The ambulance arrived and the paramedics stopped at the end of the driveway. It's a muddy mess and has been for years. It's been a real thorn in my side. Many, many times my Charlie would order a load of dirt or gravel and that would help things for a bit. But then more rain would come and it would be a mess again. So, the ambulance arrives and the paramedic told me they cannot drive through mud. There were two female paramedics.
They got out of the vehicle, got their equipment and stretcher, and made their way to the house. They approached my love sitting in his recliner and proceeded to get his vitals. They told him he was having a heart attack. They told him they had to get him up and to the stretcher. They told him he would have to help them. He said, "Give me just a minute." Then he pulled himself to the edge of the recliner and with their help stood up. His next words were, "I can't see!" He was totally blind. With their guidance, he shuffled to the front door of the house and down the 3 steps to the stretcher. They got him securely strapped on and turned back toward the ambulance.
I closed up the house, made sure the kids were in the truck, and turned around. These paramedics had my love stuck in the mud on the way back to the ambulance. They couldn't roll the stretcher. I got mad and approached it, grabbing the part by his feet and gave it a huge tug. I don't know where the strength came from, but all of a sudden, we were at the back of the ambulance. They asked which hospital did I want to go to. I said OLOL but that's a 45 minute drive on a good day. The next closest was North Oaks in Hammond, La. I've heard many things about North Oaks but shrugged it off. It's a hospital. How bad could it be? So, I told them to take him to North Oaks as it was the closest ER.
I went back to the Suburban, got it and pulled to the end of the driveway where I sat waiting on the paramedics to do their bit and get on the road. Once they were enroute, I could not keep up with them.
Arriving at the hospital, it was confirmed that my husband was having a heart attack. I was given a few minutes with him, answered a few questions, and then he was whisked out for a heart cath. Over an hour later, the doctor came to talk to me and told me he had 100% blockage in one artery and about 80% in another. They inserted 2 stents and told me that 2 more needed to be done but there was something about his kidneys were reacting to the dye used for the cath. That's how I understood it anyway.
Two hours later, he was in ICU. The first time I was allowed in to see him, I teased him. I told him, "Guess what! You get to go on a diet!" He smiled and turned to the nurse and teasingly replied, "Who is this woman? I don't know her!" I asked many questions and talked to him. Told him I'd called his sisters and older kids. He chastised me saying they didn't need to miss work for this and that his sisters would just worry. He started to argue about getting moved to the VA hospital in New Orleans. We talked about so many other things that I don't remember. The nurses were all around us. I was never able to ask my husband questions. I just signed what they put in front of me. I answered their questions to the best of my ability. I stayed with him for a while. But because I'm a dadgummed rule follower, when they said visiting hours were such and such, I made a point to be there at those times and no different. It never occurred to me that I could have stayed with him the entire time. I could have slept right there the whole time.
I left that night and went home to sleep. I thought about packing him a change of clothes but since he was in ICU, I knew he wouldn't need it until they told me something different.
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