Whew! I'm doing okay

 The pacemaker was put in at Baylor Scott & White in College Station. I couldn't have asked for better care by the hospital from the ER to the Doctors and Nurses. I'm glad it was the hospital Pamela worked in so she could come and visit me during my stay when she worked and on the day of my surgery.  Even the young man in her life these days came to see me twice. Once before surgery and once after. I really appreciated it.

I was awake during the whole thing. They gave me happy juice combination to help me relax and to help with any pain. They expected me to go doze off but that didn't happen. I couldn't sleep. I could hear them talking and I could tell them when I felt any pain. Which did happen a couple times. At the end when they were stitching me up I started having feeling and he said he'd be done real shortly. I asked him if he was putting a satin stitch in there. Okay afterwards I had to laugh, that poor guy probably had no clue what a satin stitch was but the quilter in me came out even in surgery. LOL. 

Poor Pamela got a good scare and so did David at one point. As my nurse was wheeling me out of the cath lab to my room there were blue flashing lights in the hall and then you heard "CODE BLUE". Someone was not so good. Of course the announcement went out to the whole hospital. Pamela heard it in postpartum and David heard it in the waiting room.  Pamela was frantically texting David and Steven to see if it was me. The doctor showed up just in time to ease David and Steven was on a case and couldn't respond to Pamela. Both of the guys responded to Pamela about 15 minutes later that it wasn't me. Poor Pamela. When she got a break she came to see me and while she was there another code blue went out. Steven texted her within a minute saying it wasn't her Mom. She let him know she knew it wasn't me.  We laughed because this time she was with me and knew I was okay.  By about 4ish they said all looked good and they'd release me to go home. I was to rest the next 24 hours and no lifting or raising my left arm above my shoulder for at least 2 weeks. They'll re-evaluate my progress at my check up visit with the cardiac electrophysiologist to determine If I can lift and raise my arm above the shoulder. Which happens on Tuesday the 27th.

I had about 15 questions about things I could or couldn't do and I asked if I could go to my planned quilt retreat if I promised to be good about lifting and raising my arm.  As long as I felt okay he said yes. 

Thursday (10/15) the pups had grooming appointments and I felt okay so David loaded Lilley up for me and I drove to Pamela's. She did the loading and unloading from there.  We made 2 stops but I didn't have to move but I was still getting tired. Since I had a 10:30am Doctors appointment on Friday with my primary doctor for follow up I just stayed the night with Pamela.  She went to the doctor with me. Doctor visit went well.

I picked up my groceries curbside, dropped Pamela back at her place and I headed home.  Where after putting things away that I could maneuver with little effort I promptly curled up for a nap .   When I woke up My Great Nurse David fixed me some soup for dinner. It was so good. I found Campbell's chunky chicken pot pie soup.  Gonna get so more of that.

I woke up Saturday (10/17) feeling pretty good. David asked if maybe I felt like going to breakfast. Sounded good to me. So we went to a new place for us in Caldwell called the Garden Spot. Well by the time we actually got there we chose lunch instead this time. This place was recommended to us by some new friends here in Gause. More about them later. The Garden Spot was really good!  We want to come back for breakfast next time.  When we finished up David asked if I felt like going by the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham and I said sure. 

David was looking for a specific rose and some other plants to add to our landscape. He does a great job in choosing the plants finding the right spot for them. And if he decides it doesn't work he'll rip it up. Doesn't happen to often. I found the root on this huge crepe myrtle unique.  The smooth bark and the twisting roots.  And this pretty flower climbing up a pole close by.

And other sightings that caught my attention. I'd like to have the girl stone statue in my landscape. I'm sure for a pretty penny I could have her.

 Then there's me. I had slowed down on David and found a place to rest while he picked out our Belinda's Dream Roses, Canyon daisies and another yellow one that I forgot the name of.

 Don't look too bad after just having a Pacemaker. LOL Not sure what I was expecting to look or feel like. 

One of the challenges I've had is I had to find button down shirts and sleep shirts. Do you know how hard that is? Since I can't raise my arm above the shoulder I need buttons.  I found 4 in my closet and a pajama set at Walmart with buttons.

So far so good. I get tired or really hot at times but I'm okay.

Sunday (10-18) is the day I'm to leave for retreat. Crossing my fingers I feel okay so I can go. Since I had a weekend before the pacemaker I packed everything I wanted to take to retreat  except clothes.

**to Lisa and Terre who left a comment on my last post... Thank you for your kinds words and following my blog. I was unable to reply directly to you since blogger didn't include a reply email.

But again Thank you.

My continued adventure in next post.

Until then....n  If you feel a little "down", stuff it in a quilt.

Pardon the gap in post but I blame the frozen margarita's

 

Couldn't resist this photo. Jerry and David had a moment. LOL Aren't they cute?

I recently posted pictures of some of the crepe myrtles out in the pastures on one of those buy sell trade groups in our area. $$Free! Just bring your bucket, your shovel. You dig'em up and take'em home. They are primarily the watermelon pink blooms. There are a few lighter pink, white and maybe a purple or two out there but without the blooms I have no clear where they are. But We have hundreds of them and the cows don't eat them so we need to clean up the pasture for much needed grass. They were all blooming but with the lack of rain they stopped but after the 6" of rain we finally got the ones in the east pasture started blooming again.  They're 1 -2 1/2 foot tall.  We got rid of about 80 from the East pasture but if people don't get them by the weekend they're gonna get mowed down. Have no fear They'll be back by next spring. David hasn't decided when he'll mow the back pasture but it will be later.

Right now I've had about 6 people come dig up over 30-50 each. So over 200 are gone but it didn't even make a dent in the ones in the back. LOL  I have more people coming this week and weekend.   The first picture doesn't show them off so well the sun was so bright and it doesn't begin to represent how many are really out there. The picture with the blooms are the ones in the East pasture.  

 

This picture is another area of the back pasture with hundreds of crepes. And it came out darker. I can't win.

Friday (9/25) Morning it clear and bright at 6:30 but starting at 7:30 this line of fog was creeping in.

        You can barely see my neighbor's house to the East.  Even the cows are starting to disappear into the fog. The grass was so wet that could see the path the girls took the fence to say Good Morning to Jerry and the cows. We're babysitting our fur grand pups while Pamela and friends from Kansas go to Austin and Fredericksburg.

My view of the fog from my north sewing room window. It almost looked like frost on the ground.

David worked half the day. We gave the girls a treat and we headed down the road to this cute nursery in Navasota called June Bug. They're closed on Wednesday's so don't go then like we did. LOL Anyway they have full and healthy plants with reasonable prices. They ordered David 3 more peach roses so he can accent the entrance to the sidewalk up to the house.  

We were going to stop at one of the antique stores but I needed to get back to Bryan for a doctors appointment. I saw this planter of succulents and sent the picture of it to Pamela. She is wanting one one day.

We did stop at Carroll's Giant Burger Restaurant. Good prices and tasty. Tummies are full and we had to get going.

Okay I know this is crazy but I have sat in the orthopedic area of the clinic every Tuesday and Thursday for cardio rehab and now for other visits. Every time I look at the chair backs I think of little ole lady brief underwear. Do you see it?

The black elastice is the leg bands. When I posted this on FB some go not sure I see it then I pointed out the black... then they saw it. Some saw right off on their own. LOL.  Today I got a steroid shot in my left butt cheek area. The MRI show all was good. No tears or deterioration but I have the pain every morning when I wake up for at least an hour. They hope the shot will give me some relief within 5-7 days.

I actually had less pain this morning (tuesday 9/29) but it was still there. We'll see how I feel by Saturday the 3rd of Oct. We'll see if the pain is gone.

Saturday (10/3) David and I went out for dinner and some margarita's.

Dinner was real tasty and so were the margarita's. First he got a brain freeze then I got one. Then I got another one as I finished off my final slurps. Only problem was that as we walked to the car I still had the brain freeze. It wouldn't go away. David wanted to run by Walmart before we headed home which I thought was fine. I stayed in the car because by then my head was killing me. Then I got real fidgety and both arms started feeling like they had blood pressure cuffs on that wouldn't quit squeezing. By the time we got home all I wanted to do is lay down. David was texting Pamela and I was taking my BP. OH BOY 201/136. Pamela was yelling get her to the ER and her CNO who happens to live down the loop from us said to get me to the ER. So I got dressed again and we drove to the ER at Baylor Scott & White in College Station. About 45 minutes away. Pamela had already called them to warn them I was coming.  

We get to the ER and of course they had to screen me and told me I could wait with my daughter until my husband came in. LOL To which my daughter sternly said "Like Hell she is. She's having heart issues and needs to check in NOW!" And shoo'd me in to the window.  They started immediately hooking me up to the EKG and wires everywhere along with trying to put in an IV. Which my veins spit out and left me bruising. My veins don't cooperate when you come at them with needles. The nurse finally got an IV in both arms hooked up. Plus They kept asking if my chest hurt and were running all around. My chest never hurt. I did feel my heart beating quickly.  I was overwhelmed by all the activity in the small room. I finally looked up at the monitor to see what my new BP might be and it was like 169/100. Then I saw my heart rate was 160bpm. So they gave me some Amiodarone to slow it down. Which worked within a couple minutes then they got scared because the resting heart rate dropped to 44.  I had to tell them to calm down that's my normal resting heart rate. The whole time they thought I was in V-tach when looking at the monitor. But thank God I wasn't. I was in A-Fib.

And I was admitted to the hospital.  Never a dull moment. I blame the margarita's.....         I stayed until Tuesday afternoon with no more episodes. The Cardiologist Doctors that did my heart stent in January conferred with the Cardiac Electrophysiologist Doctor and they determined I needed a pacemaker but I needed to be off the plavix for a week that I had been taking since January. They didn't want to release me but decided to let me go home to come back Tuesday the 13th.  

I'm doing good. Pacemaker is set for a resting heart rate of 60. I think my heart says "are you sure" and will drop to 57 sometimes but 95% of the time it stays at 60.  Now instead of Plavix I'm taking Eliquis. Not cheap!!

Saga to be continued....

Until next blog..... My life is one of those You Had to be there jokes.

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”
- J.K. Rowling