NickM Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Gang, I have needed to share some news with you. For this last quarter, my wife and I have been on a hell of a roller coaster ride! WAAAY back in late August 2021, my sister in law's dog yanked my wife off her feet--she face planted and broke her right shoulder. So far, so bad. She surgically gets her upper humerus pinned together, so I have to take a few weeks off to tend to her injuries. Eventually I can return to work and come home to help her with personal hygiene during my lunch and coffee breaks. Then, one morning she can't sleep, can't stop drinking water and can't stop gasping for breath==911 time. They cart her off to the ER and it turns out she has sepsis and a DVT--and her blood chemistry is shot due to drinking too much water--and her heart's pounding like a house on fire. Off she goes for a couple of weeks in hospital and a couple of weeks of inhouse rehab to build her strength up again. Back home again with a PICC line and me managing her IV antibiotic infusions, and the as yet, unexplained meds and less than a week later, more 'can't sleep, can't breath, can't speak'==back to the ER. Now she fluid in her lungs, so diuretics and back home. The very next Saturday, Again, clammy skin, can't breath==back to the ER. Now they find why her heart's been racing all that time: she has a blockage in her coronary artery--which is ominously known as 'The Widow Maker'. The docs can't do open heart surgery because of the sepsis and the DVT and the blood thinners she's on. so now she has to have a couple of stents put in her heart---and before we leave the hospital, I get an explanation of EVERY med she's taking, why, when and how much. Now we've been home since late December, and we've avoided visiting the ER since them (AMEN!); If it wasn't for her arm getting broken, My wife's first warning of a problem would have been her dropping dead from a heart attack. Each visit peeled another layer back and revealed other health issues, like hypertension, diabetes, which we'd "known" about for a while but we didn't take it THAT seriously. Now with our choice being 'take seriously or die', we've much altered a lot of our lifestyle. I guess, I need to thank that dog for knocking my wife over.
rmgill Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 GAAAK! My mom had one of those heart attacks. She did not survive it. The only warning was the mild angina which was mistaken for the esophageal spasms she had from radiation scarring back in the 70s. I'm glad you caught this BEFORE the MI.
Mikel2 Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 My best wishes to your wife. My aunt had an aortic aneurysm and during one her check ups a dot became visible in one of her lungs. If it wasn't for the aneurysm, her lung cancer would have gone completely unnoticed.
futon Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 I feel sorry to just suddenly come across and read about that but thank you for sharing. Many challenging months. Hopefully y'all are out of the woods.
Stuart Galbraith Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Im sorry for your trouble Nick. I truly hope she is out of the woods now.
RETAC21 Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Take one day at the time and hipefully things will improve over time. My father nearly died of a heart issue back in '04 and he has been able to go on for 17 more years until his appointment has finally come up in the near future. Live like Ghandi: Live Like You Were Dying But Learn Like You Were Forever
sunday Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Impressive set of circumstances. Take care, hope all is well, and prayers sent.
Rick Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Nick your wife is a lucky woman having you as a husband and a man. As the vows state "...for sickness and in health..." The wife's and my prayers to the both of you.
Rickard N Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 This is a strange case of "that was crap" going to "oh, lucky she broke her arm" as you writes. Hope she's getting better and you have a long life together. /R
R011 Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 Some bad luck turning to good luck. Hope things turn out for the best for the two of you!
Stargrunt6 Posted January 20, 2022 Posted January 20, 2022 what an ordeal. God bless the rocky road that got your wife's health back. continued prayers for her.
NickM Posted January 22, 2022 Author Posted January 22, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 2:03 AM, Rick said: Nick your wife is a lucky woman having you as a husband and a man. As the vows state "...for sickness and in health..." The wife's and my prayers to the both of you. I work in 'public health' so the ward clerks and nurses I work with have been VERY supportive; one even said, If HER ex husband did half of what I was doing, they'd still be married--It's a compliment my wife found amusing.
NickM Posted April 5, 2022 Author Posted April 5, 2022 Well, it's been a few months and things have gotten better to the point that I can joke about it; due to her sepsis, my wife had to have eyedrops for her eyes (somehow the sepsis cause her retina to separate); now when giving her the eyedrops, I will happily reenact the theme song from 12 O'Clock High, complete with 'bombs away' and falling bomb sound effects and the announcer telling us it's a Quinn Martin production. She does not find this amusing.
sunday Posted April 5, 2022 Posted April 5, 2022 5 hours ago, NickM said: Well, it's been a few months and things have gotten better to the point that I can joke about it; due to her sepsis, my wife had to have eyedrops for her eyes (somehow the sepsis cause her retina to separate); now when giving her the eyedrops, I will happily reenact the theme song from 12 O'Clock High, complete with 'bombs away' and falling bomb sound effects and the announcer telling us it's a Quinn Martin production. She does not find this amusing. Heartwarming news.
NickM Posted March 8, 2023 Author Posted March 8, 2023 Sigh! An Update on my wife 😔 The aftermath of all of her injuries and hospitalizations. Too much pain in the old break; too many unexplained 'shadows' in that fatty liver. One of the docs dug and dug and tested and tested. We just found out she has Stage 4 Bile duct carcinoma in her lymph nodes by her liver, that's already metastasized to her bones=especially in her broken shoulder and back. The docs are starting IV chemo next week. The doc as much said that there's no possibility of remission, only that the chemo can stop the advance of the cancer. This year is going to be our 30th anniversary. I don't really know what more to say
rmgill Posted March 8, 2023 Posted March 8, 2023 OH, that's awful. Is there anything that might be experimental in early trials?
NickM Posted March 8, 2023 Author Posted March 8, 2023 29 minutes ago, rmgill said: OH, that's awful. Is there anything that might be experimental in early trials? No, I'm afraid not. 😞
R011 Posted March 8, 2023 Posted March 8, 2023 6 minutes ago, NickM said: No, I'm afraid not. 😞 I'm very sorry to hear this.
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