Miss V has the next few days off from school, so last night she went to a friend's house to sleep over. So she wasn't there this morning when I was awakened by Captain Midnight gently tapping me, calling me by name and asking me to wake up. I'm an inveterate night person and don't wake easily any time before 10 a.m., so I'm not sure how long he tried to rouse me. But then he said something that got my attention.
"Something's wrong with my heart."
I was instantly alert and horrified. "What's going on?"
"It's been beating really fast for 10 minutes and it hasn't calmed down. I tried getting up and walking around and taking a drink and it's still going way too fast."
"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" I asked, groping for clothes in the darkness.
"I think we'd better call 911," he said softly.
So I did, and the paramedics and police came over and hooked him up to a machine. He was otherwise asymptomatic, and they were just about to call it a false alarm and pack it in when Captain Midnight had another episode. His heart rate suddenly jumped to 150 beats per minute. That got their attention. They stayed with him and monitored him some more to see what else his ticker might do. (Get up and dance? Croon like Bing Crosby? I'm not quite sure what they were expecting.)
One of the paramedics called the ER doctor and asked what should be done, and the doctor said that if CM's symptoms were getting better (they were), he didn't need to go to the emergency room; he just needed to see a doctor later in the day and get a referral to a cardiologist. So they packed up and left, and we got a bit more sleep.
Then I went to pick up Miss V and explained briefly what was going on. She stayed at home while we went to an urgent care facility and Captain Midnight was further poked and prodded FOR SCIENCE, er, MEDICINE. We should get the results of some of those tests in the next few days.
In the late afternoon we went to the cardiologist, where CM got fitted for his snazzy black box (aka 24-hour heart monitor). We'll go back tomorrow around the same time, and they'll take a look at the readings. On Monday he returns to the cardiologist for an echocardiogram.
This evening a couple of brothers from our ward came over and administered a priesthood blessing. They also offered to help out at any time, which was exceptionally kind. It's a relief to know you have people nearby who are looking out for you.
I'll keep you posted.
4 comments:
Oh Lord, Sooz, please pass on my good wishes to CM. If it is of any comford at all, (and I have no medical experience) it sounds as if he's gone through something that Andy did a couple of years ago. He was at work and his heart rate went crazy. They called an ambulance, hospital etc (and it's times like that I bless our National Health Service, as everything is free) and he was whisked off for tests. He came home, (on the motorbike!) with a black box monitor and was later told that he had had some kind of episode (I really cannot remember the name) which does happen sometimes, but is unlikely to occur more than once or twice in a lifetime. His heart is fine, and there's no 'cure' - it happened once or twice after that, and then, touch wood, nothing. In Andy's case it was alarming, scary but in the end nothing to worry about. And I am sending up several prayers that it's the same for CM.
Not the kind of wakeup you want to experience. Glad it happened when they were there though because it is so frustrating when nothing is wrong when the experts are looking. Hope all the tests come out fine. Glad to hear you received the blessing of peace.
Both of us (myself and Heather being "us") are glad CM is doing well.
Thanks for the many kind words. I'm tired today, but hopeful that we'll have more answers in a few days.
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