Two weeks ago, Saturday night, my sister Ann wasn’t feeling well. She had been complaining of a heartburn-like feeling all day and something that felt a bit like the burning feeling one gets in the lungs when stepping out into really cold air. Her hands were hurting, too. We were cleaning up the kitchen after a late dinner and I saw her leaning over the counter, in pain. Knowing that cardiac symptoms are different for women, I asked her if it could be her heart — and said we should call the advice nurse right away.
We did, and she urged Ann to hang up and call 911. Before we knew it, the living room was full of paramedics and firemen. Then we were off to the hospital by ambulance. We were lucky...really, really lucky. The heart attack (because that was indeed what it was) was just beginning.
Everthing else happened really fast. Ann was hooked up to monitors, blood drawn, nitro glycerin given. By 1am, she was having an angioplasty and a stent put in the right side of her heart — all through her right wrist. She got out of the hospital a couple days later, with a heap of new medications and strict limitations on what she can do while she heals from the stent. There were blockages on the left side of her heart, too, but it was hoped those could be handled by medication rather than by angioplasty.
So far so good. I thought Ann’s color had improved greatly and she seemed to have some of her old energy back. We were doing pretty well until last Sunday when we got to repeat what was becoming an all too familiar drill. Ann began to have some of the same sensations as from the week before. We called the advice nurse. She told Ann to take nitro glycerin and go to the ER. While I was calling for a cab, Ann called out that she was suddenly feeling worse so I called 911 instead. Back to the hospital by ambulance we went! By 1 am (that magic hour!), she was again hooked up to all sorts of monitors, blood drawn, and more drugs given. Then she was admitted for more tests. As before, I came home close to 4am to very unhappy kitty cats; an emotional wreck, myself.
Ann stayed two days in the hospital again. As it turned out, there was another blockage on the left side of her heart that had not been identified before that was of great concern. Thankfully, Ann was able to pass a stress test and so was spared the fate of another stent for now. Now she heals and will see a cardiologist at the end of March.
I really, really want this weekend to be ambulance free ! So far, things are looking good (knock wood).
Where we are now
Ann is still limited in what she can do. We are beginning to make Pootie Pads again — and catnip toys. The larger quilts will be delayed as Ann cannot yet handle the weight of machine quilting them. She also needs to frequently rest. As such, I have begun quilting bfitz’s quilt by hand and am about halfway through with that, maybe more. We ask for patience while we get through our backlog of orders and extend our heartfelt thanks to those of you who have sent money to help us get through this. Without this community, I don’t know where we would be.
Because people have asked, PayPal may be sent to hairbraider33 AT yahoo DOT com
Thank you for your love and support.
Here is a link to the diary I wrote just after Ann’s heart attack — the comment thread is rich with advice and experiences with cardiac issues and may be of interest. After, all, February is Heart Health Awareness Month, something that will certainly be with me every year from now on. I beg all women to pay attention to your body and don’t hesitate to get help if something seems wrong — heart symptoms for our sex may be somewhat vague. Fact.