my dad is a good patient!
his cardiac ablation went well yesterday. they were able to find the pathway in his heart that has been causing his a-flutter and they cauterized several bands of heart muscle cells. ha, ha - got you, you naughty random electrical currents! burn, baby burn!
my dad is also a very brave patient...
because he is on so many heart medications to keep his blood pressure low (less stress for the heart), the nurse, whose job it is to give conscious sedation (ie. the good, sleepy meds), was limited. she could not sedate my dad because his blood pressure kept dropping to dangerous levels. so, for those who care or understand, he only got 0.5mg of versed and 25mcg of fentanyl. that's NOTHING. i give that to my oncology patients without blinking. my poor little dad (and i mean little - he only weighs 140 on a good day) was awake the entire 4 hours while they were burning his insides. he tolerated it like a champ. and according to my dad, his nurse was a superstar. she talked to my dad, trying to distract him. she patted his head. and when his back ached from hours of stillness on a gurney, she rubbed his back. she even apologized, to my dad and to us, for keeping my dad so wake. she was just doing her job - keeping my dad safe! i appreciate nurses - especially cynthia in the cath lab!
so. my dad was discharged this morning. he's to take it easy now for several days. and to continue limiting his salt intake, monitoring his fluid status, and checking his vital signs. my dad teases that life is no fun anymore. he can't drink. he can't smoke. and now he can't even eat food with salt.
but a non-alcoholic, smoke, and salt free life is better than no life at all!
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