Heart attacks, anyone?

If I had started this blog 2½ months ago, this is how it would have read:

Sunday, March 22th
Well, after talking for a year and planning for almost that long, we finally booked our tickets for Cuba. I am so looking forward to just sitting on the beaches and doing nothing. I am so tired of work (I will never ever catch up) and school is getting closer to being over and I SO SO need a break. Normally I would want a vacation where we do things but not this time – I just want to do nothing. David and his girlfriend/significant other, Maria, are excited too. They went last year and it is going to be great. Steve and I will do what we want and David and Maria can do their thing, or we can do stuff together – just as long as there is enough time for nothing!

Wednesday, April 1st
Steve woke up this morning complaining that his eye is bothering him. He says it feels like there is something in it. I can’t see anything so tell him to leave it alone. If it is still bothering him, told him to go see Dr. P, our family doctor.

Thursday, April 2nd
Steve is still complaining about his eye. He got in to see Dr. P who booked him an appointment with an ophthalmologist at the hospital tomorrow. Still says it feels like there is something in his eye but I still can’t see anything.

Friday, April 3rd
Steve sees the ophthalmologist who can’t really see anything but gives him some drops and says to use them for about 2 weeks.

Tuesday, April 7th
I got up to find Steve already up – this is not normal so I ask “How come you’re up?” The response was “I have a pain in my chest and my arm is numb”. I had to renew my St. John’s Ambulance course in February and I know enough to know this is not good. When I ask what he wants to do about it, he says he doesn’t know. I ask if I should phone an ambulance and he says he doesn’t know. I convince him that an ambulance is a good thing so he agrees. I call the ambulance but after playing go-between with the 911 operator and Steve, I finally hand over the phone so he can answer the questions.

Within a few minutes, an ambulance pulls up and two paramedics come in – but I have to put the dog away so she doesn’t bark incessantly. Poor James gets woken up so he can keep the dog in his room for the time being.

The paramedics take Steve’s blood sugars and they are 23 – he is a Type 2 diabetic (he was diagnosed about 12 years ago). A “good” sugar reading is in the range of 5-8 so 23 is not good! A reading that high is considered dangerous for most people. Steve tries to convince the paramedics that that level is quite normal for him and Dr. P. knows that. The paramedics suggest he get that in writing from the doctor for future reference. Anyway, they decide to take him to the local hospital to get checked out.

The outdoor light burned out last week so I can’t turn on a light for the paramedics so off they negotiate in the near dark. I have since changed the bulb.

I had a shower and a quick breakfast then headed to the hospital. With 4 kids and a husband who has had a few kidney stones and a few other medical issues over the years, I know the drill and that they wouldn’t let me in immediately anyway so also knowing it would be a long day, I decided I needed to take care of me too.

I arrived at the hospital to find he was in a bed already – they take chest pains seriously in middle-aged men. He was telling the doctors that he had had chest pains for about a week – when I questioned that, he said that he had been up every night for about a week but he thought he was suffering from indigestion – I have since learned that this is not uncommon.
One of the emergency doctors came by to talk to him about his blood sugar levels and announced that they would be putting him on insulin. Steve has been taking nutraceuticals for a number of years because he found he didn’t like how the prescribed drugs made him feel. He told the doctor that he was only willing to take a new type of insulin that he had read about. The doctor said “In this hospital we use old fashioned insulin so that is what you are getting”. So, he is now on insulin, injected twice a day.

The cardiologist came by a short time later and said that they wanted to do an angiogram then if Steve was a candidate, they would do an angioplasty. Steve told the doctor that he didn’t want angioplasty so the doctor said that they wouldn’t do an angiogram! When asked why, the doctor said that if Steve wouldn’t agree to angioplasty if they thought it necessary, there was no point in doing an angiogram. To make a long story short, he agreed to the angiogram and the possibility of angioplasty. Thank goodness for doctors who are accustomed to dealing with stubborn middle-aged men!

While in hospital, he was visited by cardiologist, nutritionists, diabetic counselors, and who know who else. At this point in time, the days all ran together until Steve was discharged the following Monday.

Monday, April 13th
Steve’s cardiologist says he can’t travel by air for at least 3 months, maybe longer. Our tickets to Cuba are for next Monday, the 20th. I didn’t bother to get cancellation insurance because, after all, we were both healthy and hearty and I only booked the tickets 3 weeks ago – what to do???

I called the airlines to see if there was anything we could do – maybe take a credit and go later – whatever! The only solution they offered was to change the name on one ticket for the small fee of $300! The tickets for 1 week, all inclusive, were only $1,250/person so $300 seemed rather steep but my other option was to not go at all and lose everything or to go on my own and probably be grumpy and miserable and ruin David and Maria’s vacation.

I had a bit of a brainwave so I called my childhood friend, Ellie, who lives in Toronto, and asked if she could change her life at the drop of a hat and come with me. After numerous phone calls to various people she does work for (she’s an interior decorator), she rearranged her life and made arrangements to get to Calgary on Friday, so we had a weekend together before we boarded the plane.