Living at the Hospital: an adventure of necessity
Last Friday, my husband went for a treadmill test at the local hospital. Just one of those routine things. The Doctors immediately booked a bed and scheduled him a quadruple bypass. He was not leaving the hospital without a refurb. As Monday was all booked up, and we really wanted a rested surgeon, Tuesday became the day of reckoning. We met several heart surgeons over the weekend including the one with my husbands case. He is called a 'cabbage' surgeon for some reason. If you know why, leave a comment. Nothing personal. All of these healers and second chance givers were humble, kind, and personable men. They are so very busy with the epidemic of deceased hearts here. Makes you wonder what is going on ? Was heart decease so prevalent before the advent of TV and electronic gadgets ? Our bodies just aren't meant for sitting still, and that's what we learn to do at age five. Take an alien look at US television ads. The ads for bad food, followed by the meds to overcome problems caused by the bad food, and then the lawyers come on insisting that we must sue for side effects caused by the medicine taken. It's what we deserve ! Turn that darn TV off .
A patient in the hospital for something as dire as a heart refurb needs rest and a decent diet you would think. The hospital is hell bend on destroying that myth. Night time is busy with blood letting, vitals taking and that lingering question 'do you need anything ?' Diet ? Lots of milk, eggs, meat and cheese. Yessir, protein is what we need. That's what we like by golly. It tastes good. Hmmmm.
Every room on our floor has a patient in it. Smiley bubbly nurses in attendance. Sort of like Disney World with a sadistic twist. 'Do you need anything?'
Out and about from floor to floor, visitors and nurses with gurneys use the elevators. The TV installed right above are a clue to how busy they are. The one time I lugged bags up the elevator, I met a young woman who said she would be living at the hospital for a month. She jogged in place while she talked, and when we stopped on floor 2 off she jogged. You do what you have to I guess. Not many people go up to the 6th floor using the stairwell. I say that with confidence , due to the crisp clean aromatic state of everything else. Huge cobwebs hang from the walls up there, with sheet rock falling loose from the ceiling. Stair climbers delight.
I much prefer to be painting. Maybe soon.
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These surgeries began in the 80’s. At first they were just bypass, than triple bypass, and now quadruple. The pronunciation cabbage stands for CABG (Coronary artery bypass surgery). The reduction of deaths with this procedure has been great with no age limitations. I know young and old successfully recovering from such a delicate surgery procedure. It’s all in the recovery. Most fatalities are during the immediate recovery. My half brother youngest of three unfortunately didn’t make it after the surgery. He was rushed unconscious by an ambulance for this procedure, but was unable to come around thereafter. It’s best to catch the angina before. I wish you and your husband the best recovery. Your written hospital experience reminds me how better off I am without this, how much I should watch my diet, bad habits, and work on my exercise.
ReplyDeleteBabs Coronary Artery Bypass Graft 1st letter of each word CABG - pronounced "cabbage" .
ReplyDeleteEasy when you know!!
I would walk those steps too spiders and all....
Margaret
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Cabbage doctor probably refers to the conditions in your husband's heart. Little growths that look sort of like little cabbages, that grow right where the valves have to close, so instead, the valves never get a tight seal. Loose seals, means the heart has to work harder to push the blood. I am not a cardiologist, but I vaguely remember this information from when I went in for an angiogram. Luckily for me it turned out to be reasonably ok and as long as I exercise sensibly, eat sensibly, lose weight and lower my stress level I might probably not die of a heart attack. What else I will probably die of is left hanging, so none of it sounds super, so I decided to forgo the other options altogether.
ReplyDeleteThe success rate is so high for these procedures that it makes one think at how much practice they all have.
Good luck. Joe Finkleman Art Anonymous