Heart attack - Hero's and Miracles

The nurse woke me up, an action that would become my routine for the next six weeks.

Yes, I was in the hospital, it was not a bad dream, it was a harsh reality. I had a heart attack.

 As I became lucid in those first moments of consciousness in an unusual place, it all came back to me what had happened and where I was. There was also something new, additional wiring attached to my body. It was surreal.

The nurse checked my vital signs temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation and took a blood sample. They did this every few hours. I became the perfect specimen for the student nurses to practice on.   Fortunately they did not do anything that caused me pain.  They also took x-rays of my chest incessantly. It seemed like they did it several times a day.

I subsequently learned that the cardiologist was unsuccessful with the stint. Apparently my heart has a genetic deformity, that prevented the cardiologist from completing the procedure. A normal hearts arteries follow a curved path from one section of the heart to the other in a more or less unobstructed flow. My heart’s arteries are not normal, instead of following a curved path from one section of the heart to the other my arteries are more like a winding mountain road turning back on themselves. This prevented the cardiologist from completing the stint. Since the attempt at the stint was unsuccessful they attached a pacemaker and a pump, that explained the additional wires . The pacemaker was for shocking the heart, if necessary. The pump was to assist my heart,  to increase blood flow to the rest of my body.

This was the first opportunity I had to discuss what happened with the doctors. They informed me that I had a heart attack. At first there was debate on whether or not I was a viable candidate for bypass surgery. The doctor’s concern was whether or not a bypass was feasible. They were not sure that there was not enough physical area to attach the bypass arteries  to. After a couple of days and much consultation among themselves they decided that the bypass was indeed feasible and the best course of action for me.

In a situation like this, how are you going to decide who it is that is going to cut you up and rearrange your heart? It’s not like you have a heart surgeon on speed dial. What apparently happens is that the hospital has a rotation and you get the next available surgeon. That’s what would have happened to me except, a few years earlier my brother had bypass surgery and he recommended his surgeon . I figured at least he took care of my brother and my brother was doing well so that was better than someone I knew absolutely nothing about. We met with the surgeon and he informed us that I had three blocked arteries and that he could surgically repair two of them. The remaining artery could not be addressed because there was no way to bypass it.

The decision was made I would have surgery the next day. To a certain extent, I was relieved. At least we were moving forward, there was a plan of action.

Part of the experience of having a heart attack is that it brings to the forefront of your mind the possibility of dying. Many people I know fear dying, I don’t. I’ve been a christian for over thirty years, I do believe in the resurrection as stated biblically.

1 Corinthians 15:54

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Because of this understanding, death to me is but a doorway into a much greater existence. My only concern had to do with the quality of life. What happens after? I was concerned that this would drastically change my ability to function. I was more concerned with the mess that I would leave behind than of dying. My family was not ready for my death. Nor were they ready if I were significantly handicapped. So as I lay in bed I prayed for two things, first that Gods will be done. That means that if God wanted to take me home that would be done. Secondly, if I were to recover that I would recover well enough to continue to contribute to my family. I was reassured by the doctor that after the recovery period I would probably be able to live a normal life . As I quickly learned doctors never make definitive statements.

I was asleep, around 4 in the morning the nurse came in to check vital signs, I had developed a fever. At the time I did not know it but the fever was a game changer. I still expected to go through with the bypass surgery after all it was just a fever. Wrong, they will not operate when the patient has a fever.

I would later realize that this was the time when a hero would emerge. It was not the doctors. Through this ordeal I had some great doctors notably my Heart Surgeon, General Surgeon and Nephrologist. My heart surgeon did a great job with the heart and my Nephrologist  gave me back my quality of life, the general surgeon probably saved my life. But my hero was my wife. She was there from the very beginning and she did not flinch or blink. She spent many sleepless nights making sure that I received the best possible care. Without her I may not have survived this ordeal.

When I began writing this I wrote that after they gave me the morphine I was not sure of my recollections. If you find yourself in a situation such as this, you will need someone who will look out for your best interests. Because the drugs make it impossible for you to be absolutely lucid. Your mental decision-making abilities are significantly impaired and you will not realize this until long after the event. That’s why and when you will need your hero.

Three very important things happened that day. First and most important my wife and kids got on the phone, text and email asking everyone to start praying for my recovery. The second thing was we found a doctor. The third thing was the beginning of a miracle, of course at the time I did not know it and neither did anyone else.