Sorry, it has taken me so long to get back to this...
After the cardiologists came to the ER, they took my Dad up to the Cath Lab. This is where they go into an artery in your groin (OUCH) and inject a dye into your arteries in the heart. This then will show them what arteries are blocked. It was here that they found his Right Coronary Artery was 100% blocked - the cause of the heart attack.
While waiting in the waiting room, my Mom and I were constantly on the phone and 3 hours went by incredibly slow! When the doctor came out to tell us that they had found the blockage and had put 2 stents in, we were able to take a breath of relief! They allowed us to come back and see him right before we moved to ICU. It was so hard to keep the tears at bay. To be thankful, scared, and running on adrenalin all at the same time is an exhausting thing. I remember taking my Dad's hand and tried to make a joke so that way he would break down and would stay calm. I think it worked, but we were all still so frightened. At this point Jason was rushing to the airport trying to come out. My mom and I were both so thankful for this!
The rest of that day was spent just trying to keep Dad comfortable in ICU. Because of grateful support systems, I spent the night at some friends of ours because I didn't think I could stay home by myself, and my mom spent the night in the hospital.
Thursday morning, I picked Jason up at the airport and we drove to the hospital. It was so good to be all together, although we would have liked it to be in different circumstances. Thursday was a quiet day. Dad was moved from ICU to the Cardio Vascular Unit (CVU) and had a good rest of the day and night. It was Friday morning that was going to change all the progress he had made.
3 years ago
