Cardiologist

Just a quick update.  I saw the cardiologist today...finally!  It was a little bit of a hassle getting in because you have to have a referral from your primary care doctor.  But I don't have one, I just have an oncologist. So getting a referral from Lakeview Hospital from the doctor that discharged me, whose name is ???  Anyway, Mat made lots of phone calls to figure it out and got a referral to the right place.  

The doctor was funny.  He asked a lot of questions and we gave all the right answers.  He listened to my heart and lungs.  Other than a pulse that was on the high end of normal, he couldn't come up with anything that was wrong.  He looked perplexed when I gave him my health history, like he's asking himself how I made it through any of it!  All the data on every echocardiogram looked great.  The last thing to do is a stress test, which I'll do in about 6 weeks.  We put it off because my chemo on Friday should go through the insurance by then, so we shouldn't have any more out of pocket expenses once the chemo copay assistance goes through.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes

I have to update the blog tonight.  My heart is so full with love and gratitude for the angel nurse who saved my life 3 weeks ago.  The last concert at Bountiful Park was tonight, we decided to go because we had nothing to do, and honestly wanted to try to find the nurse who started compressions when I blacked out at the Peter Breinholt concert.  I've shared some accounts from other people, she emailed me hers tonight.  I know she won't mind if I share it here because it seriously was another manifestation of the love God has for me, another miracle to be grateful for.  Not my time to go!

August 26, 2022

I attended the Peter Breinholt concert at the Bountiful City Park on August 5, 2022. It had started to rain at the end of the concert when Peter Breinholt played 2 encore numbers. I was sitting directly behind Kim Ulmer, and had observed her throughout the concert. During the final encore number she and her husband were dancing and jumping up and down to the music. I snapped a photo prior to her sitting down at 8:40 p.m. It was brought to my attention by someone in the family that something was wrong with Kim. Kim was slumped over in her lawn chair. Kim was unresponsive. I called for help. Her husband called 911 @ 8:41 p.m. I called for help getting Kim out of her chair onto the ground. Once Kim was on the ground, I could not get a carotid pulse. Kim was agonal gasping/breathing. She was still unresponsive. I started chest compressions immediately. Kim’s eyes were rolled back, she was cyanotic, & diaphoretic. A young man was at her head ensuring her airway was open. Chest compressions continued. A young man called out that he knew CPR & asked if he could help. While he continued chest compressions I monitored Kim’s radial pulse and her unresponsiveness. After a few minutes of chest compressions I called out, “I’ve got a radial pulse.” At that moment, Kim opened her eyes, took a very deep breath, and started to come to. Chest compressions were stopped. I was talking to Kim, “Kim, you’re going to make it, stay with us Kim, you’re doing great, the paramedics are on their way.” The Bountiful paramedics arrived, and Kim was responding, and breathing on her own with normal inspiration and expiration.

This is a video she sent me to explain how I was breathing.  Or wasn't breathing.  

She said she had considered heading for the car when the rain started, but didn't.  Just after that is when I needed her most.  Coincidence?  I don't think so. Celestia was ready in a split second to help me.  There were others in the crowd that could have helped me as well, as others saw what was happening and came to help her.  But she was right there, right behind me, and only one minute or less passed between when I blacked out and when she started compressions.  Remarkable.  Miraculous. We will be friends forever, tied by this series of unexpected events that changed us both. 

I've been reading about agonal breathing this morning. I didn't have a heart attack, I had sudden cardiac arrest. A heart attack is a blockage in the vessels in the heart. Sudden cardiac arrest is an electrical problem. Only 7% of people who have sudden cardiac arrest survive because bystanders don't realize the gasping for air isn't breathing! Knowing that makes all of this that much more amazing!

That's all for tonight.  It's late and I should try to sleep.  Count your blessings friends!  Love you all!

Holding Steady

Scans - The bone scan did show tracer uptake in places related to chest compressions (ribs on the right side and sternum), so the bones definitely cracked during compressions.  Nothing new in the other places the cancer isn't already living.  The CT scan for abdomen and pelvis didn't show anything new or significant.  The chest CT showed that the lump behind my clavicle is growing a little bit, not enough yet to be alarming.

I'm meeting with a cardiologist on Wednesday for the monitor thing.  Hopefully the heart stuff is all wrapped up by Aug. 31 because Sept. 1 our insurance plan year starts over, so our $5,000 out of pocket maximum starts over again too.  Anything that happens before then is "free"!  I can't believe this is the 6th time we've hit that new plan year.  I'd be interested to see just how much the insurance has paid for all of this since 2017.  I'm sure we got the better end of the bargain! 

I realized real fast just how many muscles it takes to hiccup/sneeze/cough/cry/laugh, to get up and down, get in and out of bed, on and off the toilet, etc.  Every day there is a little improvement.  I actually made dinner tonight!  We've had so much help with dinners, every single one is/was very much appreciated.  All I've done for 3 weeks is take it easy, binged a lot of TV, sat on the porch in the evening, go to bed late, get up late.  I'm over it, ready to move on and pull some weeds or go out with friends! 

Until I see the cardiologist, I'm not sure if I can mow the lawn or walk the dogs anymore.  My dogs think they're sled dogs when they're out together on walks.  If I try taking them one at a time, Pyper will find a way out of the yard to chase us down.  She makes so much noise it sounds like she might have her own heart attack if we don't go get her!  Some trial and error this summer helped us figure out her escape routes.  Marley just wants to be outside and included, but she's still impatient if I try to just take Pyper.  They've been spoiled this summer.  There has always someone besides me here to walk them.

The kids went to Camp Kesem this week (week long summer camp for kids who have/had a parent with cancer).  They had a marvelous time seeing friends they haven't seen since 2019.  The last 2 years have been "virtual" and really hard for all of us to endure!  Kesem has been a blessing, we all have friends we couldn't have any other way.  Our kids have gone since 2010.  I can't believe it's been that long!

The Crazy and the Crazy Blessings!

The Back Story:

I think I mentioned some of this in another recent post, but here it is again so it makes sense in my mind.  When we were in Montana, we had an amazing time but it was a hard time too, because of the physical limitations I have after 5 years of chemo.  After a short hike going down to a beautiful waterfall, we had to come back up to get to the car. This was .3 miles friends.  Not a big deal at any other time in my life.  When we reached the parking level, I had to sit down on a rock wall because my heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn't catch my breath.  I asked Mat to bring the car to me, it saved me about 25 feet of walking.  Hindsight is 20/20.  If my episode had gone on a few more seconds while I was sitting on that wall, it could have been catastrophic!  EMS would have been so far away, getting to a hospital in time would have been near impossible. Friday helped me see, again, how much God loves me.  It wasn't my time, but it was a wake up call.

More Back Story:

Bountiful City does a summer concert series every Friday during the summer.  Early this season I saw that Peter Breinholt was coming, and we got pumped!  His first album, Songs About The Great Divide was a staple CD in our cars and CD players in our early years of marriage.  Those are the songs I know and love the most.  My favorite song is called Birken Street.  He hadn't played it yet when they "wrapped up" the show, then they came back on stage and did that song.  😀  That's the one where people predictably come up to the area in front of the stage and jump and dance and sing along.  I haven't mentioned that we were on the front row, ... because Peter Breinholt!

Mat and I really enjoy these concerts.  Last week, it was a group that did pretty much every Beatles song ever written and it was so fun!  But I was a little distracted by a petite grandma who was there with her family (kids, grandkids).  She had so much energy and was running after the littles, and tag-teaming with her husband, and singing and swaying and clapping. 

The Crazy:

Friday, Me and Mat were in the fray, at the front, jumping and dancing to the beat, when I suddenly got light headed and went back to my seat.  That's the last thing I remember.  Everything went black and silent.  The next thing I remember is waking up surrounded by paramedics and sirens blaring, and I realized all that was for me.  They put me on a stretcher and between the paramedics, police and fire, I see this little, petite grandma with a huge smile and mouthing to me "you're OK!" while giving me two thumbs up.  I had no idea at that moment that I was saved by her, so grateful.  She wanted to make sure I saw her, and I did.  And off we went!  All I could think of was, "where's Mat?  where's my husband?"  Now, I'm going to have to rely on what people told me.  

The friends we went to the concert with said I immediately put my head back and started breathing really fast.  She reached over and touched my hand and realized I was in trouble.  The lady sitting behind us is a nurse.  She also realized I was in trouble, she immediately jumped up and did all the right things.  "You! Go call 911!"  That was to Mat.  "You!  Help me get her to the ground!"  She checked my pulse and immediately started chest compressions because she couldn't feel one.  Another man with medical background verified the pulse thing and came to hold my head in a position to make sure my airway was clear.

It was very apparent to the hundreds of people at the park that there was an emergency up front.  One dear neighbor said this when I told her I didn't know if she knew what happened:

Yes! You were gone and we were very aware! What a miracle a nurse was there to do CPR and bring you back!! I had just been watching you and Mat dancing and then was talking to someone when all of a sudden I saw someone doing CPR over where you had been. I knew it was you and couldn’t believe it! You’d just been dancing!! Even after they got your heart going, you looked so grey and your eyes were still rolled back. In that moment I wanted to do something but couldn’t, so I just offered a silent prayer for angels to come and help you from the other side. You already had earthly angels helping you. And about five seconds after that you took a big breath and opened your eyes and looked surprised and then gave a big smile to those around you. I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that moment. I know you had angels around you from both sides of the veil!!  I’ll be anxious to read your experience! Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything!

 Her grown daughter said:

I was so relieved to hear that you're ok. That must have been so scary for you! But I have to tell you that what happened last night was miraculous. I saw your face. You were gone. And then later to see you smiling and responding was nothing short of a miracle. That woman who did CPR on you was your guardian angel last night. It was just incredible. Please know we are praying for you and your family ❤️❤️❤️

All of this was completely miraculous to me.  God knew.  God knew it wasn't my day to die.  God knew who needed to be in the same place as me to get me through all of this.  There is purpose in this near death experience.  There is so much good that can come to the world when good people do great things for others in need.  

Just after they rolled me in and got me settled at Lakeview Hospital, they took me back to get an x-ray.  I still hadn't seen Mat, but he was there with our friends after I got back.  I burst into tears and asked them what in the heck happened. I started to get little details and piecing it all together.  I found out there are no broken ribs, which was a huge relief because I have several that are being eaten by cancer.  I kind of joked that since it was Peter Breinholts' fault I was in the ER, the least he could do is come visit me.

Just for the record, I like watching Chicago Med, and their emergency department is NOTHING like real life.  Obviously.  I thought, "you mean you really have to wheel me down these empty corridors to get an X-ray?  There aren't X-ray machines attached to the wall in every room in the ER?" Chicago Med is way more efficient than Lakeview Hospital.  😂  The thoughts that go through my head.  Sometimes it makes me laugh and sometimes it worries me.

I hung around my little slice of ER heaven for a hefty 6+ hours before being moved to a room.  The reason was there weren't enough nurses on staff to add me to the third floor.  I wondered if the on-call nurse was coming from Evanston or somewhere.  The ER doc was grumpy and annoyed at my choice of drugs I take at night to survive.  I didn't get any of my night drugs, only a pain pill.

After a long, sleepless night (because I couldn't shift or adjust or hide the lights on machines or keep people out of my room) morning came.  They weren't attentive to my morning medications, despite being told what they were.  They only gave me 1 of 3 morning meds, and it wasn't a pain pill.  The doctor on the 3rd floor was attentive and concerned, but it took until 2:00 today to get an ultrasound (15 minute echocardiogram), with no results until after we left.  That's when Peter Breinholt showed up to visit us - he seriously came!  Right after we left!

Echo results: There's a sudden urgency to make sure I go to a cardiac clinic on Monday and pick up a holter monitor so they can see 3 or 4 days worth of echo data.  I'm going to send a long note to Dr. Buys detailing what happened and have her help me navigate what comes next, including the holter monitor.  I have welts on my skin where their heart monitor sticky things were.  Not super excited about doing that for a few days.