Home Again – February 7, 2023

Everything went smoothly after a miserable night sleeping in a waiting area near Harry’s room. He unfortunately had a roommate, so I was not allowed to stay in the room. But the night passed, after one rather exciting “Code Red” caused a flurry of door closures. The fire alert (I googled Code Red) was canceled after a few minutes, with no evacuations needed. They were remodeling the Cardiac Cath room, four floors below, and that was the location of the Code Red. Harry’s procedure had been done in a trailer outside the hospital. He said it was like a MASH unit, but extremely high tech.

Early in the morning, Harry was due to take his sotalol dose, which had been made clear the evening before. I waited, on watch for the nurse, who did not appear until 6:45, at which point she told me the sotalol would be administered at 9 AM. I explained to her that this was not acceptable, that she had agreed to give him the sotalol at 6:30, and it was not to be given any later than 7 AM. I admit I can be a bit intense, but at 6:55, she begrudgingly appeared with the sotalol. When Dr. Davison stopped by to check on Harry, I asked him if I had overstepped in admonishing the nurse, and he assured me that I did the right thing. I worry about people, like Harry’s miserable roommate, who have nobody standing up for them. Patients are vulnerable, and hospitals are understaffed. That said, we were extremely lucky to have had Alla, the daytime nurse, both Monday and yesterday. There is much to stress about in the world – the invasion in Ukraine, the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, our healthcare system, to mention a few. I think we must do what we can, and be grateful for our incredible and undeserved good fortune to be living in this country, and for the many blessings that cross our individual paths.

Anyway, by 3 PM yesterday, cleared for action by Dr. Cooper, Harry was home, to be greeted by his dogs. Cedar and Nettie said hello, and then scarpered off to the barn and woods. Weedy was beside himself with joy, and never left Harry’s side.

Marianne did night check last night, so we were asleep by 8 PM, and woke feeling renewed. Harry seems much better, despite his ordeal. Part of that, of course, is relief that the ablation is done. We were both a bit anxious about the procedure, and, like Dr. Cooper, we are now “cautiously optimistic” that the atrial fibrillation may be finished. Time will tell.

Jane and Marianne stepped seamlessly into caring for the animals, which was a huge relief. Definitely high on our list of gratitude! Jane even sent us pictures to assure us that all was well.

This morning, we drove back to St. Luke’s to get Harry’s electric toothbrush, which we had forgotten. Harry can’t drive for four days, but he and Weedy were excellent company and copilots, and we accomplished many errands, including paying my bill at The Tack Trunk, our favorite store.

It was a cloudy day, but not cold, and the horses wandered off to the pasture to search in vain for grass.

Fewer birds came by, with the mild weather.

It is a delight to be home with the animals. We never tire of them.

Returning from night check on a rainy evening…

Be safe, be well, be kind, be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Pray for solace for the less fortunate… and Peace.