True Confessions, Day Two

Several hours spent in the ER at Medina. I was hooked up to a machine (an EKG I suspect) and people were coming into the space and leaving, taking my blood pressure multiple times and telling me nothing.  At least, I don't remember them telling me anything until it was "time to go".

"GO?"  Well yes, new EMT's, new gurney (I was able to slide off the bed onto the gurney in the ER and then out into the side parking lot of the hospital, slam, bang and thank you Ma'm and I am in the ambulance quicker than you can count to ten.  Go where????  The Cleveland Clinic?  Seriously?
Sigh.....Two EMT's stayed with me in the ambulance "innards" and one EMT drove.  Sirens until we got onto I-71 and punched it into cruise mode.  Sarah followed  the ambulance in her car.  One of the EMT's, Amanda and the other young man, whose name I don't remember were sure to give me their home addresses and contact info to have me send them pierogies....that's another story.

Arrival at the clinic around midnight, give or take and I was again whisked away to what I later found out was Cardiac ICU.  Big white room, lots of bells and whistles, machines, dials and levers, whooshing and wheezing, and that was me...Hospital gown and my two nurses introduced themselves.  I don't remember their names, however one was a "trainee".  Dr. came in and gave me an Echo Cardiogram.  I don't know what that was or the meaning but he seemed very intense and thorough.

By this time, Nathan and Traci had arrived and joined Sarah in the audience.   I had not eaten since Wednesday at dinnertime so I was fairly hungry.  The nurse finally brought me a Yoplait yogurt, peach flavored "light", and a small turkey sandwich.  She said "I don't know about the turkey, maybe you want to pass on that one".  "If they take you to the Cath Lab, tell them you haven't had anything to eat!"

It seemed I was destined to have a CT Scan and then a heart catherization test.  I had no idea what was going on, blood taken, more than once and multiple vials, also a shot of something that's name started with an "L" directly into my abdoman. Hooked up to IV Nitro and Heparin.   That was fun.  Needles to the left...needles to the right and still no cath test.  That test occured about six o'clock on Friday night after the cath team had said there was a whole lot of gridlock in the cath labs (21 of them to be exact) and they did not work on the weekends.  I may have to wait until Monday.  "Fine by me" said I.  That meant in layman's terms, "she's not so bad off and we can afford to wait"...NOT!  So in conversation with the Dr.s on Friday afternoon I learned that I had a choice of "location for the cath".  Groin or wrist.  No kidding?  Which would you do Dr. head of the cath team Dr.?  "Wrist" said he.  Well he was the oldest member of the team, and wore a bowtie, he must be a tenured Dr. so I went with his suggestion.

Finally, (no food since Wed, remember) I had lulled myself into thinking that I was on the "Monday" list and would spend the weekend lounging about in the Clinic.....Not on your life missy!

More tomorrow!