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Nights' Medical 2007
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 My name is Joe.
I'm a biker, hunter, registered nurse and all around good Joe...This is the history of my heart trouble in 2007. 2007 Joe is in the hospital again. After a bad week of finding out his latest 2D Echogram was only 25% and then having it redone to double-check the results, he had a very bad night at work. Monday, February 26th, he got nauseous around 4 a.m. during his shift. When he got home after a blood test, he was feeling pretty yucky. He had breakfast and a shower and then attempted to go to sleep. His heart was racing - 130 beats per minute - and he was unable to sleep. He asked me to take him to our physician's office and I did. Dr. Boehm sent us to the emergency room at TGH. They decided to admit him. After almost 24 hours in two different emergency rooms at TGH, they had a bed available on the 5th floor, and Joe was moved there. Within the next couple of hours and a couple of doctor visits, it was decided that he needs an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). It will be implanted into his chest to provide electrical shocks to his heart if he goes into ventricular tachycardia or another form of cardiac arrest. He was moved into a private room shortly after seeing the doctors. He is currently having a sleep study done to determine if he has sleep apnea, as it is very stressful for the heart and if he has it, will require him to sleep with a device to provide oxygen in the event he stops breathing during sleep. This has been an extremely stressful couple of days so far and Joe and I are both very worried about his health. For more info and a good illustration of an implanted ICD, click here.
Robin Joe had a sleep study done and discovered he suffers from obstructive sleep apnea. To assist with his breathing while sleeping, he was fitted for a CPAP to use while at the hospital. This condition is contributing to his heart problem, because when your breathing is so much more difficult, the heart works extra hard. It may also be part of the reason his ejection fraction is so much lower than before. He will need to use the CPAP machine until he doesn't. Losing some of his "tonnage", as he calls it, would help. The ICD will be implanted next Tuesday. Joe should be coming home from the hospital by Wednesday. He is in good spirits and mostly worried about being able to fire his shotguns and rifles with the device implanted in the same spot that he shoulders them.
Robin Joe is home! We got here about 6 p.m. and he's in very good spirits. The folks with the CPAP machine can't get one to us today as promised, but will do so tomorrow. I'm returning to work tomorrow and Joe will be out until further notice. I'm really glad to have him home!
Robin Joe had the defibrillator implanted in his chest yesterday morning. He was in surgery for over two hours. He arrived in his room complaining about the pain. He looks really good otherwise. He should get shocked and go home today. Robin Joe is home - finally! He had his test this morning and eventually he passed... They sedated him (which took a lot, according to his doctor) to test his defibrillator - which did not work - then they used the manual shock, twice - as the first try did not work - then after getting him back to life, used the computer to adjust his defibrillator, then tested it again and this time it worked. His skin is super sensitive and he's in a lot of pain from the incision (and the digging around they did when they made the incision and implanted the device). Joe cannot drive for several days, cannot take a shower for a week, can't raise his arm above his head until further notice and can't return to work yet. His manager is going to work on finding him some light duty work for when he can. I am soooooooo glad he's home and getting better. Thanks for all the prayers! Robin Joe is doing much better now. He has 19 staples in the incision, which is approximately 4 inches long. He is very tired all the time, and is sleeping often. The CPAP machine makes him look like an alien, but he's tolerating it very well. We saw Dr. Boehm yesterday and he's very pleased with his progress so far. He's lost about 10 pounds and since he is following his cardiologist and pulmonologist's instructions, he is going to get better quickly. Thank God for Dr. Michael Boehm and Dr. Stephen Mester.
Robin Not the update we wanted, but... We saw the cardiologist Thursday morning and he says Joe must lose a ton of weight, or his heart will only get worse. He removed the staples from his incision and gave him clearance to return to work full-time in two weeks, but with a 20 pound lifting restriction. Just about everything he lifts at work weighs more than 20 pounds, so this will cause a change in his working situation. He also told him no more motorcycle. Anyone that knows Joe knows that's like cutting off his legs. The reason? It takes the defibrillator about 13 seconds to respond to a problem with the heart, and in that time, Joe would crash his bike and possibly take others out with him at the same time. Even if he managed to keep his bike up, when the defibrillator kicked him to correct the problem with his heart, he would surely wreck his bike. A car is not quite as dangerous, as he is at least protected more, and the car could slow down before crashing. Robin
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