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Just Another Statistic
Friday, December 19th, shortly after lunch...I started having severe chest pain, radiating down my left arm, and up into my jaw. I had been dealing with this for several months, and had been to my cardiologist about a month previous for a stress test, which came back normal. My personal physician had prescribed Nitroglycerin, and I had found that it broke the "attack" in a matter of seconds. It just seemed the attacks were coming more and more frequently, and took longer to break. I went to the hospital on Tuesday and had a barium swallow upper GI done, thinking it was my hiatal hernia and my ulcer causing the problems. Of course...I was told that it would probably be after the holidays before I got the results back. So back to Friday. I was at my office, in the middle of finalizing our toy and food drive when the pain hit. Several of my co-workers wanted to put the cardiac monitor on me and run a 12-lead but I kept saying "no, it will break in a minute", and popping more Nitro. About an hour after it started, my husband walked in the door. One of my co-workers had gone behind my back and called him to come down. Kenney was a paramedic at one time, and finally talked me into letting him run a 12-lead on me. So out to the ambulance we went. After running the first 12-lead, he saw nothing except the signs from my previous heart attack June 10, 1998. A second one was run by him, and he kept saying "there is a blockage there". One time it would be there and one time it wouldn't. Around 5:00 pm I told him to take me to the ER, I couldn't take the pain anymore. Upon arrival at the ER, the nurses rushed me into a room, and hooked up the monitor. While this was going on, our daughter in law and grandson showed up. They were already on their way to town to pick up the new washing machine we got them for Christmas, so just came straight to the hospital. They arrived around 6 pm...and that is the last thing I remember until I woke up Sunday, December 21st, to find myself in CCCU at Lubbock Heart Hospital. Kenney told me the nurses at our local hospital had moved me to a room around 7:30 pm Friday night. Kenney finally went home later that evening. At 12:36 am, he got a call from the hospital telling him he needed to get to the hospital. When he arrived, he found my room full of nurses and respiratory therapy (Kenney even beat the doctors there). Nurses were still "bagging" me (using bag valve mask, forcing air into my lungs). That is when he was told my heart rate had reached 180 on the monitor so a nurse went down to check on me. She was in the room when she "saw me take my last breath" (her words). She immediately called a code and started CPR on me. Before the doctors even arrived, the nurses had done CPR, defibrillated me twice and pushed drugs. I was actually in asystole (straight line) when I regained a heart beat. I was still not breathing on my own so they continued bagging. Shortly after Kenney arrived I started breathing on my own. The helicopter was called, and I was airlifted to Lubbock, where they rushed me straight to the cath lab. A main artery in the front of my heart was 100% occluded. Our doctors here at home had already started TPA on me before they airlifted me out. (TPA is tissue plasminogen activator, a protein involved in the breakdown of blood clots...the sooner it can be given in heart attacks and strokes the better.) Needless to say...my cardiologist was NOT a happy camper because he had just done the stress test and nothing showed up. When I woke up Sunday all I could think was..."I can't breathe". That is when I found out they had done CPR on me. Thankfully no ribs were broken, but they were very severely bruised. (It's ironic, I tell my students...in CPR chances of you breaking ribs is very high, but fractured ribs will heal, a stopped heart won't. Little did I know that would apply to me one day.) Nurses were giving me Demerol every 4 hours IV to keep me calm enough to breathe, and to control the pain. Later that evening the plug in my femoral artery (where they go in to do angiograms and to place stents) started leaking. Kind of freaked me out when I saw all that blood. All I could think about was...I survive full cardiac arrest, and then bleed to death. Thankfully the nurses handled it very quickly, with no problems. Monday, December 22nd, I was finally moved to a private room, and on Tuesday, December 23rd, the cardiologist sent me home, just in time for Christmas. Without the Demerol I can really feel the bruised ribs, told my family I knew what it felt like to have a Mac truck run over you now.
So...when did I become a statistic? Well...having SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) is the first way. Then being resuscitated from asystole is another (in 28 years in EMS I have never seen a patient brought back from asystole). Last but not least...I survived a SECOND heart attack. Most women don't survive the first one, much less a second one. All I know is...I am my family and friends Christmas miracle this year. Guess God isn't done with me yet.
So...when did I become a statistic? Well...having SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) is the first way. Then being resuscitated from asystole is another (in 28 years in EMS I have never seen a patient brought back from asystole). Last but not least...I survived a SECOND heart attack. Most women don't survive the first one, much less a second one. All I know is...I am my family and friends Christmas miracle this year. Guess God isn't done with me yet.
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Comment by Terri on December 28, 2008 at 8:22pm
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One thing I need to mention here...I had my first heart attack at the age of 44. The main artery to the back of the heart, 100% occluded. TPA hung early, airlifted to Lubbock, stent placed, home in 3 days. I lost around 50 pounds after that bout, but did not quit smoking. Yeah yeah...already heard it. LOL This time...smoking HAS to go. Starting tomorrow am supposed to start taking Chantix...but have heard so many horror stories I am afraid to do it. I have lost about 25 more pounds in the last 3 months, so that helps too. Can't smoke in my office, have to go out in the bay to smoke. That helps. But...hubby, mom and dad, mother in law and son all smoke. THAT is the bad part. Anyone have any suggestions?
And as far as "can't happen to me"...I was that way, especially the first time. Sat on the couch eating Gaviscon for about 3 hours until I couldn't stand it. But my first one the pain was down my right arm, and in my back, so that kinda threw me off. But if in doubt...GO TO THE ER. Trust me...doctors do NOT make the worst patients. I know.
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Comment by Jeff Betz on December 27, 2008 at 11:23am
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I'm glad to see you are still with us. You have much to be thankful for, and I thank you for sharing your story with us. Now, if only we can save just one more because you "opened our eyes"....
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Comment by lutan1 on December 26, 2008 at 10:32pm
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Wow Terri!
This needs to be compulsory reading for all FF's, but then again, it can't happen to me....!
Good luck fot the futrure- what changes have you planned, if any? Keep us all posted.
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