HEART EDUCATION DAY JULY 2, 2018
Mike and I drove to Columbus, Ohio, late in the afternoon of July 1, 2018, to the Hilton Gardens Inn, near to the hospital where all my heart business is being done. Let me tell you about that first!
It's quite a nice place with lots of spacious areas, well lighted, includes a little convenience center for after hours, a nice restaurant open till 10, lots of roomy parking. We took the elevator up to our 3rd floor handicapped-accessible room. Big, with a king bed, lots of shelves and cubbies and stuff for long term stays, GREAT pillows! TV which we didn't even turn on, microwave, hidden fridge, etc.
The one thing we chose this room for was what they call a roll-in show - no tub to step over. It had a pull down seat there as well. Lots of nice big towels.
HOWEVER - the floor was like glass. No standing or moving at all without holding on for dear life to the grab rails. No wonder they were all around!! I had to call Mike to come in and put the bath mat in the actual show itself so I could stand on it instead of that god-awful slippery floor! There was no weight limit posted on the seat and although it seemed very sturdy, I didn't use it. Besides, I'd have to cross about 10" of that floor to get there. No thanks!
Next day my appointment was at an ungodly time of 7:30 a.m. - the time we usually retire for the evening at home! We drove over ourselves rather than take the shuttle bus since we knew we would be there till at least noon or so. Checked out, we used the GPS to go no further than 3-4 blocks or so - but in Columbus commuter traffic, many lanes and much confusion! We could see our destination easily but since flying over was not an option....
But we got there in good time and the valet service was up and running, so we relinquished our car to them and went up to the 6th floor - same place we were last week. The sort-of concierge said, as we opened the door - "okay - here's Margaret!!" to the waiting room sitters!! "Here it is" I replied to a few chuckles!
I went back to register which didn't take long since I was just there last week. Then with Mike along we were taken to a rather spacious exam room where I got the chair of honor - with flanking pull up side tables and a mechanism that turned it into a recliner! Both things appreciated as the day wore on.
A nice nurse named Marc - friendly and funny - took my sheet of printed labels they give you each time you register and put them on several tubes. Uh-oh - blood work! But I showed him a good place to draw from and he hit the mark perfectly the first time!
I looked up my April labwork from here in Marietta on my cell phone's app for Marietta Memorial and he took down that information for comparison. High tech!!
Then he explained that throughout the next few hours I would meet with Afton - very nice nurse practitioner who would explain a great deal of the TAV-R procedure to us, as well as a cardiac surgeon and 2 cardiologists - I think that's the right number of each. The docs came in during breaks in their various schedules so we had some down time waiting.
The information kept coming as did the heat through the big windows.
Turns out I'll need a heart catheterization toward the end of July as part of the prep for the actual TAV-R procedure in mid-August (at this point). The cath will tell how my coronary arteries are doing as far as possible blockages and if there is a need for stents, etc.
They explained that while I am a good candidate for the TAVR procedure there is always the possibility that open heart surgery may become needed instead and the pros/cons about that.
Both procedures have risks but the TAVR has far fewer. Still - among them are stroke or death - so I paid attention!
One by one the proper medical personnel came in and chatted with us, shaking our hands, and basically saying that while my heart itself seems in good shape the aortic valve is not. I'll have to have any dental word that's in the wings done before the cath if possible. There is a direct correlation between the teeth and heart, as you may know.
We waited and waited - they brought us cheese sticks and Chobani strawberry yogurt - even went out and made Mike a Keurig coffee! Finally, as I was beginning to feel REALLY anxious - mainly because of the building heat in the room - a doctor breezed in and said "God!! It's way too hot in here" !!! My thoughts exactly! But you know, in a medical building, for privacy's sake all around, doors remained closed. But he left it open and the cooler air mercifully rushed in!
Marc, the nurse, kept popping in with questionnaires to fill out, a mental health awareness test - I still remember the 3 words he asked me intermittently to repeat (milk, sensible, before!)!! Finally, for us waiting so long, he gave us a $10 vouch for the cafeteria which seemed to be a long way away. All I wanted by that time was to get out of there.
I don't know which was more overwhelming - the heat or the information - I just knew I wanted to LEAVE!! Plus the wind was picking up as was the humidity. By this time it was after 1:30 - we'd been cooped up in one place for SIX HOURS! Six tension-filled hours, at times, I might add.
So leave we did. The valet brought our car around, AC blasting coolness and away we went. We hadn't gone but a few miles when we saw lots of darkening clouds, heard thunder, and saw several lightning strike. We kept going to avoid both the storm and the afternoon commuter traffic.
315 South to 70 East to 77 North. Along 70E we saw a vehicle that looked like an old school bus converted to an RV. Not so - it was a prison transport bus!! Another avoidance!!!
We got home safe and sound, beat the storm, and lived to tell the tale. Now to call dentists and schedule one extraction, check on my portals to the Ohio hospital to make sure all the information is there so I can see it too, etc.
More fun later!! Thanks for listening. Feel free to comment on Facebook!
It's quite a nice place with lots of spacious areas, well lighted, includes a little convenience center for after hours, a nice restaurant open till 10, lots of roomy parking. We took the elevator up to our 3rd floor handicapped-accessible room. Big, with a king bed, lots of shelves and cubbies and stuff for long term stays, GREAT pillows! TV which we didn't even turn on, microwave, hidden fridge, etc.
The one thing we chose this room for was what they call a roll-in show - no tub to step over. It had a pull down seat there as well. Lots of nice big towels.
HOWEVER - the floor was like glass. No standing or moving at all without holding on for dear life to the grab rails. No wonder they were all around!! I had to call Mike to come in and put the bath mat in the actual show itself so I could stand on it instead of that god-awful slippery floor! There was no weight limit posted on the seat and although it seemed very sturdy, I didn't use it. Besides, I'd have to cross about 10" of that floor to get there. No thanks!
Next day my appointment was at an ungodly time of 7:30 a.m. - the time we usually retire for the evening at home! We drove over ourselves rather than take the shuttle bus since we knew we would be there till at least noon or so. Checked out, we used the GPS to go no further than 3-4 blocks or so - but in Columbus commuter traffic, many lanes and much confusion! We could see our destination easily but since flying over was not an option....
But we got there in good time and the valet service was up and running, so we relinquished our car to them and went up to the 6th floor - same place we were last week. The sort-of concierge said, as we opened the door - "okay - here's Margaret!!" to the waiting room sitters!! "Here it is" I replied to a few chuckles!
I went back to register which didn't take long since I was just there last week. Then with Mike along we were taken to a rather spacious exam room where I got the chair of honor - with flanking pull up side tables and a mechanism that turned it into a recliner! Both things appreciated as the day wore on.
A nice nurse named Marc - friendly and funny - took my sheet of printed labels they give you each time you register and put them on several tubes. Uh-oh - blood work! But I showed him a good place to draw from and he hit the mark perfectly the first time!
I looked up my April labwork from here in Marietta on my cell phone's app for Marietta Memorial and he took down that information for comparison. High tech!!
Then he explained that throughout the next few hours I would meet with Afton - very nice nurse practitioner who would explain a great deal of the TAV-R procedure to us, as well as a cardiac surgeon and 2 cardiologists - I think that's the right number of each. The docs came in during breaks in their various schedules so we had some down time waiting.
The information kept coming as did the heat through the big windows.
Turns out I'll need a heart catheterization toward the end of July as part of the prep for the actual TAV-R procedure in mid-August (at this point). The cath will tell how my coronary arteries are doing as far as possible blockages and if there is a need for stents, etc.
They explained that while I am a good candidate for the TAVR procedure there is always the possibility that open heart surgery may become needed instead and the pros/cons about that.
Both procedures have risks but the TAVR has far fewer. Still - among them are stroke or death - so I paid attention!
One by one the proper medical personnel came in and chatted with us, shaking our hands, and basically saying that while my heart itself seems in good shape the aortic valve is not. I'll have to have any dental word that's in the wings done before the cath if possible. There is a direct correlation between the teeth and heart, as you may know.
We waited and waited - they brought us cheese sticks and Chobani strawberry yogurt - even went out and made Mike a Keurig coffee! Finally, as I was beginning to feel REALLY anxious - mainly because of the building heat in the room - a doctor breezed in and said "God!! It's way too hot in here" !!! My thoughts exactly! But you know, in a medical building, for privacy's sake all around, doors remained closed. But he left it open and the cooler air mercifully rushed in!
Marc, the nurse, kept popping in with questionnaires to fill out, a mental health awareness test - I still remember the 3 words he asked me intermittently to repeat (milk, sensible, before!)!! Finally, for us waiting so long, he gave us a $10 vouch for the cafeteria which seemed to be a long way away. All I wanted by that time was to get out of there.
I don't know which was more overwhelming - the heat or the information - I just knew I wanted to LEAVE!! Plus the wind was picking up as was the humidity. By this time it was after 1:30 - we'd been cooped up in one place for SIX HOURS! Six tension-filled hours, at times, I might add.
So leave we did. The valet brought our car around, AC blasting coolness and away we went. We hadn't gone but a few miles when we saw lots of darkening clouds, heard thunder, and saw several lightning strike. We kept going to avoid both the storm and the afternoon commuter traffic.
315 South to 70 East to 77 North. Along 70E we saw a vehicle that looked like an old school bus converted to an RV. Not so - it was a prison transport bus!! Another avoidance!!!
We got home safe and sound, beat the storm, and lived to tell the tale. Now to call dentists and schedule one extraction, check on my portals to the Ohio hospital to make sure all the information is there so I can see it too, etc.
More fun later!! Thanks for listening. Feel free to comment on Facebook!
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