JustJason
Vice Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2007
- Messages
- 5,321
Kate and I are geating ready for the big move down to FL. We had to get a few things out of the way before we could go down. 1 of which was her once a year cardiac appointment. We were hoping it would be smooth sailing, and it almost was, then it happened.
Kate did her stress test, everything was good. 5 minutes into the cooldown her heart shot up to 180bpm and stayed for 3-4 minutes. Lab tech was nervous enought to call the cardiologist on call who rushed down. The episode passed. She was lucky enough to have the an EKG hooked up to her at the time. Cardiac doc passed the readout along to the Cardiac surgeon and they called a Cardiac team together to see what could be done about this.
They conveyed on the matter, the cardiac surgeon said "i can fix this".
Yesterday I was with Kate 14 hours in the hospital so she could have something done called catheter cardiac ablation. She is 25, but because she had her first open heart surgury as a child at Boston Childrens Hospital, she pretty much gets a free ride there for life. She was on then off the table in 6 hours, but the day took 14.
While I sat in the waiting room I met a bunch of nicest most nervous folks you've ever met. All there for the same reason, kids with heart problems.
Parents who sat there with their bored 12 year old daughter. They were there with me about 12 hours. They had a 14 year old son. His 5th cardiac surgury. Needed a valve replacement/work. They did a cath procedure on him. He was on/off the table in 4 hours.
Young parents, 28 and 25. First born child aged 3. Has hole in heart. They were at their local hospital who wanted to do full open heart on him. They went to Childrens and they installed what they called an umbrella patch, again through a cath. Boy was on a off the table in 2 1/2 hours. Prognosis is 100% after a little recovery.
Single mom, 3rd kid, age 2. Has pulmonory anurism the size of the heart itself. Got cath'd yesterday, will have full open heart tomorrow to repair the problem.
Dorchester kid, aged 9. Was shot through a main artery at age 6 in a drive by stray. Was in for scarring repair. Had irregular heartbeats. Was on and off the table in 5 hours. Doc's felt good about recovery.
And lastly, 7 year old girl. Twin cardiac anurisms. Doc's able to fix via catheter. She was on the table for 9 hours. Prognosis excellent.
It was funny. When I first when into the waiting room we were all strangers. At the end of the day. We were all friends.
We are all laughing together, crying together. We played some cards. Talked about life. And made the best of it, while we all had loved ones in surgury at the same time.
At the end of the evening, when the 2nd shift came in around 11pm (and when the rules get lax about whose allowed in the recovery section and who is not) We all checked in on eachother.
All 5 families came by here and there checked in on Kate and I while in her recovery room. Kate was a bit immobile, but I made it a point to check on everybody else too. Everybody made the rounds on everybody else just to say hi and offer a smile and words of hope.
It was almost like for 14 hours of my life I had a different family, and everybody truely cared for everybody else (without the being nosey bit).
The waiting room in the cardiac section of the hospital is truely a special place. You will never find another place on this earth other than this 15x15 room in which people are so humble, and friendly, and comforting yet with their own needs to be comforted and re-assured. It's truely a loving place.
I made friends with 5 families yesterday. I made friends with 4 out of 5 cardiac children patients yesterday. I played go fish with a 9 year old inner city black kid who had been essentially shot through the heart and had 2 previous surgurys. Kates jonny happened to slip and she flashed a 14 year old boy her big ol boobies. Everybody laughed, there was no embarassment.
If you ever think your life sucks... I'd invite you to go and spend an hour in the general waiting area at Bostons Children. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll make friends, and you'll see parents who just had a kid die. It's the most humbling place on earth.
Kate did her stress test, everything was good. 5 minutes into the cooldown her heart shot up to 180bpm and stayed for 3-4 minutes. Lab tech was nervous enought to call the cardiologist on call who rushed down. The episode passed. She was lucky enough to have the an EKG hooked up to her at the time. Cardiac doc passed the readout along to the Cardiac surgeon and they called a Cardiac team together to see what could be done about this.
They conveyed on the matter, the cardiac surgeon said "i can fix this".
Yesterday I was with Kate 14 hours in the hospital so she could have something done called catheter cardiac ablation. She is 25, but because she had her first open heart surgury as a child at Boston Childrens Hospital, she pretty much gets a free ride there for life. She was on then off the table in 6 hours, but the day took 14.
While I sat in the waiting room I met a bunch of nicest most nervous folks you've ever met. All there for the same reason, kids with heart problems.
Parents who sat there with their bored 12 year old daughter. They were there with me about 12 hours. They had a 14 year old son. His 5th cardiac surgury. Needed a valve replacement/work. They did a cath procedure on him. He was on/off the table in 4 hours.
Young parents, 28 and 25. First born child aged 3. Has hole in heart. They were at their local hospital who wanted to do full open heart on him. They went to Childrens and they installed what they called an umbrella patch, again through a cath. Boy was on a off the table in 2 1/2 hours. Prognosis is 100% after a little recovery.
Single mom, 3rd kid, age 2. Has pulmonory anurism the size of the heart itself. Got cath'd yesterday, will have full open heart tomorrow to repair the problem.
Dorchester kid, aged 9. Was shot through a main artery at age 6 in a drive by stray. Was in for scarring repair. Had irregular heartbeats. Was on and off the table in 5 hours. Doc's felt good about recovery.
And lastly, 7 year old girl. Twin cardiac anurisms. Doc's able to fix via catheter. She was on the table for 9 hours. Prognosis excellent.
It was funny. When I first when into the waiting room we were all strangers. At the end of the day. We were all friends.
We are all laughing together, crying together. We played some cards. Talked about life. And made the best of it, while we all had loved ones in surgury at the same time.
At the end of the evening, when the 2nd shift came in around 11pm (and when the rules get lax about whose allowed in the recovery section and who is not) We all checked in on eachother.
All 5 families came by here and there checked in on Kate and I while in her recovery room. Kate was a bit immobile, but I made it a point to check on everybody else too. Everybody made the rounds on everybody else just to say hi and offer a smile and words of hope.
It was almost like for 14 hours of my life I had a different family, and everybody truely cared for everybody else (without the being nosey bit).
The waiting room in the cardiac section of the hospital is truely a special place. You will never find another place on this earth other than this 15x15 room in which people are so humble, and friendly, and comforting yet with their own needs to be comforted and re-assured. It's truely a loving place.
I made friends with 5 families yesterday. I made friends with 4 out of 5 cardiac children patients yesterday. I played go fish with a 9 year old inner city black kid who had been essentially shot through the heart and had 2 previous surgurys. Kates jonny happened to slip and she flashed a 14 year old boy her big ol boobies. Everybody laughed, there was no embarassment.
If you ever think your life sucks... I'd invite you to go and spend an hour in the general waiting area at Bostons Children. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll make friends, and you'll see parents who just had a kid die. It's the most humbling place on earth.
