Bob got more than he bargained for - Mon., July 21

To hear him tell it, he slept through it all and didn't feel a thing. Oh, except the shots for the anesthesia. Apparently because he's a big guy, they had to keep sticking him with needles to give him more anesthetic. He said he was ready to kick a nurse. (Sorry Shane, Rosemary, Rosemarie and Vickie.)

When I dropped Bob off at the hospital this morning for his routine catheter ablation, all was well. He felt great, said he didn't have atrial fibrillation. I went to work at the insurance office confident he would be all right.

At 10:45 a.m., I received a phone call from Bob's doctor (never a good sign). The doctor told me Bob was in atrial fibrillation. Because of that they could not do his catheter ablation. (If he had been in atrial flutter or normal sinus rhythm, they could have done the ablation.)

They planned to do an echocardiogram to see if there were any blood clots. If no blood clots, they would proceed with the ablation; otherwise there was too much risk of Bob having a stroke.

About 11:00, I received another call from the hospital. Two nurses had to get my consent for Bob to have two different surgeries: a TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram), and if that showed no clots, they would do a cardioversion on his heart to shock it into normal sinus rhythm (at which time they would do the originally scheduled catheter ablation). After asking about risks and listening to the answers, I gave my consent. I was told they would do the cardioversion about noon and then, if all looked good, he would have his ablation at 3:00 p.m.

From 11:00 a.m. until late afternoon, I didn't hear another word from the hospital. It was definitely a time of worry for me. At least I was busy at work so I didn't have too much time to dwell on the surgery, though I was a bit distracted as the afternoon wore on.

Finally, at 4:30 p.m., an RN called to tell me Bob's surgeries were done, he was in the recovery room, and all looked good. When I left work at 5:00, I drove to the hospital and walked into the Cardiovascular Area recovery room just as Bob woke up. What timing! He was a bit sleepy and groggy, which is to be expected.

Calls were made by me to Bob's mom, my mom, and Bob's Aunt Sally; and I texted Bob's son, boss, and bookkeeper to let them know how Bob was doing. Bob called his mom later in the evening when he was more coherent.

About an hour after I arrived in the recovery area, a room opened up in the Cardiovascular Unit, so Bob was transferred there. His nurse told us the hospital cafeteria closed at 7:00 p.m. Bob ordered his dinner at 6:50 p.m. He hadn't eaten since 10:00 p.m. the night before and he was hungry. I zipped down to the cafeteria for a tuna sandwich for my dinner which I brought back to his room to eat.

Bob's dinner came at 7:30 p.m. and I fed it to him. He can't sit up, stand up, or move his legs at all until around 10:30 p.m. The nurse came in about 8:30 to have Bob verbally answer a questionnaire. Bob was cracking jokes with the nurses, said he was trying old material on a new audience. I headed out about 9:00 p.m. Bob was reading his book and said he'd probably nap some more.

In case you're wondering about the orange wristband...it indicates he's allergic to shellfish.

Happy patient - surgery is over

Shaka, bra'

I am relieved he is doing well and the surgeries helped put his heart in a normal sinus rhythm. We'll see how he fares in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and blessings. I know that you, in combination with Bob's positive attitude, helped him through this challenging time.

I will be back at the hospital tomorrow morning to hang out with Bob and listen to discharge instructions. Bob cannot drive for the next couple of days so I will be his chaffeuse or chauffeuress.

I hope you're having a good Monday.

P.S. I forgot to mention our son, Randall, hyperextended his knee on a pillow bouncer while trying to emulate some of David Lee Roth's (Van Halen) moves.

Randall

Travel Bug out.