My health has taken a turn. Maybe better, probably not. I'll try to go into that story.
I recently had angioplasty surgery again. This, however, was a step beyond that. As I tell my coworkers, they recently found my old heart and they wanted to put it back. Apparently, there have been advances in medicine since my last operation. You know the one, where they took my heart out and tried to wash it but decided that was not working so they replaced some parts, sewed it up and put it back in me. It's a long story and probably precedes this blog. It was in 2005 and I cannot go back and find if I have ever referred to it. Doesn't sound like me, but I might have said something. Previous to that, I had angioplasty in 2001 or so. You know, they heart attack I had three days after arriving in Australia for good. Just a small welcome gift they have for new arrivals. The Australians are friendly like that. If you have never heard any of this, remind me and I will tell those tales. It was very entertaining. Probably be a repeat of previous entries but I'll never know. Remind me of that if it is.
Speaking of rereading previous entries, I saw from my statistics that one of the entries had had a couple of views recently. I was curious as to why so I went back and reread it. I cannot believe how entertaining I used to be. I have really fallen off my game. Maybe the kids are not as entertaining as they used to be, but that was a good entry and I still laugh about it. I would tell you which one, but I think I will make you go back and reread everything just to find it. Okay, it was 75, but there are other more entertaining ones out there. Someone come up with a ranking system and get back to me.
Okay, time for me to go to work. I'll see who interrupts and get back to this when I can.
I'm sitting out front but can be interrupted at any time. I think I was at the point where they were sticking a lot of things in me for a very long time, trying to reach my heart from around the corner of the room and they kept going through the wrong places. I think he got lost twice in my arteries and had to make a left turn to find the right spot. Basically, I had lots of little wires through most of my body, all of them hunter-seekering for the exact spot to attack. Might have been a fun game, but I wasn't allowed to play.
The new procedure, although depending on which doctor I talk to it might not be a new procedure, is to try to clear the old, blocked arteries instead of bypassing them. Since mine had already been bypassed, I think it gives them a lot of room to play. The artery is already failed, so if they mess up, no big deal. I think that is how they described it before the operation. They were going to try to unblock the big artery (is that spelled right, every time I type it, it looks wrong, but it is not telling me it is wrong). It is the one that feeds the back of the heart, or so I am told, and it was the most blocked. It had been bypassed way back when and this doctor seemed to think he could fix it. As a back story for the doctor, I was told he was one of the top surgeons in the world for this type of operation. I was told one of the top three but later details might shed a different light on that.
So this doctor was the one to do it if it could be done. I had had a lot of pictures drawn for me in the lead up to this on what they had found and what they planned to do to fix it. Basically, I had stints put in way back in 2001. I have no idea how many but one or more of them was now blocked. The real picture was about the bypasses that had been made. Basically, they did three bypasses, I was always told four so that was a worry, still is. One bypassed an offshoot of one of the main arteries in the front. They did a bypass of another one near it and then used something I can only describe as a shunt that would feed the big artery in the back. So a bypass of a bypass, but that is not really accurate. I am kind of hazy on the details, but in the end, I had three new arteries, from my leg, that had been used to make new paths in my heart. This was all done in 2005.
Stepping forward to today, one of those bypasses was blocked. One of the original stints was partially blocked. The plan was, put a new stint in of the partially blocked stint and try to fix the old artery that had been bypassed. No plans, as far as I know, to fix the blocked bypass. The doctor would try to, what I can only describe as, drill through the blockage of the big one in the back.
Now that the story has gotten interesting, I have to go. Be back someday I am sure.
I am not going to have a lot of time to finish this. In fact, it is looking like I will have no time to finish this. Someone just came in. I have also noticed that this entry is already getting long, so maybe this will have to be a two parter, or maybe even a three parter. Depends on how many tangents I go on or if I start to rant again. It will have to wait though. I have to go eat cake. Too much to try to explain that, but really, I have to go eat cake. And why is parter not a word. Seems like it should be.
Back the next day. Will wrap up part one of this tale and begin another when I get the chance. If I go back and read where I was, we might have a coherent trip, but probably just going to be a trip.
I think the doctor had a drill and was waving it around looking for something to stick it in. But that was after I was told to be there are 6:30am. When I got there, the reception area said it did not open until 7:00. I'm not sure, but I think they could have scheduled me at the proper time. But, as I was first off the rack, when they did open, I was called immediately up to the desk. She checked all my paperwork and made sure I had signed the 'I don't blame you' documents, a nurse came in and took me back to the waiting area. Now this part gets a little personal but part of this operation is they have to shave you. And I don't mean give you a nice shave and a haircut. I mean shave the area's where they might be putting the roto-rooter in. Every time before, they have always gone in through the groin because way back in the day, that was how you did it. I am told in today's modern environment, they can go through the wrist. Since the nurse did not know what the plans were, they shaved everything. Arms, legs, groin, mustache, and the bottom of my feet. It was a pretty thorough cleansing. And then the personal part of it, I kind of like it, but that is the last we will speak of that portion of the operation.
Of course, I had to put on a backless gown, although I am not sure why they use a backless gown as I am laying on the back (a lot more about that in part 2) so why does the back need to be open. But hospital rules. They do give you some fancy plastic underwear but with all the shaving they ended up just leaving them off. Now that I was undressed and ready, it was time to go.
My operation was set to start at 8:00 and, the most amazing thing, it actually did. Or they took me into the operation room at 8:00. Put me on a skinny metal table and then began what I can only describe as a day of living hell. I can honestly say, this was the worst physical experience I have ever had. It really felt like torture. I will go into it extensively in part 2, but for now, I need to start work and will close out this entry, leaving you in excruciating anticipation of what and where I will go next. It is a harrowing tale that will probably not sound so terrifying when I write it down, but just remember, Worst Physical Experience of My Life.
Until next time,
Later
Remember
It will all be ok in the end, and if it's not ok, then it's not the end.
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