Just got back from the hospital. Did not see or talk to any of the doctors, no tests were done on him on Sunday. They only do emergency cases on Sunday, but he looks SO much better! He is not ghostly white, he knew who I was immediately. He isn’t coughing very much and he was sitting up on the side of the bed when I went in. I was so relieved because yesterday, he looked pretty grim.
I did talk to the head nurse and told her everything the ER doctor told me about his prognosis. she was pretty upset that the ER doc had told me all the worst case scenario stuff and said he really had no right, because he was not a cardiac doctor. She said she was so sorry he had got me all worked up without really knowing much other than Mike has congestive heart failure. As for the open heart surgery, that depends on how much damage is done to the heart and that scan won’t take place until Monday.
What she did tell me and what I learned is from here on in, he will be on a heart-healthy diet. This means NO salt (or limited amounts) NO FAST FOODS- NO DIET COKES- NO HOT DOGS-CHEESE-NO BOXED BAGGED OR FROZEN FOOD and only 2Liters of fluid daily, any more than that amount of fluid and he will become short of breath because his heart isn’t working right in order to pass fluids through his body and he will start backing fluids into his lungs again. What he does have is not curable, but it is treatable with diet, medicine and they are going to have to figure out an exercise program he will be able to do on a daily basis.
These last three weeks since he has fallen ill has been stressful and frustrating. I wasn’t sure what to expect this morning when I finally arrived at the hospital. It was so nice to see Mike back again.
They are supposed to do tests on him tomorrow. I am not sure I will be there on Monday, but I will be there on Tuesday because by then they might have more results about the shape of his heart. It’s such a long drive up there.
This was only funny later on after I saw Mike, but when I got there and got off the elevator, there were two wards one on each side, both labled “B” I wasn’t sure where he was, so I went to the left. I went over to the nurse’s station and this nurse asked if she could help me? I told her that I was looking for Mike Miller and could she tell me how he was doing? She said, “Mike Miller is stable”. I said I was glad to hear that and asked where he was? She leaned over the desk and whispered “Are you the wife? Or are you the girlfriend?”
I was stunned and I asked her to repeat what she said to me. She did and she said that she wasn’t sure who could see him and his wife’s name was written on the board of his room. Was that my name? Gloria?
I told her no, that’s not my name, I am mike’s wife my name is Mary Anne and I bloody don’t know what she is talking about! I walked over to room 13 and saw the name plate- Mike Miller and peeked in- wasn’t Mike, some dude in his 30”s lying in the bed! LOL The nurse about stepped on her tongue telling me over and over how sorry she was. I told her I’d give her a tip, when the real wife comes in, she best not divulge the existence of a girlfriend or Mr. Miller’s condition may not stay stable!
Then I went to the other side of the building and found Mike. He was alert and chipper and when I left he was complaining about not being able to order what HE wants from the dinner menu! J
I so relieved to know Mike is doing better. Keep us posted.
Wow, that was close. I’m very happy to read that Mike is doing better. The idiot doctor indeed had no right to tell you what he did. And the nurse in Mike’s ward better smarten up: should she really ask ‘wife or girlfriend’ and expect things to turn out well?
I hope Mike is able to stick to his regimen. He has to know that it’s a matter of life and death. Men can be pretty stubborn (speaking as one) but we have our limits. Sense takes over after a while.
Please keep us apprised of his status – and yours.
I have tons of recipes for a variety of things to improve taste, not calories, and if their idea of a heart healthy diet is what I was served on a cardiac telemetry unit several years ago, it has NO flavor. Got to have flavor to enjoy your food! Tell me what he can have, what he likes and will miss and let me see what I can find for you.
So glad to see the above post from Pat regarding heart-healthy food. Aside from knowing what Mike cannot have, you will need recipes and suggested menus for foods he CAN have. I was going to suggest that you make an appointment with the hospital dietician for this kind of info or for a referral to an accepted cookbook that you could use. Pat’s right, herbs or different methods of cooking can give the food enough flavor so that it doesn’t taste like “institutional” food or food from a terrible cafeteria.
I hope Mike is better soon and able to come home — I had to commute back and forth to visit my husband when he had surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm and I know it ain’t fun. Besides the constant worry for his well-being, the cost and time of the commute was terrible. You’re a strong person, but this kind of situation is apt to “wear you down to a nubbin” as they say here in Tennessee. My best wishes for Mike’s recovery and your continued strength.