A Flare for the Dramatic

Some on Facebook may have wondered about a "tongue and cheek" post I made yesterday about 911 service.  Thought that required a little explaining.
For the past two weeks Susan has felt...to be blunt awful.  She has had issues with being short of breath.  Any exertion at all and she would be extremely winded.  The immediate concern is that this is something cardiac related.  We have been pestering the Heart Failure Clinic at St Boniface Hospital and were able to do a an ultrasound of her heart last week and a follow-up with one of her cardiologists on Thursday. 

This has lead to some good news and bad news.  As far as her cardiac function is concerned; everyone was pleasantly surprised at how well her ticker is doing.  The pressure gradient in her heart is as low as it has been since her surgery  years ago.  That is fantastic news.  The bad news is...why the shortness of breath?  More tests are scheduled over the next few weeks as she is still not in very good shape.

The issue that came up yesterday...was a bit bizarre.  Susan was home alone...kids were at school and I was at work.  She had been doing a few things in the kitchen and of course felt short of breath.  Typically she would rest until she went back to normal.  The problem was that she didn't recover.  Being alone and being presented with different symptoms was disconcerting to say the least.  We think the anxiety of not knowing what was going on how what to do about it probably made things a lot worse.  Susan did the right thing and called 911.  She was taken to hospital in Selkirk and we spent 8 forgettable hours in the Selkirk General Hospital.  I'm not going to say anything negative about her stay there.  They made their best efforts but they just don't have the expertise that specialists would have.  We were treated well but they were a little outgunned.  In reality, her specialists right now are scratching their heads about what is going on...its unrealistic to expect an ER doctor in a small town to be able to deal with someone has complex as Susan.

We got home last night.  Thing are under control and we are just being careful.  The next few weeks will hopefully provide some insight into what is going on.