Monday we will find out more. He has a phone that is connected to the doc's office and lets them know if all is well and so far so good. We are both much more comfortable now..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  11. Judy, I am so sorry that your hubby suffered so many episodes. It’s a good thing you went to the ER. A pacemaker is a great gadget. My son has one. Take care of each other and blog when you can. Xoxo

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    1. Thanks so much, Linda. He is feeling better each day and we are both so happy that the worst of it all is over. So far he is doing so well and the doc says that he will continue to do so..Next Tuesday I have my eyes checked so, hopefully, will be back the week after..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  12. Oh boy, Judy, it sounds like you guys have been through the ringer. I'm glad you were able to determine the cause and that he's feeling better now. My mom had a pacemaker and it helped enormously. I'm glad Tami has been there to help. Please take care of yourself, it can be tough to be a caretaker. Big hugs. xxoo

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    1. Thanks so much, Kim. It was a hard thing to go through. We are so thankful for the docs and nurses at the hospital. Jerry said he wasn't scary at all because they were so helpful. Doc says he will be feeling strong each day and that seems to be the case..Caretaking was much harder before than it is now..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  13. I will be sending up prayers for him and pray better days are ahead!

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    1. Thanks so much, Bernideen. He is doing much better day by day. I appreciate all your kind words..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

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  14. OH MY. So glad you got him in to the ER. Did he have Brady Tachy by chance? That pacemaker does make a difference. I know from experience. I went into AFIB. My resting heart rate had always been 38-40. Very low. Found out I inherited it from my dad. So glad he's on the mend. Hugs and Prayers

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy