A New Week

I am so thankful that it's a new week - last week had more than it's share of tests and trials.
On Friday, my hubby Bill woke me up to tell me good-bye as he was leaving for work. He mentioned he didn't feel well, and I just thought he meant he had some kind of bug. For my husband to say he isn't feeling well means that something is WRONG - he's just not the kind that complains about aches and pains, etc. Well he said that he was feeling pain in between his shoulder blades and his left arm; pains like he had 5 years ago when he was having a massive heart attack!
I got dressed, gave him an aspirin, and we were off to the ER. They got him in immediately and began the tests. About 10 minutes after taking him back, they let me go in with him, and they'd already given him nitro, an EKG, and some heparin - a blood thinner. His EKG was good, as was his BP and other vitals. They took a chest x-ray, which I am thanful of, because it came into play a little later on. A little morphine in his IV numbed his pain and allowed him to go out for a short time.
I had called my step-daughter Kim, who lives in Nashville, and told her what was going on, and asked her to call her brother and sister to inform them. My phone began to ring constantly, and I was able to tell them that their daddy was resting comfortably, and still undergoing tests.
The rest ended, as Bill almost sat up in bed, crying that his pain had jumped back up. He had a look of terror on his face, and I knew that he thought he was dying. I had been ok up to that point; I had been calm because all the tests and vitals were good. Seeing him endure those horrific waves of pain and the look on his face got me fearful that I might be watching my husband die.
I got each of his kids on the phone again, and held it up to his ear, so hopefully they could calm him by telling him how much they loved him. As he talked to each one, he cried again. I could tell that he thought it might be the last time he spoke to them.
As soon as his pain shot up, I got the nurse and the ER doctor, and they ran two more EKGs. They showed a difference than the original one, so a cardiologist that was recommended by my sister in law Sharon, who's a cardiac nurse, came in to check Bill and to tell him that he was going to get a heart cath, to see if he needed another stint, or at the worst, to be cut open for a bypass.
The heart cath didn't take long, and the associate of the cardiologist that came into the ER, came out to tell me that the test went well and that he didn't need any more stints, and that the one he had was still open. That was GREAT news, but he also told me that Bill's heart only pumps at 35%, which is NOT good.
I was thinking, "ok - I know what all ISN'T wrong, but what IS causing this pain"?
He spent Friday night in the hospital, and when I went in early Saturday morning, the doc that does rounds came by and said he was sending him home. Well that was good news, but I was still frustrated that we didn't know what was causing him such pain. I asked this doctor if he had looked at the chest x-ray to see if Bill could have pneumonia. I had been admitted to the hospital once with horrible chest pains, and it ended up being pneumonia, so I thought there was a possiblity of that being Bill's problem.
Of course I got the "you aren't a doctor, so why are you trying to diagnose this" look, but a few minutes later, the doc came back and said that the radiologist who read the x-rays did note that there was fluid in his left lung, so they would treat him for pneumonia, and also give him meds for pain and cholesterol.
I brought him home and have been like Nurse Ratchet in making this stubborn husband of mine take his meds and be STILL. We did NOT need the artery in his leg where the heart cath had been to blow.
I am so thankful for all the friends and family who were faithfully praying for my hubby, and for a God that hears prayer, and is always with us - in the good times as well as the bad.
I just don't know how people who don't know the Lord make it through a single day, much less in times of trouble. He is the Rock that I lean on - a loving Father, a faithful Friend, a Savior who knows our pain, and tells us that by his stripes we are healed.
I pray that this will bring my hubby closer to the Lord, and allow him to see that once again, he was given another chance.
Blessings to you on this last week of August.
Janelle