Well, here I am. What a day! I'm totally exhausted and spent.
This was the most trying of all the days so far.
Buck called late this morning to let me know the cardiologist had scheduled the pacemaker surgery immediately. I told him there was no way I could get to the hospital in time. He said not to worry, just get there when I could.
I arrived at the hospital at about 12:30. Spoke with the nurse and asked where Buck was. Said he was in "procedures." Meaning that the pacemaker was being inserted and he was having the scoping done on his throat and stomach.
Not hearing anything by 3 p.m., I called and asked for a status report. He was still in "procedures." I asked if I could get an educated guess as to how much longer things would take. Answer...maybe 3 more hours.
By 4:30 I called again. Thankfully I was told that he'd been brought back to CCU and was being hooked up to the monitors. 5:00. 5:15. 5:30. How long does it take to hook the monitors up? I called again. Oh, we were just getting ready to call you.
When I went into the room, he was semi-out of it, just coming out of the anesthetic from the scope procedure. Talking, but with his eyes closed and obviously in some amount of discomfort. As it turned out, most of the discomfort came from his bad hip because they had to have him lie flat on his back. And...the bed was tilted so his feet were about 20 degrees higher than his head.
Again, his blood pressure was in the dumper, but the pacemaker was doing it's job as evidenced by the images on the monitor above his bed.
He said this was the most uncomfortable day of his life, which I could understand. I tried to get him to understand that, in time, the bed would become horizontal again and he could get some relief from the pain his hip was giving him.
He's still jaundiced and the blood pressure is being stubborn. The best thing that he could say about today is that he was given a mug of 7-UP. He relished that.
I'd wanted to leave at about 6 or so, but my brother called and told me to stay put because there was a line of heavy storms coming my way. He wasn't kidding. What a storm!! By 6:30 it looked like midnight. The winds began to blow and the rain, thunder and lightening came with a vengeance. Lasted for at least 45 minutes. Then the sun began to peek out and I took that as my signal to get out of Dodge.
I began the 30-mile drive home and, by the time I was within 5 miles of home, the sky opened up and it began again. I was soaked to the skin by the time I reached our front door.
Oh, one thing I failed to mention, 20 minutes before I left to see Buck this morning...one of our sweet indoor kitties died. He'd been not feeling well and, yesterday, I had a hard time finding him in the house. Found him inside an empty cardboard box under a table. That's an indication a cat is about to die. They look for a place to die.
C.J. (Casey Jones) did come out for breakfast, but shortly after went into the downstairs bathroom and tried to hide in the shower. 20 minutes later he was dead. All I could think of was how was I going to dig into the ground to bury him. It's been so hot and dry, the ground is like concrete. Funny how God answers our prayers even when we don't even ask. Tonight's storm provided more than enough rain to soften the yard.
So...my plan tomorrow is to go to see Buck at noon and let the rest of the day take care of itself. With any luck, I'll be able to make the trip home by 4:30. I'm wasted.
Barbara
