In Training – part 1

2 big things happening in my life.

The first is happening on the 10th August this year when I’ll be having a heart procedure done.. can’t remember the name of it.. they’ll be inserting 4 catheters into my groin to send to my heart, 1 catheter for each chamber and an electrode attached to each catheter.  Here’s why…

I’ve constantly in the past mentioned to a specialist that my heart occasionally does a Scottish jig (at least that’s what I call it), it doesn’t freak me out as much as it used to, it’s been doing it all my life, but every time I’ve been attached to a machine or recording device, my heart behaves, so it’s never picked up.

I mentioned it’s worse on very hot days, so about 3 months ago, we timed it so that I would wear a halter on a day that was predicted to be above 30 degrees C, and for the most part, my heart behaved.  But for 3 seconds in that 24 hours, my heart did its little Scottish jig that I’d grown so used to by now that I hardly noticed it.  However, it WAS picked up by the halter and my heart specialist found it rather disconcerting.  I didn’t see the big deal, it always happens and it never hurts, just feels funny.  I just wanted to be sure it was a normal thing.

So my heart specialist refers me to a cardiologist who, during my appointment, explains to me that the top two chambers of the heart are meant to control the heartbeat, and the bottom two are supposed to just follow the beat.  I’d often wondered how the heat worked out its rhythm, so this was a good thing to know.  The cardiologist continued explaining that in that 3 seconds, the bottom two chambers of my heart was trying to gain control and set the rhythm, and this is NOT a good thing and can lead to heart attacks.

He then went on to explain the procedure, which he gave a lengthy name for, and said they want to send electrodes into my heart to see if they can recreate the situation, and if so, how quickly can the heart recover from it.  At best, it means more drugs (wonderful.. just what I need… as if I don’t already hate the meds I’m already taking for other health issues), at worst, they’ll insert a defib under my skin to keep my heart in check.

This procedure is elective, he explained, but if I choose not to do it, it could lead to serious consequences down the track.. namely death.  Considering one of the biggest changes in my life is a move to an area where I’d be half an hour from the nearest medical help, I decided it was wiser to do the procedure.

I did ask all the usual questions one asks, and he answered them appeasing my nerves, but over time, new questions and concerns arose.  So I googled the procedure and watched on youtube people sharing their experiences of what it was like.  I even saw the procedure (or one similar) on youtube, and my friends on FB also settled my nerves when they told me they went through it and are still here.

Then a friend who’s a nurse mentioned the biggest concern is afterwards, and I have to agree.  I didn’t get initially why I had to lie still for 4 hours afterward until I realised which vein (or artery?) they were using to get to my heart, and I read up the risks of that being closed after the procedure.  And that’s where most of the dangers lied I’ve realised.

This wasn’t the only big concern.  I have to show up at the hospital at 6:30am!  I’m a night owl for crying out loud!  Bedtime IS 6:30am!  And so the training began.  Following are my concerns and what I did to alleviate them..

1 – Appointment time.

I started giving myself a bedtime, starting at 1am and over time, pushing it back to 11pm so that my body can adjust to 5am wake ups.  I was going to push it back to 4:30 due to another concern (keep reading), but that problem has since been solved, so am happy with 5am mornings, and I have to admit, I’d long forgotten how nice that hour is (when my father worked, he’d get me up at that hour so he could drop me off school by 7am, and yes, I was usually there before even the teachers, a possibility in an era before schools were surrounded by locked and gated fences, but I digress…)

2 – The dogs!

Cleo and Milly are both seniors.  Milly can cope with me being away for a whole day, possibly even overnight, but Cleo, with her weak heart, requires meds an hour before meals, day and night.  The morning of the hospital not a problem, but then what if they keep me overnight?  What then?!?  So I called the vet and she said it’s ok for me to double dose Cleo in the morning, so that was one concern over, but what about the next morning?  There’s a good chance I wouldn’t be kept overnight, but I couldn’t take that gamble as that meant Cleo’s life if the gamble didn’t pay off.  So I contacted my local groomer and she’s happy to take them from the 9th – 11th August thereby calming one of my biggest concerns.  It was then that I realised 5am will suffice as I won’t need to get up any earlier to give Cleo her meds.

3 – Fasting.

3 weeks toward THE day and I realise I have to fast from midnight before, and I obviously won’t be eating till after the procedure which possibly isn’t until closer to 9am but because of these early morning starts, my body was begging for food within half an hour of me getting up.  This HAD to change!  So I started pushing back my breakfast till it was closer to around 9am, and it must be working because when I went to have breakfast at half 8 this morning, my body gagged at the thought.  Clearly I wasn’t ready to eat yet, so gave it another half an hour.

4 – My back!

The biggest challenge was my back.  A big part of the recovery is lying still for 4 hours to prevent serious blood clots and any other injury caused by the femoral being open, then closed.  Me having to lie still for 4 hours is bad enough, heck I don’t even do that when I sleep, let alone laying still ON MY BACK!  5 minutes on my back and I’m in agony, my body DOES NOT like it one iota!  So the biggest training session was laying on my back.  I figured I can do this at night time since I have to lie down anyway.  So started with 5 minutes at a time, then 10, then 15.. you get the gist.  I now can lie on my back for close to 4 hours, but that’s only halfway, when I factor in approx. 1.5 hours for the procedure as well as the 4 hours recovery, so I’m still practicing and HOPING that by the time the day arrives, dragging me closer to it kicking and screaming, my back will accept the lengthy time I have to lay on it.

5 – Nerves

It hasn’t stopped my terror, all these preps, but it’s calmed my nerves but I can’t help being scared for the actual day.. ANYTHING can go wrong and I’m praying it doesn’t.  I’m praying I’m not that one person i na 100,000 that should have bought the proverbial lottery ticket.  I’m praying that I’m one of many that the procedure and recovery will go smoothly on.  Wish me luck!

And stay tuned!  If I survive, I’ll share my experience in detail so that any one else who has to go through this can read of mine and understand their own better before their day comes.