General Hospital

[elainegrey]

Yesterday's news from back east threw me for a bit of a loop. My sister lola_kristine called as her family was returning from seeing our extended family in Florida to let me know my Dad was in the emergency room and was being admitted to the heart ward.

He's apparently suffering from an irregular heart beat that is now leading to blood pressure issues that in turn led to fainting. The doctors have pronounced it an Atrial Tachycardia, which seems to me to simply confirm the symptom of irregular heart beat. (It's hard to know how complete a story we get of the medical statement from our parents.) Dad's heart is extremely well documented. The beating irregularity has been known since before i was born: it's why he was not a Navy pilot during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead, he was the navigator or radar operator on the flights over Cuba. A couple years ago he had chest pains that were finally pronounced as a pulled muscle, but not before he had extensive workups on his heart. At that time they told him his heart was incredibly strong and in great shape.

So when i was visiting he had had five EKGs (because the doctor didn't believe the results and asked for another and another....) and they knew one of his valves was enlarged. His results from that doctor visit, while somewhat worrisome, seemed like something under control. He wore a heart monitor for a 24 hour period some time this week. Apparently yesterday he was fainting.

lola_kristine says my Dad should be home by lunch today and that the issue should be manageable with medication.

--==∞==--

I can't but think of this year as the year of General Hospital. Christine's surgery came at the same time my mother was distressed about her father's health and hospitalizations. I will not forget the feeling as i called her from the hospital cafeteria, "Paging Doctor Green," in the background, and she talked for an hour about her father's heath before i could explain that, ha-ha, gee, i'm at a hospital, too. A friend had her knees replaced in two separate surgeries. My nephew's health took my sister's family to the hospital for quite a while. Seeing my mother fallen and in pain, while only a minor issue in the scale of things, sent a cold bolt of fear through my heart that has not yet really melted. And this with Dad. Oh, and visiting my grandmother in Arizona while she was in the hospital with her broken leg.

With The Cold, my focus is on getting backlog handled, not reflecting on any sort of year end review. (Still have yule gifts to finish.) Nonetheless, the episodes of hospital visits and stories do seem to color the year with an overriding theme. And i'll note, i am grateful and thankful for hospitals, imperfect as they can be (thinking of a few issues with Christine's recovery). I am glad for the care all my family members have received this year, thankful that it seems everyone is recovering well and, in the cases where there is a new normal, like my nephew and his diagnosis of arthritis, folks seem to be adapting well.

That said, i do hope for good health and no need to visit hospitals in the coming year. I'm a little worried about my parents, though, and quite thankful that my sister is not merely near but now living with them.

Comments

[firecat]

Eep. I'm glad your dad's condition can be managed with medication.

[weofodthignen]

Yeesh, yes, that is quite enough for this decade. May the docs and the treatments all do their jobs and the coming year be free of worrying hospital visits.

M