Patra's Other Place

I started out with Patra's Place, primarily dedicated to my linen collection and stitching projects. But I kept getting side-tracked, so I decided to create Patra's Other Place for anything not related to embroidery topics. So you now have a choice. If you are interested in me, read this. If you only want to see my linen and stitching, visit Patra's (original) Place! (Please note that by clicking on any of the photos, they will be enlarged to fill your computer screen.)

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Location: Melbourne, Vic., Australia

I was married to Ken for 43 years, but he died in October 2022. So I am now alone with two cats, eight hens, and a few finches and parrots in one aviary.

Friday, May 07, 2010

The MOTH is alive and kicking!

Ken is at home. Thank God that is over. We arrived at the hospital at 8 am on Thursday, and went through the various procedures and hours of waiting until he was taken to the operating theatre just after midday to have the ICD implanted. We thought he was going to have a pacemaker implanted, which usually takes about half an hour. But we were informed that Ken was going to be fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) which would take a bit longer…maybe an hour. It took two hours, and Ken was conscious the whole time. He can’t have a general anaesthetic because of his lungs, so they gave him a local anaesthetic in the shoulder where the ICD was to go. When he came out of the theatre, he was wide awake and quite pleased with himself, as he told me what took place. He said even though there was no pain, he could feel them pushing the unit under his skin, and felt the wires going through his veins into his heart, although the surgeon said that wasn’t possible, and it must have when they were poking around trying to place the wires in the heart. He was monitored for the next three hours with blood pressure checks, ECGs etc. and by the time I left to go home at 4 pm, the anaesthetic was starting to wear off. The nursing staff gave him pain killers and told me he would be okay from now on.


Last night was a nightmare for him. At 6 pm I got a message from the hospital saying he had been transferred to another building near the hospital, because they needed his bed in the ward, and he was no longer regarded as an ‘acute care’ patient. About 8 pm, Ken called me to say he was in agony, and wanted to come home because he couldn’t find anyone to look after him at this place. I phoned the hospital to ask what the hell was going on, and they put me through to the other building, where the nurse in charge assured me he was being monitored, and had been given some Panadol for the pain. I called again about 10 pm to find out if he was okay, and the nurse informed me she had taken Ken to the emergency ward in the hospital because he was getting worse. Well, I figured it was no use me going in there at that hour, and he was in a hospital after all, so I went to bed.


He was discharged this morning at 10 am, and looked like death warmed up when I saw him, although he said he was feeling a lot better. He told me that he sat in Emergency for over half an hour before anyone looked at him, and it was only when he said to a passing nurse that he thought he was having a heart attack, that everybody was suddenly interested in him and started doing Xrays, blood tests, ECGs etc. The tests all showed that the ICD was firmly in place and doing what it was supposed to do, i.e. keeping the heart beating at a regular rate. So they pumped some morphine into him, and sent him back to the other building, where he got a few hours sleep before he woke up and started throwing up! He was taken back to the cardiology unit and had more tests done, and after a while he started to recover.


By the time we got back home, he was quite chirpy and wanted to sit down comfortably and tell me all about it. After an hour, he was getting tired, so he went to bed, and slept, while I went shopping, did a load of washing, and other domestic stuff. He woke about 5 pm and made a few phone calls before we had tea (scrambled eggs on toast). After tea, he had another snooze, took a few phone calls, and turned on the t.v. Now I KNOW he is feeling better! He walked downstairs to the garage and up again, and wasn’t puffing. The doctor did say it wouldn’t take long before the ICD took effect and the heart would start to pump more efficiently, but neither of us thought it would be as soon as this! He says he isn’t in much pain, just a bit uncomfortable...geez, he has a higher tolerance for pain than me!


Typical me – Bad Taste Bessie – took my camera into the hospital to record Ken’s progress. He knew what I was up to, and was chuckling, but the nurse looked a bit startled, and a man in the opposite bed sat up suddenly when I said the photos were for my blog. He wanted to talk about blogging with me, but the nurse turned around and said sharply “Just lie down! Never mind about blogs!” I beat a hasty retreat…





To wind up this lengthy post, I must say that Harry Potter and his wizard friends have nothing on state of the art 21st century technology. To put a mini computer inside a person, insert wires into veins and the heart muscle itself in order to keep the heart beating, and kickstart it if it stops, is nothing short of a miracle. Ken is acutely aware of the amount of work done by doctors and nurses over the past 8 years to keep him alive, and hospital staff often tell me he is one of the nicest patients they have treated, because he thanks them for every single thing they do, and apologises if he has to ask them for something as simple as a drink of water. I know he will be itching to drive his car and ride his bikes as soon as he feels okay, but he knows that he mustn’t do any of that until he’s got the OK from his cardiologist in two weeks’ time.
Thanks again from both of us for all your encouraging comments and emails.

6 Comments:

Blogger Merle said...

Hi Gina ~~ I am so glad that Ken is over the op and is home where he will really get cared for. Sorry he had such a bad time after the op and was in agony. All's well that ends well. I do hope he continues to feel
better and that you are OK too.
Take great care, Love and Hugs to you both. Merle.

Friday, 07 May, 2010  
Blogger Merle said...

Dear Gina ~ Thanks for the Mother's Day wishes and it has been a nice one
I hope Ken is feeling less sore now and starting to get the benefit
once he gets the OK.
Take care of you both. Love, Merle.

Monday, 10 May, 2010  
Blogger Jeanette said...

Hi Gina.Its been a while im back. So very sorry to hear What a bad time Ken had following his Heart Operation,, And on the other hand pleased to hear of his speedy recovery. and he can only keep getting better now he is home with his personal carer.. Love Jen

Tuesday, 11 May, 2010  
Blogger FredaB said...

After a bad start it sounds like the fibrillator is doing its job. It is going to be wonderful if it helps him breathe easier. Give him another hug from me. You deserve one too. In fact this way you can hug each other.

Hugs

FredaB

Wednesday, 12 May, 2010  
Blogger Pam said...

I'm so glad it's all over and Ken can just keep getting better and better. Best wishes to you both.

Friday, 14 May, 2010  
Blogger Crazee4books said...

Hi Gina,

Hurray!! It's wonderful to read
that your Ken is home again and
recovering quite nicely from his
procedure. It does sound as if
he had quite a time of it though
and I have to admire his stamina
whilst being shunted from place
to place, and feeling poorly.

You are so right about the
incredible things that can be
done these days to help people
with ailments and conditions
that would have ended their
lives not so far back in time.

We've got my Mom in hospital
right now with fluid on one
lung and we're very worried.
She's had a CT scan and xrays
but it's the weekend now so
we won't know until perhaps
Monday what the problem might
be.

She's in a lot of pain which
is hard to see, and the
morphine that they are giving
her isn't helping very much.
I am very much afraid that 60
years of smoking might be
catching up with her at last.

I share your love of a nice,
hot bath and a good soak. Lots
of bubbles is also a must, and
a mug of tea and perhaps some
chocolate doesn't hurt either.
And my favorite magazines or a
good book cap off the perfect
way to relax and enjoy the good
life. I try not to fill my tub
up to the brim though. Lol!!
Looks like you caught it just in
the nick of time there.

Topsy looks so cute settled into
her bed, with all four feet
dangling over the edge. I just
realized that she's on top of
the dryer too. Does she like
the vibration when it's going?

I love the way you finished
those ten patchwork blocks
into a finished quilt with the
red fabric. The red fabric
really makes the colors in the
squares POP!! This would make
a great wall hanging too.

I love your Japanese Doll panel
too. She's such a cutie design
and it's cool how she's also in
the finishing fabric as well.

I need to take pictures of my
pile of handkerchiefs that I
have from when I was very young
and post them on my blog for you
to see.

They either belonged to my mother
or to my grandmother or were given
to me as gifts. It's been awhile
since I've had them out for a
look.

Best wishes to the patient.

Cheers!!

P.S. I'm so glad you don't mind
my long winded comments. Your
blog posts really inspire me!!!

Sunday, 16 May, 2010  

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