We do have so much to be thankful for over the last few days. He realised he was sick and let my mom take him to the hospital...something he is usually very reluctant to do. It was a clear day, with no snowstorms and my mom decided to drive him herself instead of calling the ambulance which would have taken quite a bit longer as it comes from a neighboring town. He wasn't out in the woods working or hunting miles from home.
Within 5-10 minutes in the hospital, he suffered a non-pulse arrhythmia caused by the blockage. The dr. said this is like your heart turning into a wiggling bag of worms...no useful function at all, basically, her heart stops working. At that point they had to shock him twice to restore a normal rhythm. The dr. said this type of arrhythmia often causes death. Again we are so thankful for God's hand in it all.
He was air-lifted to a larger medical center 1.5 hours from my parents home and about 2 hours from us. I have been doing a lot of driving. I have two brothers locally that have been here, my sister in Ohio flew in on Wednesday and my youngest brother flew in yesterday from CA. It has been nice having everyone together, but not under these circumstances.
The hospital staff have been wonderful. Everyone has been pleasant, helpful and very concerned for Dad's well being and for the rest of the family. They let us stay with him as long as we wanted and all of us, not just one at a time.
It has surprised me how exhausting it is to be under such stress. We were literally doing nothing put sitting in a car, driving/riding, or sitting in the hospital room and I am so tired and weary. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to deal with a life-threatening, long term illness of someone you love.
Dad had an angio-gram Thursday morning and the results were very positive. They did not do any angioplasty or put in any stints. There were not significant buildups in any vessels. There was virtually no damage from the heart attack. The cardiologist said that this attack was probably from a vessel that had minor plaguing where a piece broke off and blocked the vessel. It was cleared very quickly, resulting in little damage.
Dad will be coming home in the next few days, with lots of meds and under the care of a cardiologist. He may need some type of bi-pass in the future, but for now, all looks good.
We are praising God for his provision through it all...the flights that my siblings were able to get, for good traveling conditions, for doctors, nurses and other medical staff that have done their jobs well and efficiently, for His comfort and peace in very stressful times.
"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble."
Psalm 46:1
