You WOKE Up?

Back to the benefits of being early, I should add that when you are running early, you are also ready for others that are running early. Such was the case for my heart procedure on that Friday. Apparently there had been a cancellation, so instead of having me wait, I was able to go ahead at 11am instead of noon. Dr. Hoyer himself showed up at 11am to let me know this. He was a middle age man with a kind smile and a pleasant demeanor.

After taking time to discuss with Tim, Mom, & me about the procedure, he also explained the possible risk of this not working, which would lead to open heart surgery. I was not real alarmed that this would be necessary, but I felt nervous that if it did, it would be done while I was still sleeping. Would their be a slit in my chest when I woke up? Would my hospital stay be 4 days instead of just one? I do remember Dr Hoyer asking if I wanted to be awake for any of it and I squinted at him with, "No, I don't think so." Based on Dr. Hoyer's confidence and his past experience, most likely all would go well. God is faithful to be trusted at these times.

I will say that preparation for this was not as extensive as I had expected. Upon first arriving, I was asked to put on a hospital gown and fill out a medical form about myself. The form was missing the normal medical questions one would expect and instead seemed more appropriate for a doctor asking a patient questions. I did the best I could to fill in the blanks. Soon a nurse came and grabbed my right arm for a blood pressure check, while another grabbed my left to set up a port for an IV. I suppose they were trying to be efficient, which is well intended, but after looking at my height and weight on the form, they attempted to be humorous in asking what it was like to be that size. What? Not only did their unprofessional chatter rub me wrong, but then a third nurse handed me a food menu for me to choose what I wanted to eat after I was done....not a great way to help someone that is supposed to be fasting. By then I was becoming quite annoyed.

Two weeks before when I was preparing to go for an "esopho-gram" at Goshen, a nurse had gone through quite a checklist before I left my room for the procedure. I was told to remove my little stud earrings, my watch, and she taped on my rings before I could offer to give them to Tim (I avoid tape when possible!). I was required to remove my contacts and wear glasses and some of the bands on my braces. Of course, they were going into my mouth, so some of that is logical, but my point is that it was all very thorough. I'm sure there's no "lost and found" at the door in the "esopho-gram" room.

One would think that if you are having your heart FIXED, it would be a bigger deal than if its just being LOOKED at. Thus, was the reason I wore larger hoop earrings. I figured I wouldn't lose them in my bag if I removed them. (Yes, I could have done without them all together, but remember how going through the normal prep for my day kept me calm, well it also meant I put in some earrings.) As for glasses, I never even thought to bring those along. In the end, none were even mentioned. When I was taken to the room to have my heart fixed, I had on silver hoops, contacts, & tapeless rings. Anyway, back to my story....

Fortunately the nurses finished checking me in and left as quickly as they had come. Once Tim and Mom joined me, I relaxed a little and proceeded to pick out far more food from the menu than I would later want to eat. (Fortunately they only brought the 2nd half.) All was soon followed by Dr Hoyer and his humorous assistant, Dr. Breinholt, who, as I mentioned, were running early. This beforehand experience made a stark contrast to the thoughtful explanations and patient answers they gave. When choosing between the two, I'll take a great heart doctor over a kind nurse any day!

It was with teary eyes that I said good-bye to my family. My dad and my in-laws had arrived just as Dr Hoyer was talking. How can one not cry on such an occasion, if not for the separation, then for the weighty awareness that life will forever be different after this day.


In my bed, I was wheeled down the hallway to a room called a "cardio cath lab". Basically, this just means they regularly insert tubes into hearts in this room.....most of which are for stints and other heart issues. Here is a picture of a lab I found online. It is similar to the table that I was transferred to.


The room was cool to keep bacteria and infection low. The table was narrow, so they had to insert plastic holders to rest my arms at my sides. The assistants were friendly and discreet. As opposed to the pictures, I did not have the nice blue cloth covering me, so I think I fell asleep soon, because I don't remember shivering under only two well placed towels. Instead of being put "under", I was just given a sedative through my IV which made me sleep and they apparently did some sort of local on my groin area, obviously while I was napping.


Next time you hear that someone is getting a catheter inserted through their groin area, this is what you should think of. Pictures do so much more for most of us than medical words and detailed descriptions. At the opening, there was a sort of straw length thing called a sheath. In my case, there were two put into my artery, one to use for the tiny camera and one for the amplatzer (the piece to fill the hole). Until I saw this picture, I didn't realize that they approached the heart from the left but around to the hole from the right.....at least that's what I see here. I don't really know for sure.


Below are a couple more photos of the equipment used during the procedure. There were only 4 panels of monitors in my room as opposed to the one with six. I know this because at some point, I woke up.


Truly! Even now when I think about it, I get kind of weirded out. But at the time, it wasn't really that big of a deal. The sedative that I was under must have kept me at a "low-doze" because I never really felt like I had been asleep except for the obvious lack of shivering and the fact that it felt like only 25 minutes instead of 2 hours. I woke up gazing at these monitors.


My first memory was of a very hazy gray x-ray with an obvious black line going up to a balloon that was being inflated. I later learned that Dr. Hoyer inflated a balloon in the ASD (the hole) to get a precise measurement of what size amplatzer to use. I remember him asking if I was okay, to which I answered, "Yes". I then remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, right this second there is a balloon like thing inflating IN MY HEART and I don't even feel a thing! THAT is incredibly bizarre!" I continued watching until the square x-ray machine above my head tilted like the one in the picture. At this point I said, "Hey, I can't see." (Nicely, not rudely) To which he replied, "Yeah, I'm sorry." The canter was jovial, but did not lack professionalism. The assistants joined in as well. (Yes, very dream-like, but totally true). Their activity was calm and relaxed...too boring for the show ER.

At that point, one of them must have upped my sedative, because I don't remember much more until he was almost done. I remember seeing the same hazy gray chest x-ray, which did not show obvious clarity to me. It amazed me that he would have such a well-trained eye to know how to read the slight changes in gray color tones on the screen. This was not an obvious "match the circle into the hole" that you might find on Sesame Street. Even the pictures here are much more obvious than the screens I was looking at. The one at the upper right probably measured blood pressures in the aorta and other areas. I know they kept track of those during the whole time, but the squiggles didn't seem to move in tune with a normal heartbeat. It all seemed like Greek to me.

Soon enough I was told that all was done. Once the square machine right over my chest was moved out of the way, I saw the clock on the wall. I remember asking, "Is it 1:05pm?" "Yes." My mind then registered, "Okay, I must be thinking clearly. Yes, it did take about 2 hours. I can't believe it's over! YES! I don't have a huge cut on my chest, so it really worked!"


My leg must have still been pretty numb when they transferred me to my bed, because I don't remember any discomfort...a nurse had gotten my gown on me too. Before I knew it, my bed was being rolled down the hallway.


It was great to see family then. We were all celebrating the relief of "the wait" being over. From their side, it had taken over 2 hours, and they vividly remember a hush coming over their conversation at about 1:15pm. All were hopeful that they would have gotten word if surgery had been required, but none was able to relax. I'm glad they didn't have to sit in that tension for too long. God was faithfully watching over each of us.....as he does every day!


I'll close by promising to come back with details of my recovery. I know many of you were praying at many of these moments, so I'm glad to share the journey from my perspective. I am also anticipating the memories I'll cherish in future years when I come back to read this for my own recollection. Thanks for bearing with me as I record all the details.