While I was out, Amanda had a spell. She said she got flushed, and her chest started hurting, but not like before. She’s had palpitations since she got out of the cath lab. Her chest had a pressure feeling this time. I think that freaked the ICU team out; they ordered an EKG and an echocardiogram. At least a dose of morphine still helped her pain. When I was back, she seemed to feel okay but not great. The EP team spoke of another echo to see if the ejection fraction and pumping efficiency of the heart had improved.
She also got a little dizzy when she got up the first time. It continued through the day and even worsened while lying down even. Her blood pressure was lower but about the same as her usual BP, so it didn’t seem to be that. The only thing different was the new arrhythmia medication. The EP returned for a consult, said it was a side effect, and asked if Amanda wanted to discontinue it. She said she’d be willing to give it a try. But it worsened throughout the day; she just felt crummy all day. So, by the evening dose, she asked the night nurse to see if the doctor was ok with not taking it till morning. He was ok with it and had already mentioned some other medications we could try. I think it will be best to see what her heart rate will do without any medication anyway. She started something immediately after the ablation.
This afternoon, I was telling Amanda about a guy I’d seen in the cafeteria. He was in his gown, sweat pants, all orange from surgery goo, and had a central line hanging out his neck, waiting for a burger! Amanda and I talked about her having a central line in her neck, and I asked about the nurse I argued with. Amanda looked puzzled; then I remembered it was a dream I had a few nights ago. I dreamt I had a huge argument with a nurse about it; she was saying they would put a neckline in, and I was like, no, you’re not. A back-and-forth shouting match ensued. Can visitors have ICU delirium? If I’m dreaming about arguing with a nurse, I may have that!
Amanda wanted mashed potatoes for dinner, which narrowed my DoorDash selection to about 500 restaurants in the greater Houston area. I settled on a hipster place we’d been to in the past called Flower Child. It was a place our old EP told Amanda how he thought of her every time he ate there. We both liked him; he was a foul-mouthed, no-BS kind of doctor, not the best bedside manner, but you knew where you stood. I remember one time his office wouldn’t give us a consult while we were in the hospital and having issues. They also wouldn’t let us talk to him on the phone. I promptly marched over to his office the following day, walked in, and said I needed to speak with the doctor and wasn’t leaving till I did! I was the first one he sat down with that day, and I think he had a newfound respect for me after that!
The snack delivery yesterday included some heart-shaped truffle pesto pretzels. I had the munchies last night and snacked on everything. As I was rummaging through the snacks, Amanda said, “If you eat my heart pretzels, I’ll kill you!” I complied, and we opened them today.
Amanda has also had a headache all day, which has been verging on a migraine. She is getting close to one of the monthly migraine headache shots she gives herself, so that could be it. However, I did notice that it was a side effect of the new medication. I’m glad we’re ironing these things out here instead of at home.
Today is the most hospitaly day yet; it really feels like a typical crappy hospital day. Amanda had a hard time getting around earlier this morning, plus she’s felt crummy, and the headache hasn’t gone away. So, it’s been a typical hospital day, and it reminds us how good we’ve had it till now! Maybe I feel that way because tomorrow is the two-week mark of hospital admission. Dinner was good, at least; Amanda got her mashed taters. We both had veggie-filled dinner plates. I’m already ready to order from there again.