Mark had another heart exam this afternoon - I didn't think much about it. It was another one of those exercise things. But they found a coronary artery blockage. And it turned out that they insisted he have a cardiac catheterization done first thing in the morning. Well -- at least that doesn't give me much time to worry about what could be wrong. That's about the ONLY good thing I could say about them insisting he have it that soon.
They say if he only has the catheterization, he will be in recovery for 5 or 6 hours afterward. But if he needs a stent, they said he would have to stay overnight, and he says they say he can still go back to work next Tuesday. But when I looked up the stent, it says it will take a "several week period" for the artery to heal around it. I hope if he does have to have that done that he will actually consider NOT going back to work for a change this next time.
Stent. A stent is a small metal mesh tube that acts as a scaffold to provide support inside your coronary artery. A balloon catheter, placed over a guide wire, is used to insert the stent into the narrowed coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon tip is inflated and the stent expands to the size of the artery and holds it open. The balloon is then deflated and removed while the stent stays in place permanently. Over a several-week period, your artery heals around the stent. Stents are commonly placed during interventional procedures such as angioplasty to help keep the coronary artery open. Some stents contain medicine and are designed to reduce the risk of reblockage (restenosis). The doctor will determine if this type of stent is appropriate for your type of blockage
My bosses are not pleased that all this is happening right now. I ended up staying at work today for about 10 straight hours - didn't even take time for any lunch - trying to get the drawings and sequence listings done for an application that has to be filed by Friday. I still need to update the actual filing papers whenever Jeanne gets the application finished, but at least it shouldn't take all THAT long IF I'm able to get back to work on Thursday.
To tell you the truth, I'd rather worry about that application than think about anything bad that might happen when Mark has that cath done. I absolutely cannot imagine living without being married to him anymore. I know that all kinds of people have had heart caths. I know they're not supposed to be dangerous. I know he's better off having that done than allowing that blockage to continue. I know, I know, I KNOW!
But it still scares the crap out of me!
1 comment:
I will keep you both in my thoughts.
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