i thought they were pretty progressive 11 years ago, what with the nasa saran wrap and all...i'm sure they've made even more strides. and, tbh, i'd just had my 6th m.i....i'd had plenty of heart caths & stents, but this one was bad, and i didn't find out until later how perilously close i came to having lunch with Jesus i had a triple bypass & a valve repair. my point being, your mom is going into this in a lot better shape than most folks. plus, advancement of medical science. but some things are basic (drains, the need to poop, The Scar*, scar creme, nurses).
*this is an individual choice of course...but i decided early on not to dress for The Scar. it was my medal of honor; i'd been to the wars (at 48) and i survived. so i didn't try to hide it and i refused to feel self-conscious about it.
had my first mi at 40. had 6 in 9 years. 6 heart caths, 8 stents. post ohs, no heart attack. had two iffy stress tests that led to heart caths, but both times what the cardio-god saw was scar tissue. still, had to be done. it took YEARS of playing w/ meds to finally get my cholesterol under control, but it is, finally. that was my issue. well, that and grief; i lost half of my family at the age of 32; i contend that a broken heart is real.
then or now, you would not look at me and think, "girl's a walking contender for heart disease." i yoga, garden, take care of rescue critters and eat healthily (my guy's a chef). i get more done before 10 am than most people do the entire day....probably bc one of the hard lessons i learned is how precious life is; i don't want to miss anything! also, i think b/t the grief and the heart disease, the Lord gave me a blessing...grief amplified my ability to empathize, and heart disease gives me a chance to talk about women/heart disease and to minister to those who are facing the same challenge i was, unprepared for a life-altering (if not potentially ending) event. i wish there'd been a me around 11 years ago. but, it's knowledge i gladly share bc knowledge is power over fear. also, i know you're scared for your mom; right now, that make you family to me bc i've been there. but your job right now is to be strong (at least in front of her), to get as much info as you can from the dr/nurses, ask questions, monitor your mom. if you think something is off, voice your opinion. encourage your mom to speak for herself; her care and comfort are nothing to be shy about. everyone will want to inspect her ankles for swelling and her urine output. nurses and care techs are usually ON intake/output.
i'm so glad the dr. did a second look. women feel impending mi's differently...men do the chest and arm pain...women feel jaw pain, shoulder blade, middle of the bra-strap, dizziness and flu-like symptoms. we lose a lot of ladies bc their symptoms are passed off as other things, including by doctors and the women themselves. i've had 6 mi's, 6 different presentations.
it's hard to lose a parent or a sibling....and i believe, strongly, that emotional heartbreak can lead to a physically broken heart. the mind-body connection can be weird. but positivity also works and can achieve medical miracles big and small.
i have to keep an eye on my bp; sometimes it get's low, so we bump a med. the only issues were "shadows" on the scans from the stress test....which turned out to be scar tissue. my last cath showed one of my "old" veins making a new pathway for blood flow. that was sort of cool. after the ohs, i'm less than thrilled to go under anesthesia, but i'm thrilled to hear, "just scar tissue, you're wide open."
i thought they were pretty progressive 11 years ago, what with the nasa saran wrap and all...i'm sure they've made even more strides. and, tbh, i'd just had my 6th m.i....i'd had plenty of heart caths & stents, but this one was bad, and i didn't find out until later how perilously close i came to having lunch with Jesus i had a triple bypass & a valve repair. my point being, your mom is going into this in a lot better shape than most folks. plus, advancement of medical science. but some things are basic (drains, the need to poop, The Scar*, scar creme, nurses).
*this is an individual choice of course...but i decided early on not to dress for The Scar. it was my medal of honor; i'd been to the wars (at 48) and i survived. so i didn't try to hide it and i refused to feel self-conscious about it.
had my first mi at 40. had 6 in 9 years. 6 heart caths, 8 stents. post ohs, no heart attack. had two iffy stress tests that led to heart caths, but both times what the cardio-god saw was scar tissue. still, had to be done. it took YEARS of playing w/ meds to finally get my cholesterol under control, but it is, finally. that was my issue. well, that and grief; i lost half of my family at the age of 32; i contend that a broken heart is real.
then or now, you would not look at me and think, "girl's a walking contender for heart disease." i yoga, garden, take care of rescue critters and eat healthily (my guy's a chef). i get more done before 10 am than most people do the entire day....probably bc one of the hard lessons i learned is how precious life is; i don't want to miss anything! also, i think b/t the grief and the heart disease, the Lord gave me a blessing...grief amplified my ability to empathize, and heart disease gives me a chance to talk about women/heart disease and to minister to those who are facing the same challenge i was, unprepared for a life-altering (if not potentially ending) event. i wish there'd been a me around 11 years ago. but, it's knowledge i gladly share bc knowledge is power over fear. also, i know you're scared for your mom; right now, that make you family to me bc i've been there. but your job right now is to be strong (at least in front of her), to get as much info as you can from the dr/nurses, ask questions, monitor your mom. if you think something is off, voice your opinion. encourage your mom to speak for herself; her care and comfort are nothing to be shy about. everyone will want to inspect her ankles for swelling and her urine output. nurses and care techs are usually ON intake/output.
i'm so glad the dr. did a second look. women feel impending mi's differently...men do the chest and arm pain...women feel jaw pain, shoulder blade, middle of the bra-strap, dizziness and flu-like symptoms. we lose a lot of ladies bc their symptoms are passed off as other things, including by doctors and the women themselves. i've had 6 mi's, 6 different presentations.
it's hard to lose a parent or a sibling....and i believe, strongly, that emotional heartbreak can lead to a physically broken heart. the mind-body connection can be weird. but positivity also works and can achieve medical miracles big and small.
p.s. i see my cardio-god every 6 months for a check-up, lab work & ekg, and have a stress test/ultra-sound/doppler every 24 months.
i have to keep an eye on my bp; sometimes it get's low, so we bump a med. the only issues were "shadows" on the scans from the stress test....which turned out to be scar tissue. my last cath showed one of my "old" veins making a new pathway for blood flow. that was sort of cool. after the ohs, i'm less than thrilled to go under anesthesia, but i'm thrilled to hear, "just scar tissue, you're wide open."