Fate, Coincidence or Providence? (pt 1)

Once upon a time there was a girl who grew up, got married, gave birth to a son then a daughter, watched them grow and have children of their own. This girl nursed her son through congenital heart block and life saving, medical ground-breaking operations from his birth and the same for her 4th grandchild too. Then one day after 50 years of healthy life congenital heart block struck again, this time to herself just weeks shy of her 51st birthday! Pretty unusual thing to happen. Random, one might say. 50 years late....fate, coincidence or providence?

The diagnosis

Suffering from tiredness and heart palpitations, high blood pressure and poor kidney function; test after test, definitely nothing wrong with the heart the medics said, iron deficient anaemia is the cause, easily cured. Take some iron supplements, manage the BP with some pills and the kidney function will be managed with the BP being lowered.

 

Sorted!

 

 

 Or not.

 

Feeling less tired, thank you iron supplements, but still feeling heart thumps and unable to exercise, the medics said unfit but agreed to do another ECG with BP 24 hour monitor. 3 weeks waiting time and nurse advises ECG is odd as heart rate as low as 43 beats per minute. But don't worry, off to work, and call in tomorrow with the BP monitor return, the doctor will look at ECG.   

 

Well is 43 beats per minute is low, too low surely.

 

Obviously not.

 

This girl's heart was now in complete heart block she didn't know it, why did the medics not recognise it or at the very least that this was a danger signal and needed urgent attention? Tomorrow came, had the doctor seen the ECG and is it ok? Erm no doctor was off might be next week before she was back. O, ok, can't be serious then , there are at least 6 other doctor's in that practice. As it turned out her doctor was in that day Tuesday 4th November and recognising something wrong faxed the ECG to the cardiology department at the nearby hospital.

A doctor from the hospital immediately rang and asked her to come in for tests, unfortunately she was on the train to the city where she worked. Being then told no get here as soon as you can, tests as an inpatient. Panic mode, what about work, when's the next train home, why as an  inpatient what is the matter, what tests? All these questions raced through the mind. Breathe slow, breathe deep it's ok, it's ok.

Finally at the hospital, hooked up to the heart monitor the diagnosis delivered, congenital heart block, solution simple, an operation to insert a pacemaker.

Just a few days to wait, in bed hooked to a monitor unable to move around  even to get a shower or go to the toilet. But it was only 2 days till the day of the operation arrived. Preparations done, the porter arrived ready for theatre. No, not today the consultant is not happy. So unusual to have a congenital defect show up age 50 needs more tests to rule out any other possible causes. Might be a few weeks yet. Weeks to wait hooked to the heart monitor! Thankfully the consultant knowing the urgency rushed the tests pulling many strings and arranged the MRI scan in just 5 days.

The MRI

Now apparently a heart MRI scan is a big scan lasting about 40 minutes and only done in 1 hospital here. An emergency ambulance was required for transport as the heart must be constantly monitored being so low and in block. Be ready for the worst!

Have you ever had an MRI, scary at the best of times

 

but in heart block

wow

scary indeed.

 Then add to that 2 nurses and 1 doctor struggling to get a line in the vein. Bruised and painful 50 minutes later a line is finally successfully inserted to the hand and then it is off into the narrow, confined MRI tunnel with a heart monitor placed on the chest just to take up more room. One might think that the presence of the monitor would be a reassurance but it isn't, it just invites panic because it is needed.

 

40 minutes is not normally a long time but in a tight, enclosed and confined space with much noise and many breath holds -

 

breathe in,

breathe out and

hold,

20 seconds later,

 breath away,

 it is very long time. And let's not forget after about 30 minutes of this dye is injected through the inserted line, cold running through the blood. All good? No. An unexpected reaction to the dye causes swelling of the face and mouth and lip but hey ho only 5 minutes of the scan to go so please just carry on. Did panic raise the heart rate, it sure felt like a death defying 5 minutes. How do you breathe in, breathe out and hold while your face is swelling like a marshmallow and your heart is about to fail? If 40 minutes seemed long believe it those 5 minutes were just shy of eternity.

Could anything else go wrong? Why of course it could. Let's just sit and wait on an ambulance, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours unable to move form a hard seat hooked to a defibrillator as there was no heart monitors in the waiting area. 4 hours, 5 hours, no food, no water 6 hours  bored, tired, hungry and scared. Scared and worried when the time is so late the realisation that on the eve of heart surgery there will be no time to be with family, to prepare mentally and spiritually for the op except in the dark hours of the night when surely sleep will take over. Finally the consultant authorises a blue light ambulance from the city back to base hospital. The paramedics feel conned it's not an emergency if they have to go that far. Actually they were so ticked off walking was allowed for the first time in a week! and not hooked up to a monitor! Boy did they apologise when the heart monitor was put on in a freezing cold ambulance and the block was apparent.

Fate, coincidence or providence?

Amazing really, timing, being so ill and yet nothing happened, the heart kept going, slowly, very slowly but enough to maintain life and prevent emergency action.

 I was that girl, once upon a time, I am that woman and I say providence, the gracious hand of a faithful, loving and merciful God working in the unseen with perfect timing, strength and grace. I could ask why, did ask why for I knew not the reason and I still know not the why but I know my Creator, my Healer, my Saviour, my God. And I am alive and I am well.