The Bad News and a Sleepless Night at the Hospital

Picking up from my last posting about my sudden trip to the hospital, I had packed a small bag of toiletries and taken a book with me to the hospital.

As I said, I was given another EKG in the ER at the hospital. We were living in Indianapolis at the time and the hospital was St. Vincent. I was moved to intensive care and they performed a sonogram on the heart. It is the same kind of imaging device that they use for pregnant women nowadays so they can see their babies.

You could actually hear my heartbeat and see the image of the beating heart as the technician moved the device around my jellied chest. I asked the technician what it looked like and she said she couldn't tell. I would need to talk to the doctor about the results.

I thought I would be talking to my family doctor, but I was introduced to my first cardiologist later that afternoon. My heart health was well beyond care by a GP. I was now in the hands of a doctor who specialized in heart care.

The cardiologist was a fine man and had an air of friendly authority. What he told me, though, was terrifying. He said all of the results so far indicated that I had major blockages of my heart's arteries. They would need to do one more test to confirm the extent of the blockages and a future course of action.

A catherization test is major surgery in itself. I'll describe it in the next post. The doctor told me that it is invasive surgery and could cause a heart attack itself. However, it was the only way to know the true extent of my problem. I consented to it and I was scheduled for a catherization the very next day.

Sleep was out of the question that night. I was able to see my wife for half an hour. The doctor had met with her also and explained the situation. My little two year old girl was not able to come into the Intensive Care Unit. We wouldn't want her to see her Daddy this way anyway.

That night was long and sleepless. Reading a book was out of the question. All I could do is worry about what was to come, and especially about my wife and baby girl.

It was probably the worst night of my life, except for the next night.