Day Three. Waiting...

So I thought I should start to document my super-awesome hospital stay, as the days begin to melt into one another and I feel the need to find a way to mark time.

I'm counting today as Day Three, as it's the third day I've woken up in hospital. 

Day One - Wednesday - I saw my specialist (hereafter referred to as The Prof., on account of being a Professor and, so far as I can tell, The Grand Pooh-Bah of Electrophysiology in the country), who explained I needed to see another specialist - the Lead Removal Specialist. I saw the pacemaker technician, too, then The Prof. pulled a few strings and they kindly moved me out of the noisy hellhole of ICU after lunch and down to the cardio thoracic ward. 

My brother Saul visited (and met The Prof. and the technician), my dad visited, my friends Emma and Mark came with baby Arthur (who stole the hearts of nurses and patients alike) and with chocolate while Dad and Saul were still here, then everyone ate chocolate and then left. 

The second specialist finally showed up, ordered some tests for Day Two, and my friend Jamie showed up part way through that and I'm kinda glad he did because it's good to have people to bounce information and thoughts off. Especially because the specialist went through the risk statistics of the version of the procedure that will have a better medical outcome, which was quite confronting and gave me plenty to think about. I'm not going to tell you the stats until after the surgery, by the way. I won't do anything stupid but I also don't want people worrying unnecessarily!

Then Rachel, childhood friend of a uni friend who I haven't seen in years, popped by to say hi. It never ceases to amaze me the random people that check up on me when I get sick. Although I am essentially alone in this, I truly am surrounded by a big cloud of awesome people :)

So that was my first day. It was busy but in a good way - bear in mind that I'm not actually sick, I'm just here under observation whilst I await surgery because I am at risk of having a cardiac episode. Which means that the nurses got a bit nervous when I walked ten laps (750m) of the ward and my heart rate went up!

I had an alright sleep - much quieter than ICU. Day Two was supposed to be The Day of Tests and Answers. It started well - got straight into X-ray and then into the venogram lab...and then they spent an hour and a half actively searching for a good vein. Sterilize, tourniquet, ultrasound, needle, bleed, bruise, release, retreat. Rinse and repeat. I have four holes in my arm, and bruises to go with it. Fun times!

My Superintendent from work called to check up on me, and he sounded worried about the failed tests. I turned it back on him and told him to actually go to his own damned checkups. Men!

So back to the ward for more waiting. Note that I hadn't showered since Tuesday and was feeling stinky, so it was good of Dad, Saul and Em to not mention it when they visited ;) Mind you, little Arthur was objecting to something, and it may well have been that! 

Saul had shaved, too, presumably less for me and more in case the pacemaker technician was there again (she's lovely, and a total hottie, and next time I see her I'm going to ask what exercise she does because I'd really like to replicate what she's got going on there! Is it creepy to ask??). Nawww :)

After they left The Prof came by, expressed sympathy for my bruised arm (unusual for one as high up as he) and said I'd basically have to wait until that was done before we could make any decisions about surgery. Boo. 

My old boss texted, which was sweet. And my current manager called to make sure I wasn't too bored, which was lovely of her.

And then I had a shower, and it was better than sex. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd been moaning with the sheer enjoyment of it, either ;)

I had a good chat with my night nurse and slept alright...until about 2am, when alarms started going off, telling the nurse that my heart rate had dropped quite low to the kind of rate it sustained pre-Zappy II (despite the fact I'm being paced and that shouldn't happen). So I freaked out and wrote my Will, then emailed the appointed Executor at about 4am and told him where to find it, if it came down to that. 

As I wrote in the email to him, I know it was irrational of me to worry, even if Zappy had stopped working, because it was essentially no different to how I had spent the first 29 years of my life...only without highly trained medical staff around me, as I do right now. The fear does your head in, it really does.

Anyway, I eventually fell back asleep but now, on Day Three (they tell me it's Friday), it's more waiting, plus now I'm kinda tired. My tests haven't happened yet, and I'm trying to stay warm and super-hydrated to make finding veins easier...but of course that means I have to pee every two seconds!!!

The technician came back and apparently there is nothing (else) wrong with Zappy, probably just the telemetry, so all that late-night worry was for nothing. Still, it's good that I have a current Will now!

Other highlights of my day have been decent cake, watching a highschool softball match from my window, checking out hot tradies in the car park, witnessing a rather random sausage sizzle in the same car park, and rocking out to The Foo Fighters. I probably look odd all wired up, in my little short PJs, headphones in, drumming on my bare thighs! But hey, I look odd at the best of times so there's nothing new to see here ;)

Well I guess lunch will be here shortly, and who knows who or what the afternoon will bring (besides, yaknow, being stabbed in the arm again). Although I did hear a whisper that I'm being moved to a smaller, private(ish) room...

Sorry it's not scintillating reading, but my world is obviously a bit restricted right now. Feel free to come visit if you're in Melbourne!

Happy Friday, y'all. Enjoy your weekend and your freedom and your health :)

PS - being in here makes you think about what you want, and I've decided that I want to learn drums, thanks to the Foo Fighters. Gets me going every time. I wonder if they'll give me a private room all to myself and they'll hook me up with a drum kit or practice pads while I wait for surgery ;)