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A Picture of my Heart.
Getting an EEG
Here are the emails from the events of 8/30/08:
Subject: From Sue
Hi Folks,
I've been up since 2:49am when the hospital called with an update on Steve.
Let me first say that he's doing OK now. My 2nd dose of sleeping meds
didn't kick in and I need to do something quiet while Paisley sleeps...so
I'm sharing the pain and asking you to send healing thoughts his way.
Yesterday morning, Steve was medivacced to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in
New Brunswick. We
still don't know what happened. All the tests came back negative except for
his 2nd set of cardio enzyme labs which came back elevated. Having said
that, they're still not sure it was a heart attack. They'll do a 3rd set of
cardio enzyme labs 8 hours after the 2nd set. The doctor said the elevation
was consistent w/ a fall and MAYBE a heart attack so they've put him on
aspirin. After the extensive testing done yesterday, that's all they've
come up with.
What happened as far as can be pieced together? Steve was out front
trimming some roof shingles. Obviously, he was on a ladder. Paisley and I
waved to him from the bathroom. He was fine. I took a shower and got
dressed b/c we were going to a friend's for a playdate/picnic and were
supposed to leave around 10:45am. (I'm pretty sure I remember Steve calling
up to ask when we were leaving; I think it may have been 10:15-10:20am.) I
went downstairs and was walking into the dining room when I heard Paisley
say, "Daddy, Daddy, wake up." I looked out the sliders onto the deck and
Steve was sitting on a bench w/ his back against the railing, snoring
heavily. I thought he was playing a game w/ Paisley like, "See if you can
wake the Sleeping Daddy." It was very exaggerated snoring. So I went back
inside to get a stuffed animal to bring with (I think; I'm a little fuzzy)
and then went back to the sliders. Steve was still "playing." But he was
sitting at an odd angle. I felt a little alarmed and then saw he had drool
running down his arm. I did the normal thing...freaked out. I ran inside
and called 911 immediately b/c he was unresponsive. Within minutes,
literally, the paramedics and police were there. After that, I'm not really
sure what happened - the police were asking me questions as to what
happened. When I was on the phone with dispatch, I saw that the ladder was
now in back against a tree which needed some branches cut. I pointed that
out to the police and the paramedics and police assumed he'd fallen. And
that was good. Because of that assumption - that he could have sustained
serious trauma to the brain and/or spine, he got helicoptered to RWJ and was
seen immediately by excellent doctors. Again, extensive, but inconclusive,
tests were run. They moved him to ICU in the afternoon., took him off heavy
sedation and extubated him. He had actually been responsive while sedated
and could squeeze our hands, blink an eye and drop his arms when he started
struggling. He's pretty fuzzy on the details but, as best he remembers, he
believes something bit him; he felt pain and heat; he remembers it being the
right shoulder but there were not marks; that's really about it. However,
his symptoms don't present like anaphylactic shock from a bee sting or
spider bite.
Fortunately, I called Steve's parents who mobilized the NJ troops and his
Cousin Leslie, Uncle Ira and Aunt Kaye spent much of the day with me. His
parents are flying in from AZ as I type. We have friends who took Paisley
yesterday and will again today. She had a great time with them all day but
when we got in the car, after I'd picked her up, she asked, "Mommy, where is
Daddy? Why was he sleeping funny?" Whew, deep breath.
I don't know the game plan - don't know what other tests they can run - and
it's too soon to have an idea how long they plan to keep him. I'll send
updates.
Be well,
Sue
Sent: Monday, September 1, 2008 9:25:56 PM
Subject: Update From Sue
Hi All,
First ,thank you for so much support and love. We really appreciate
it. Steve rolled his eyes when I told him I emailed "a lot" of
people...but he was really glad that folks know and are wishing him the
best.
Second, the much improved news, is that Steve is doing night and day
difference better. He's out of ICU and in the general patient/cardio
wing (405W). The doctors can't really pinpoint anything yet except that
his 2nd of 3 cardio enzyme labs came back elevated so they're going with
a cardiac problem pretty much, sort of, maybe. However, Steve was
bitten by something (bee, wasp, spider?) and remembers swatting at it
and starting to go back up the ladder when he realized something was
very wrong. He doesn't remember walking across our back yard and up the
deck and sitting down on a bench there. (He also doesn't remember the
helicopter ride which really bummed him out.) He said that, when the
disorientation hit, everything went gray and silent. So, many people
have said it sounds like anaphylactic shock but the doctors aren't
convinced. Dunno. He called a little while ago and they were taking
him for an MRI. He still needs an MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram to
check out the vascular situation) and and EEG. We'll see what those
results yield.
But, he was able to get up and go to the bathroom a couple times today
and he ate a meal and his voice is much clearer. Plus, he's lucid. All
in all, he's doing great. Not knowing if he'd gone w/o oxygen for
awhile along with his unresponsiveness were major causes for concern
yesterday. For better or worse, OK, definitely better, he's Steve
again. Just exhausted and with the albatross of not definitively
knowing what happened hanging around his neck.
Again, we all thank you for your prayers and offers of help - especially
Rebecca and her family for taking care of Paisley the last couple of
days. A major Godsend knowing she was safe and happy and didn't have to
be with me at the hospital seeing Daddy like that. I will be taking her
for a visit tomorrow. Yay!
I'll keep sending updates~
Sue
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 9:15:51 PM
Subject: Steve: Day 3
Hello Everyone~
Further good news: Steve's possibly coming home
Wednesday night, at the earliest; more likely, Thursday;
maybe Friday.
He's awaiting a final test to be done tomorrow - the cardio
catheterization. Not so much fun. A needle is inserted into
the groin (local anesthetic only) which goes up the femeral
artery to the heart. A dye is then injected to see how the
heart is functioning. This should tell them whether or not the
heart was the culprit. Right now, the doctors are pretty much
leaning towards anaphalactic shock. However, If there's damage,
they'll put a stent in. If not, they'll chalk it up to the
critter that bit Steve. We're really hoping it's that because
carrying an epi pen around seems a whole lot easier than dealing
with the physical and emotional ramifications of heart damage.
Steve's got his laptop and has been reading his emails and, I
think, enjoying them. You know how he gets though about
admitting to happiness...Thank you, again, for all the support
and love you've given us! It has really helped us knowing how
much, and how many, care.
Love,
me
9/5/08
Hi all-
It's me, Steve. Still alive and kicking.
I just wanted to thank all of you for your love, prayers and good wishes.
It was a frightening time. This is what happened from my point of view:
I was climbing up a ladder to trim some
branches from a tree.
Something was irritating me on my right shoulder, I don't remember any buzzing
but thought it was flying. So I swatted at it with the saw in my hand. Within
seconds the world lost all it's color and got very quiet. The last thing I
remember is saying to myself, "get down from the ladder." I don't remember
getting down. Sue says I made it to the deck, so we know I didn't fall. It was a
day later when I was awake again. Once I told my story, they turned me over and
found the bite marks on my shoulder. Then the pieces of the puzzle started to
fall into place, anaphylactic
shock. But by then the specialists all had their theories as to what
happened. And they all had to follow them through. So roving hoards of doctors (RWJ
is a teaching hospital, so they travel in groups of 5) would visit and proscribe
what I can only assume were the most extensive (and expensive) tests they could
come up with. Thankfully all proved not to be the cause. So I didn't have a
heart attack, stroke, seizure, diabetic comma, trauma from a fall, or any other
long debilitating condition. Before the bites were located, the cardiologists
felt the "outward signs of
anaphylaxis needed
to include hives to be conclusive", the neurologists felt that there was a
little extra brain activity on the EEG to rule out seizure . So I still have to
follow up with a few specialties, but the head Dr is certain that this was all
caused by the bug bite. "Your throat closing up and loss of
consciousness are conclusive symptoms." Also the
minor extra activity can be chalked up to swelling as well as test error.
So tomorrow I go to the allergist to figure out what did this to me and
hopefully desensitize me to it. Who knew something so small could do so much
damage so quickly?
I am incredibly lucky. Sue was home to find me. She says EMS was here in
minutes. They flew me to RWJ and I received wonderful care. I will have an epi
pen with me the rest of my life, thanks Elliot (a former PCNJ board member who
invented the device). I need to have the chipped teeth repaired from when they
intubated me. At least they were able to and didn't have to give me a
tracheotomy. I need to
follow up the
cardiac catheterization
(both sides of the heart), but have no heart problems. I am sore, have been
poked, prodded, had my heart and lungs listened to more than a top 10 song and
gave up pints of blood for testing. It could have been so much worse.
I also have a loving family and tons of friends who embraced me and supported us
through this.
I love you all.
--
Steve
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