Ap Moment of the day ~ Even the big guys need some AP'ing once in a while.

Or how to get your husband to a hospital when he really, really doesn't want to go....

Today started out as a pretty normal day. Hubby had been home from work yesterday with a rapid heart beat, 240 bpm no less. He has this condition, Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome , which causes his heart to short circuit and start beating very rapidly. He had been taught how to deal with it from a young age, but as he gets older it's occurring more frequently and it seems it's now much harder, if not impossible almost, for him to get it to stop. Taken alone it's not life threatening as such, but the more it happens the weaker his heart will get.

Anyway, the man had been home all Tuesday with it and it had gone on ( unbeknownst to me ) all night long and again through Wednesday morning. I'd talked to him about going in to the ER... but nope, he wasn't keen. I gave it some time, gave him some space to come to the same conclusion in his own time, but nope, didn't happen. I said to him, imagine it was me. Imagine I was lying in bed with my heart racing in my chest, feeling light headed, tired and weak. What would you tell me to do??? Hmm??!?! I gave him until noon. I called the regular doc's office and asked the nurse there what they thought. She said

"Oh, yeah, you have to get your husband in the car and get him to the Emergency Room immediately!!! "

I said to her " Have you SEEN my husband!?!? How on EARTH am I supposed to get that guy in the car by myself?!?! "

It would be like trying to put a cat in a box!!!!

At noon I went in to see him... and he said he was not going in. Sadly I reacted as many of you may have done. I very calmly said to him that I was not his mother and wouldn't be telling him what to do.... ..... then I slammed the door and stamped down stairs. I was so MAD. The crazy guy had to go to the hospital and how on earth was I supposed to get him there myself?!?! I briefly flirted with the idea of calling 911 on his sorry ass ( an idea that had crossed his mind as well... he had apparently listened for sirens!! )but eventually he came to his senses and we both agreed that yes, it was pretty scary, but this had been going on for too long.

I called a friend who came over right away to sit with the kids, then I got the big guy in the car and drove him to the hospital. I wasn't really scared as he wasn't in pain and wasn't clutching at his chest or anything, but it wasn't a great situation to be in. Anyway, we got him to the hospital and we kept getting doctors coming in and shaking their heads, then shaking his hand asking him "HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU BE STILL WALKING AROUND?!?!" His heart rate was as if he had been running a marathon for over 24 hours straight.

The doctors tried all sorts of things to bring his heart rate down, iv drips of various kinds, and it dropped from 219 to 177 where it hung for a few hours. Another med brought it to 166 where again it sat for a few hours more. I mentioned to hubby that all we needed were a couple of candles and we could call this a date! We hadn't been alone this long in ages!!! Of course I thought it was funnier than he did...!! ;D Actually no matter how sick or stressed either of us are, we are usually able to make a joke or two! It's how we deal!! :D

Sooooo he's hanging in there at 177. They had decided that he should remain in the hospital over night so I made some more phone calls about the kids and our friend took them to her house so she could be there when her son got off school. I have to say here I am so proud of my kiddoes for today!!! They really were troopers and were so good despite the circumstances!!! Jessie even made a picture of Black Beauty pulling a hospital wagon with a red cross on the side as a Get Well card for Daddy! ( she's a horse fan!! )

I had considered going to the mall once his heart beat was back to normal as the hospital is right by the mall and hey, I've still got shopping to do!!, but his heart beat just wasn't budging and I didn't want to leave the poor guy alone there until he could at least get some rest, so he and I hung out together and made jokes about his heart rate and tormented the nursing staff. Late afternoon and the "specialist" arrived! The heart surgeon!! Duh Duh duuuhhhh!! He was a really nice man who knew right away to point to me as the boss (!!) and told me to take him in next month for a consultation regarding possible surgery. They were frustrated that his heart rate still hadn't dropped so they hooked him up to an insanely wire~y machine and took a reading of his heart and stuck some wonder drug in his iv. This drug was soooo powerful he could feel it burning as it went in. It only lasts in the body for 10 seconds or your heart will stop... but BOY did it drop his heart beat!!! BOOM!! down to a much more reasonable 84 bpm!!! Phew!!! And he looked sooo much better instantly!! He was back to his old self in no time and the lovely surgeon was convinced enough to let him come home with me for the night rather than having to spend the night in hospital!

To say he was relieved to leave is an understatement!! He called a friend of his and said
"They ain't built a hospital yet that can hold me!!!" LOL!!!

It's odd, an event like that, it can really show you what's important and what's not so much. When we picked the kids up tonight they were thrilled to see their dad, almost, but not quite as much, as he was to see them.