A scare

So, oxygen issues have been settled. I knew that once we saw the pulmonary specialist, no one would continue to talk about taking away nocturnal oxygen. The sidebar on the bed is back where it belongs, by mom's request. :) But Easter was another story. We were scheduled to have Easter dinner and the egg hunt here. She really, really, really looks forward to this, mostly I think because my sister shines and she is so proud. So we got through the Good Friday party with the volleyball crew and the Saturday dinner with the ski trip group. Mom really enjoyed that especially, since she stayed with us the whole time and loved the conversation and being included with the group.

Sunday morning was another matter. She complained of chest pains when she woke up and said she'd been having them since 5:00 a.m. I knew if we took her to the ER, they would keep her, an 85-year-old with chest pains. And they did, complete with an IV line which never had to be used. They did all the requisite tests, including another echocardiogram, and blood tests. Nothing indicated another heart attack and they said her echo actually showed some improvement over December. My sister called it: they had taken her off Imdur, which was controlling her angina pain for a decade or more, and substituted Coreg, a beta blocker which has actually made her heart a little stronger but done nothing for angina.

So now we readjust. It really does take a village, as my friend Bob once pointed out to me. Marianne kept asking about why they'd made the change, but I didn't know enough about each drug at the time to ask. And the fact is that if her own cardiologist hadn't been on vacation in December, it might not have occurred that way. She'll be back on Imdur and Coreg and we'll watch her blood pressure. I have a feeling I'll be learning that long before November when I'm hoping to train for the Normal Physical Exam at Pitt. It will feel good to go in there at that time with that already under my belt.

We need to keep in mind that none of this means she is totally out of the woods. She still has a weak heart and lungs, and still the balance issues. My plan is to hit the balance stuff hard when we return to Keystone Rehab. If she felt more confident walking, she'd feel more confident all the way around. So that's the plan.

We continue to get ready for the cruise. We'll have to finish her packing next weekend, so we may be working around our friends from Queens, who are staying in her house right now. People come and go so quickly here!