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Keith's StoryA Bit of Bad News. Back in February 2008, I was the recipient of some rather unpleasant news. I had just undergone an angiogram, a procedure where coloured dye is injected into the heart via a catheter in the groin. The idea is to show any abnormality or narrowing of the coronary arteries. I had expected a stent to have been inserted into the offending artery and that would be that. Not so unfortunately, my arteries, as I was to be told later whilst recovering back in the ward of The John Radcliff hospital in Oxford, were beyond stent correction. Oh god! I remember thinking, this is not the news I was expecting to hear, in fact, it was to get a whole lot worse. The consultant, who performed my angiogram, later spoke to me about my results. He showed me a drawing of my heart, and the offending narrowing’s in my arteries. Not one as I had expected, but several restrictions, one in particular on the upper left hand side of my heart was, and he did not mince his words, potentially fatal. The medical staff on the ward did not want me to go home, they were eager for me to stay in hospital for a bypass operation to be carried out as soon as possible. I was dumb struck, as you can imagine, this could not be happening to me, I guess I was in denial. I could not think strait, I just wanted to go home. The nurses rallied round my partner, trying to get her to convince me that going home was not in my best interests. I was having none of it, rather selfish of me on reflection. Why, because my partner, now acquainted with the facts of my condition, would have to endure the possibility of me popping my clogs at any moment prior to my operation, Anyway, I got my way as usual and discharged myself, its strange thinking back to that journey home to Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire. I still could not believe what I had just been told, and continued to do so right up till my operation in March. It is true what they say, when you have been given devastating news about your health, you do go through a set of emotions, denial, anger and eventually acceptance. I experience all the above, to be confronted with ones own mortality is a great leveller and it must be said, bloody scary. The Symptoms Unbeknownst to me, for sometime I had been happy going about my life with an undiagnosed under active thyroid. This little blighter slowed my metabolism down so much as to raise my cholesterol levels dangerous high, 10.7 to be exact. This of course, encouraged build up of fatty deposits in my coronary arteries thus sealing my fate. Years of smoking did not help matters either. Did you know, that with every drag on a cigarette you take, tiny blood clots are formed which thicken the blood and cause the arteries to fur up. Anyway, before the thyroid problem was discovered, I used to get a slight discomfort in my chest when I took any exercise. Normally I could work through this and it would go away within a few minutes. However, when I began taking thyroxine (thyroid medication to correct my thyroid problem) the pains got much worse and took much longer to subside. This was because my heart was working as it should do and not in a permanent state of slumber. Well the rest as they say is history. Went to see GP, got referred for tread mill tests, got referred for angiogram, got referred for bypass…all jolly good fun. The Operation I won’t bore you with the physics of a bypass operation because you have probably had it all explained to. What I will tell you is, it is not the nightmare you are probably expecting. Yes, there is some pain and discomfort, there’s bound to be, this is one hell of an operation, don’t despair though it gets better, promise. I know you are worried, hell who wouldn’t be, but the bottom line is, you are going to be a whole lot better than you are now. After the operation I am now able to do things that were unthinkable before, like walking for any distance, cycling, in fact just generally having my life back again. Oh, and being able to have sex without having to stop half way through, embarrassing or what. To finish this ramble, if you would like to contact me with any questions I will do my best to put your mind at rest. Have your operation and look forward to a new you. Keith You are here: Home >> Your Stories >> Keith's Story |
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