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The Cath Lab
Yesterday I spent the day surrounded by wonderful women giving me all the tender loving care I needed. Sounds like a guy's dream day come true. But not so fast. I was at the catherization lab at CVPH, getting my arterties checked to see if I need heart by-pass surgery.
It was an interesting day, to say the least. Never having experienced this procedure I was in for quite a time. From the moment I arrived at CVPH at 7:30am, and was greeted by volunteer Gail Calongne, a longtime friend, I was given the red carpet treatment.
In less than a minute I was told to report to the cath lab, where I met Patty, the first of several ladies who would treat me like a king during the day. Her son Jordan had been in my eighth grade English class about 15 years ago.
She gave me a ringside seat in room #6, right across from the nurses' station, where I could watch the day's activities unfold. It took about two hours of preparation and waiting in the "holding area" before I would be ready for the actual procedure. Patty answered many questions that I had and I also met Dr. Palma, my new heart doctor. I also met Tammy, whose father is the North Country's #1 Yankees Hater, and Laurel, the newest of the cath lab nurses.
With an IV needle in my left hand and blood pressure strap on my right arm I was almost ready to go. Catherization involves inserting a small tube from the groin area, through the arteries and into the heart to check for any blockages which may be restricting blood flow. That means a certain area had to be shaved. Rumor has it women have been doing this for years, but not Foxy Gagnon. Those moments may have the scariest of my day.
At 10am I was rolled to the cath lab for the procedure. The IV was making me drowsy but I was still mentally writing my blog as they wheeled me into Cath Lab #2, the newest one. Still part of the red carpet treatment for Foxy Gagnon, I guess.
In the cath lab I met Claude, a good friend of Muggsy Favro, the Mayor of Cadyville. Claude wore the best scrub hat I've ever seen at CVPH. I'm going to be looking for one of those in the days ahead. Apparantly on eBay you can find all kinds of scrub hats.
Dr. Palma entered and proceeded to numb the groin area with injections. And I thought the shaving experience was tough! To calm me down Tammy souped up the IV solution and the results were similar to Foxy Gagnon after enjoying about five Bloody Marys.
I don't remember much of the procedure. I guess I don't remember any of the procedure. I do recall waking up back in the holding area around 11am. At that point the major diagnosis and consensus was that I was a good snorer, one of the best the nurses have had in weeks.
Following a catherization, the important part is to remain on your back without moving your right leg for five hours. Lucky for me I was able to snore away a few of those hours. As the Bloody Marys wore off around 1pm, I was feeling hungry. Laurel called room service and within minutes I was served a turkey sandwich, a bag of chips, my favorite cold soda and a package of Lorna Doone cookies. I hadn't had a Lorna Doone since 1961.
From my ringside room I was able to observe a day in the life of a cath lab nurse. I was impressed with how smoothly the day went, not just for me, but for the four or five other patients as well. Each of us had our own problems to be diagnosed, our own unique preparations, medications and personalities. But the nurses dealt with all this with understanding, care and knowledge. Patty, Tammy, Laurel and the others are true professionals and they made my cath lab day as comfortable and reassuring as it could be. When I left the cath lab around 5:15pm, nearly ten hours after my arrival, I was ready to go home, no doubt, but I left with a good feeling that I'd been well cared for.
I still have a few days to take it easy, to get babied by my Mom, my brother Goose and sister Darlene. And I hope my hair grows back in the right places. Other than that the results of the day were great. Dr. Palma found no blockages and things are looking good for the immediate future. It's just the snoring they are worried about!
Comments
Foxy - We are all relieved that further procedures will not be necessary. You did not, however, say how you got to the "Cath" lab in the first place, and now that you've been cleared, how must you change your ways to not have to go back again - and are you going to follow instructions? What can I say, once a mother.....
Posted by: diane | August 28, 2006 8:44 AM
September 23, 2003 I started having chest pains at my desk at WPDM radio in Potsdam, took a trip to the ER and the words ring in my ears to this day..."Mr. Dosztan, you're having a heart attack." Took a trip to Burlington and had the catherization the next day. I was 90 percent blocked, got it cleared out and I have a stent in me. What I remember the most is how cold the cath lab room is, and that drug I got, I was fully conscious and could see the whole procedure on TV!! And when the blockage is removed you feel like a million bucks, instantly. Sometimes I think about the old Roto-Rooter jingle I used to play in commercials back when I was DJ. I used to be a three-pack-a-day chain smoker and weighed 340 pounds at one time, but I was 33, I was invincible!!! Life's Lessons Learned. So many lives saved that would be lost without that relatively simple procedure. Good News Foxy they didn't find anything.
Posted by: Scott Dosztan "S-M-B" | August 28, 2006 7:47 AM
Foxy, Are you sure that you aren't praising these CVPH cath lab nurses so much simply because one or more of them is in possession of knowledge about a " certain area" of your anatomy? I'm joking! I'm joking! I am truly glad to hear that your results came out swimmingly. The world needs to keep you around for a long, long time.
Posted by: Kathy | August 27, 2006 10:57 AM
Foxy:
I fully understand you feelings of "cath day" having been through the procedure several times before I finally had to have the heart by-pass back in 1993. You are an excellent example of how fortunate people in our area are that we now have a "first-rate" cardiac Care Unit at CVPH. My wife and kids had to travel to Burlington, Vt. daily during my ordeal. We did the cath procedures in Plattsburgh but had to go to Vt. for the by-pass.
You will find that you will be your old self in a very short period of time and all of your friends are truly glad that everything turned out well for you. It must be that all those "Bloody Mary's" keep your arteries open and flowing properly. Whatevery works keep it up. You are a valuable asset for this area and we want you to stick around.
Posted by: Michael J. Mannix | August 24, 2006 2:08 PM