On Hold

Everything is on hold.

Everything.

He woke me sometime after 1:30 this morning, saying he was sick. He had terrible indigestion, he said, and was holding the bucket, just in case. He'd taken Tums and then more Tums and when he ran out of Tums, he called for me. We'd had a mighty dinner at the local pub and he'd followed that with some peanuts later on. Had to be indigestion.

But just in case. Just in case, I asked him to take an aspirin. He did, just in case. The pain didn't abate. It didn't radiate to his jaw or down his left arm; I checked to be sure. So it pretty much had to be indigestion of a major sort. He became diaphoretic and cold at the same time and we decided to go over to the ER. Just in case.

The hospital is a three-minute drive. They had him hooked up to an EKG practically before I had a chance to put my keys away. The team worked like a ballet troupe; each person doing his or her job with minimal conversation, and not getting in each others' way. Nitroglycerin and heparin were administered and a second EKG begun. The physician told me that the first EKG had been concerning for a heart attack and that he had called the cardiac catheterization team to come in. Almost before he'd finished speaking, Dr. Cohen was in the room.

The procedure didn't take all that long; and afterwards Dr. Cohen came out to tell me that one of the three main arteries in the heart -- the LAD -- had had a complete blockage and he had successfully stented it. Another -- the circumflex -- has an 80 percent blockage and will be dealt with in short order. The third -- the RCA -- has a slight blockage that needs no attention. The speed of our getting to the hospital and the administration of the aspirin had lessened the extent of damage.

He will recover. He will be in hospital for five days, at least. The second catheterization is scheduled for Tuesday. He could come home as soon as Wednesday. I know nothing beyond these immediate plans.

Things will get normal, but it will be a new normal. Dietary changes, addition of medication, religious exercise are all in the immediate forefront. It will take adjustment.

And for now, everything -- quilt bindings, book club reading, theatre plans, give-aways, dinner guests -- everything is on hold.