An aside about Al

This isn't really about me, but I wanted to write about it.

One year ago yesterday my husband had a heart attack and cardiac arrest. He is fine now, but we learned a number of lessons that I think should be shared.

First, Al had some symptoms that he tried to ignore. A heart attack can present itself in many different ways...it is not always a crushing pain in the chest. He felt like he had a pulled muscle. He had been doing some heavy lifting the day before and attributed it to that initially.

Once he realized that the discomfort wasn't going away, he decided to drive himself to the hospital. He expected that if it was indeed a heart attack he would have time from when it got "bad" to pull over and call 911 if necessary. This was a bad idea...and he realized later how quickly things can turn bad. He could have crashed his truck and injured a lot more people in the process.

When he left work, he did not tell them the full truth about why or where he was heading. He said he did not feel well and was going home. He did not want a fuss to be made or for someone to call 911 and take him out on an ambulance stretcher. In retrospect, you should go for that option rather than risk dying in your office and being found too late. I know that sounds morbid, but I need to get my point across with impact.

At least he called me when he was on his way and told me what was happening. I met him in emergency and the doctor confirmed that he was having a heart attack. He was not in a lot of pain and was not making a fuss, so the doc and the nurse both left him alone while they went to arrange an ambulance transfer to Hamilton's Cardiac Investigation Unit. I was with him and we were chatting when he suddenly felt quite ill. He told me he did not feel well and he remembers telling me "Oh, this is not good" just before everything went dark. He had a cardiac arrest.

During a heart attack, you usually remain awake and aware of what is happening around you. Cardiac arrest however, means that your heart has stopped. STOPPED. Flat-line. DEAD.

He immediately turned grey. I waited a bit for the nurse or doctor to show up. Afterall, he was on a monitor and they knew he was having a heart attack...they should be right there...right? No-one came. I called out for a doctor or nurse. No-one came. I called for HELP!! No-one came. I ran down to the monitoring station. There was no-one there. I called out for a doctor or nurse. There was no-one. I ran back to Al and he had not magically revived himself. I was panicked. I knew there were only a few minutes before the point of no return. I do not know CPR and could not have done it anyway since I was recovering from surgery on both elbows. I decided to go into the main hospital to find some help. I found a paramedic and grabbed his arm and asked him to help me. (Probably more like I dragged him with me and told him he had to help me.) He saw the situation and immediately hit the code blue button, dropped the bed down, and started CPR.

The lesson here is that you cannot leave your loved one alone. You cannot assume that because you are in a hospital that medical staff will be there to respond when needed. The patient needs an advocate by their side. Blame it on budget cuts or apathetic staff...or whatever...it happens. The nursing staff cannot be everywhere at once. If I had not been by his side and found someone to help, Al would not be here right now. As it was, a lot of time had passed before he was breathing again...and I was right there went it happened.

This also relates back to the issue of driving yourself to the hospital. It was a split second that Al went from chatting to dying. If he was driving when this happened, there would be no chance for him and he might have taken out others in the process. Don't drive yourself to the hospital!!

Another lesson...when you enter a hospital room or cubical...look for the call button and the code blue button. This way, you know where they are if you need to find them in an emergency. Otherwise you are too panicked to think clearly and see them.

After a few minutes of CPR they used the defibrillator and brought him back. He felt like he had a few seconds of a "nap" and was surprised at all the commotion at his bedside. He was taken to Hamilton and they placed a stent in the one blocked artery. He has been great ever since!

The big lesson here is that you should not take anything, or anyone, for granted. Life, as you know it, can change drastically within seconds. Live life to the fullest everyday and be grateful for all the blessings in your life. I know I am.