THE SATURDAY SOUP #10 - A Hospital Stay and Heart Surgery #HeartSurgery

   

THE SATURDAY SOUP

TEN

A SPOONFUL OF MY LIFE

A HOSPITAL STAY

HEART SURGERY

Welcome to The Saturday Soup! It's a floating feature I hope to post once a month, but if I can't find the time there's no pressure. I will be giving a life update and sharing a soup recipe.

PREVIOUS SATURDAY SOUP

I am linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by The Caffeinated Reviewer.

HEART SURGERY

At the beginning of November I contracted the latest Covid strain, and the respiratory part of it was extreme. I was very slowly getting better and in mid-January I had a week of almost normal breathing and stamina when I became sick again with that respiratory flu which was going around and the one-two combo completely sunk my ship. On March 6th I was so weak I collapsed, and my son called 911. At the emergency room they didn't like my EKG, so they decided to keep me overnight for an echocardiogram the next day. It was determined at some point in the past I had had a heart attack and there is a small damaged part of my heart muscle from it. It's strange because I don't recall ever having chest pains, and before this last Covid I never had any regular breathing problems. I spent four days on the cardiac floor in the small hospital near our apartment (with no public WiFi) while they were trying to get my medications regulated. On the day I was supposed to go home, after a CAT scan, the hospital's cardiologist decided I needed a chemical stress test, which they couldn't do there, and transferred me to another hospital...

And they had public WiFi, so I didn't have to rely on Baz to update my Facebook. The room was twice the space shown in this view with a private bathroom which had its own bench shower. The double occupancy room at the other hospital was less than half the size. I did miss my snarky 92 year old roommate, though. She was so much fun.

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However, what I thought was going to be a little vacation went downhill fast.

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They did chest x-rays and found out that my breathing problem was from fluid around my right lung (which had nothing to do with my heart) and once drained I felt back to normal.

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When I had my baseline imaging for the cardiac stress test the technician said it looked pretty good, and when I had the stress test I had no stress symptoms. The doctor who came in to see me after those procedures said the tests were okay and again said that I would just have to be on some meds for the rest of my life. Then again on the day before I was scheduled to go home... three other doctors came in and said now I had been scheduled for a heart catheterization the next day. After that, everyone was talking about stents until the following day when it quickly jumped to open heart bypass surgery.

When the entire cardiac team came in the next day I asked how it could be that bad when I hadn't eaten red meat in thirty-eight years, didn't grow up in a family that ate fried foods regularly, quit smoking fifteen years ago, and only had fast food three or four times a year. They mentioned family predisposition, but I only had one grandmother who had heart problems and she still lived into her 80s.

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The younger cardiologists on the team still wanted to do stents, but because the hospital does not use stents on patients with over fifty percent blockage, and I have sixty percent in two arteries, I would have to go out of town for the surgery. The hospital's general care doctor (now called a hospitalist) said he thought that would only be to Syracuse (less than an hour away) and he didn't see a problem. When I was sent home the stents were still somewhat on the table, but when I went to my cardiologist appointment on Wednesday the doctor said they were not an option. I have been given two months to get everything in my personal life organized before the surgery.

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I will keep everyone updated.

Sometime in February Zuzu grew a thick pure white whisker. I wanted to get a photo of it before it fell out. All he did the eight days I was in the hospital was sleep on my bed. He's been stuck to me like glue since I've been home.

HOLIDAY PHOTOS I WAS TOO SICK TO POST

Christmas Eve book and cookies exchange. The deluxe edition Dune Messiah is the book I received from Baz on Christmas Eve (I think I received book one, Dune, in the deluxe edition from him for a birthday gift, previously, or maybe for Mother's Day). Children of Dune was a Yule gift.

There weren't any novels he needed, so I found a Magic the Gathering cookbook for him. I wasn't feeling well enough to hand-dip his Oreos this year, so I ordered the white fudge dipped from Target. Thank goodness they were back down to a normal price last Christmas.

My Twinkle Light Season package from my book blogging buddy, Liis. Estonian chocolate is so good and the white chocolate is the best I have ever tasted. I look forward to it every year. The Claire Keegan book is from the NYT Best Books of the 21st Century list we are both setting goals to read from. We both have a common interest in Irish culture, and it's a Christmas book, too. The Ocean Vuong book is written as a letter to his mother, and of course Liis and I have a shared understanding as mothers of sons; so very thoughtful. And I can't forget the pretty pop-up card! It's a keeper. Thank you, Liis.

From my book blogging buddy, Annemieke. Mars is my favorite planet! I love getting bookmarks I can use for Sci-Fi Month photos. She also must be psychic because the colors on the bookstack ornament match the colors of some new ornaments I scooped up on clearance. Thank you, Annemieke, for the lovely sentiments in your card.

I hope everyone is getting some glimpses of sunshine and spring temperatures!