Today was a really nice day, it was almost like old times before my husband’s health started deteriorating to the point that we rarely leave the house anymore. He has not had any heart issues for the last 3 or 4 weeks thank goodness and the last time he was hospitalized it was due more to anxiety than an actual heart event because he was afraid his defibrillator was going to fire. This sudden fear caused his heart rate and blood pressure to skyrocket so while I was still on my way home from work he called the paramedics and was taken to the hospital. I arrived in front of my house just as the paramedics arrived. Obviously the technicians were frantic at first, especially given his history but I could tell after a few minutes they had come to the same conclusion that I had, that this was more than likely a panic attack as opposed to a heart attack. The hospital first treated him for congestive heart failure but as they were treating him they too started indicating that it was more likely anxiety over the anticipation of a defibrillator attack.
The last time he was treated for artery blockage the doctors did what they call a "stent" procedure, where they insert a very tiny mesh tube into the vein, its medicated and it expands the artery, the medicinal part of it helping to dissolve the plaque build-up. Afterwards they said that they believed that his defibrillator would be less likely to fire because it was that artery that was causing all of the problems. For whatever reason though they told us that this blockage was slightly more of a dangerous procedure but now with the blockage stented the anticipation is that he should not have to worry about the device firing for a while (mind you this makes his 17th stent) however the damage is already done to his psyche as now he is in constant fear. To help him with the panic the doctors prescribed Xanax which if I understand correctly is a very mild sedative and will help keep his anxiety level low. The doctors said that if and once he does have another firing of the defibrillator they will proceed with the VT ablation procedure.
So back to the point of this posting which was "we had a very good day". My husband can’t do a lot of walking anymore because between his heart and COPD he becomes winded too easily. We went to Home Depot and purchased a water filter to help as a another layer of protection against our contaminated water in our home water well which I mentioned in an earlier posting. (See: "An Insatiable Thirst") After the Home Depot we went to an IHOP for a breakfast. He ate a little more than he should have because he said he felt he deserved it because of all the hard work he has been doing lately to keep himself in this healthy condition. I warned him that he should consider there might be too much sodium in his selection not to mention too much sugar and even the liquid he was consuming in the form of the coffee and water he was drinking. While, yes, he deserved a treat all his choices combined could lead back to heart congestive issues but he insisted that he deserved it since he's been very good lately, obeying all the doctor's rules. I didn't argue with him because he was right, he had been giving up a lot lately and me must have really felt like he truly deserved it because he is so fearful of having any continual heart issues and here he sat, telling me he was willing to take a chance so I gave him my what I felt was my duty as his husband a stern warning and then dropped the subject.
After that we went to the Aldi's grocery store which surprisingly is a great store for healthy options; during a previous visit we discovered we can buy fish and produce at really affordable costs, eating healthy is NOT cheap. Anyone that is really focused on their diet and need to eat fresh and healthy are aware but for those people that don't have such concerns believe me, eating healthy is very expensive. It makes me realize the need for all those public service health warning announcements (which I'm sure will go away under the Trump regime) that warn of the lack of options in inner cities where they don't have many fresh food stores leaving people eating a lot of junk. It so true. I know that when I am downtown there are fewer grocery options compared to the convenient stores that sell hot dogs and pizza. We could eat all the junk we want to and save a lot of money but if you have heart issues and want to continue to survive you need fresh and healthy food and that means paying extra money. Fish and most unprocessed fresh meats are low in sodium and basically any fresh foods that haven't been processed, jarred, boxed, canned, are the preferred choices, prepared food are all higher in sodium so we have to eliminate these, at least in his diet which is low sodium, heart healthy.
I know that anyone reading this will think, "Gosh what a boring day" but I'm telling you when you face day after day of simply sitting, waiting for death to arrive, doing nothing but going to work, watching TV and then going to bed or in my husbands case simply watching TV and going to bed having a normal day doing normal things feels so precious.