Later in the afternoon the Cardiologist, not the one who did the procedure, and a nurse came into the room to see me. They wanted to discuss what had happened to me and what procedures were done in the saving of my life. Of course, the Cardiologist started the conversation with “You are doing well and should make a full recovery”. There are always words of encouragement because they know the road ahead for recovery for many cardiac survivors is long and can be challenging. The Cardiologist explained the details of the procedure I had just underwent and that I was fortunate with the outcome. It was cafefully explained that my heart had been bruised in this event and was not damaged, and based on this my heart would make a full recovery to a normal function of a person my age. I think I was a little overwhelmed with this discussion since I was trying to process what a bruised heart meant and all of the activities of the day preceding this conversation. I did ask plenty of questions about my ability to recover from an episode such as what I had experienced along with the all-important “How do I recover”. This question would now become very much a part of my thought process, and I continued to reconcile the day along with thoughts about the days and months to come. The Cardiologist also said that I might be going home on Saturday. I texted my wife this news. She responded with “I think they should keep you for another day”. I was a bit dumbfounded with this response and texted back that they probably need the room and if I am doing well why shouldn’t I come home.
The nurse said she was going to remove the pressure bandage at my wrist protecting where the catheter was inserted. There was a four hour wait before the bandage could be removed. As she released the pressure blood began to fill the bandage. She quickly re-pressurized the bandage and the bleeding stopped. She said she would try again in a couple of hours.
Dinner arrived and honestly it wasn’t that bad. I know there was a soup, main meal of chicken, some desert, and a beverage. I was a bit scared to eat, not sure of how it would go down and stay in my stomach. I ate about half of what was delivered. My wife had also returned and we chatted about the possible discharge on Saturday. She just thought that another day in the hospital would be better for me. The nurse came back to try and remove the pressure bandage shortly after I finished my dinner. Once again, the attempt failed and she re-pressurized the bandage again. At this time, I also told her that the IV in my right arm was hurting a lot and was there anything she could do. She said this IV was no longer needed and then proceeded to remove it. Once the IV was out my arm did feel better, but was sore. I am now beginning to recall the morning in a bit more detail…
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