Feeling Alright

It is so good to be on this side of Cardioversion! If I could I would have written on Thursday but the post would probably look something like this:

Finishedaaaaaaaat Stttt Luuuuuukes and nrw going t get soomeethinggg to ealthelkkethildkriel.

We arrived around 6:15 am, found the Admitting and Discharge desk. That didn't take a whole lot of time since I had pre-paid our portion the day before. Although I was asked if I had a living will or a medical power of attorney with me. I looked back at Roy and he just smiled. After signing a bunch of stuff we were on our way to do lab work. Well, we weren't doing the lab work but it was just them taking blood. I've decided this might be the new way to lose weight just have blood taken all the time. We finished there and they sent us to the third floor via the purple elevator into the heart medicine and surgery area. By now it is 6:45 am and the nurse at the desk told us that the procedure group didn't roll into work until 7:30. So we had a little time to kill. Roy was absorbed in the Wall Street Journal. I was absorbed in all the people watching. It was obvious in the waiting room those who had done this before. They were prepared to spend time there. Igloo coolers, a pillow, a throw, and lots of stuff to keep one occupied for a long period of time. The group that had my attention was a group of people there from the country. The deep, deep country. I heard expressions that I have never heard before and their accents sometimes made them difficult to understand. A man in that group stopped a man in surgical scrubs and asked him where the bathroom was. I barely understood the man and the man in the scrubs was clearly not from around here and struggling to decipher the words. He had an accent as well and as they both repeated themselves to each other several times, it was clean neither one of them understood one another until the scrub man said, "it's my first day here." Somehow I don't think that was true but trying to translate the question had lost all its appeal. They were characters right out of Greater Tuna. I was a bit sad when they left the waiting room to go to another waiting room and that waiting room wasn't for day surgery or procedures, it was for the serious heart issues. Even though their conversation had been entertaining, I didn't envy the day that was ahead of them. It wasn't too much later that I heard my name being called and then given a clipboard full of paperwork to fill out and sign and date. It almost felt like a closing on a house, sign here, here, initial here... After turning in the paperwork which I actually read because my attorney was still absorbed in the Wall Street Journal, it wasn't too much longer that they came for me to begin everything. Roy was able to come back with me and stay right until they started the procedure. While making small talk with the nurse we found out we had a mutual friend, Linda Wadsworth. He also had a prayer taped to a cabinet door which comforted me when I read it, but I don't remember what it said now. They put the electrodes on me, hooked me up to some machine, put a blood pressure cuff on me and inserted the sleepy time drugs on my wrist. They had me roll onto my left side and they would say, roll over. I told them I will roll over but I didn't want to play dead. Once they had numbed my throat for the probe I began to feel woozy. I remember the Dr patting me and I thought oh if this was Lisa P she wouldn't like this. They told me that sometimes people begin singing when they go under and I told them I probably would sing Christmas music since we have been working so hard on music in choir. No one told me or if they did I don't remember if they did that I sang. Hopefully, my singing didn't detract them from getting tickets to Celebration. I kind of remember coming to but there is a whole lot that I have no recollection of. I called Peggy and Dena and even tried texting Peggy. I read the text later and apologized, see above reference about typing. The next thing I know we are at Buffalo Grille. Think I had a pancake and coffee and then we came home and I slept it off. On Friday morning I found instructions from the hospital on my desk. When they had handed them to Roy, he put them in his briefcase. Uh, we kind of didn't do as we were instructed.

Good news, they got my heart into rhythm on the first zap. The TEE they did before the zapping looked good and I don't have any blockages in or around my heart.


I can honestly say the Lord's peace covered me all week. There were times I thought what if??? But those thoughts were few and God's Word gave me great comfort and victory. Even Thursday morning I never had nerves or heighten anticipation, I felt, All is Well.

Yesterday and today I feel more energized. Until yesterday I didn't realize how tired I had been. Now our prayers are for this zap to hold and my heart stay in rhythm. It is a major building block to the journey back to normal. OK, no sarcastic comments about back to normal, but writing that did open me up to that.

Thank you friends for praying and for your love and concern.