My 44 year old brother is in ICU. He is being called the miracle patient by the staff. I think it is indeed a miracle that he survived the 7 hour surgery to replace his aortic valve with a mechanical valve and 4 inches of his ascending aorta with Gortex. However, unfortunately, the greatest miracle is that he survived long enough to make it to surgery after 2 trips to the same uncaring doctor at a local emergency room.
My brother Brian's ordeal started this past Sunday when he suddenly developed chest pain, headache, and left leg numbness. He attempted to drive himself to the hospital but couldn't make it and a neighbor called 911. He was taken to a local ER where an EKG was done and I'm not sure what other tests. His BP was low but the doctor attributed that to the fact that he worked out and was in such good physical shape.The EKG was negative so they told him they were sending him home and he should call his own doctor the next day. Brian apparently protested that he was too sick to be sent home and pleaded to be admitted for observation. They refused and sent him home.
My other brother drove him home and Brian was in so much pain that he had to crawl up the stairs to get into the house. My brother took Brian back to the same hospital where he was seen again by the same doctor Again the EKG was negative but they apparently couldn't figure out why his BP was still low so they gave him IV fluids to try to get it up. They never could figure out what was causing the numbness in his left leg so finally told him they thought it was anxiety and that he should see a psychiatrist. They gave him a prescription for a tranquilizer and told him to take Advil. Again they sent him home. Both Brian and my other brother pleaded to have him admitted. They were told in no uncertain terms to leave and it was suggested that Brian be seen at the local mental health center.
Brian did go home, took Advil and the tranquilizers and somehow managed to get through the night, sometimes sobbing with the pain. He made it through until Monday at 5pm when he was able to get an appointment with his regular doctor. I'm not sure what happened but he was sent by ambulance to a different small hospital where he was apparently sedated. When my mother talked to a nurse that night she was told that he was resting comfortably and further tests would be done in the morning. Sometime the next morning a CT scan was apparently done which showed an aortic aneurysm. He was rushed to a larger hospital and sent almost immediately into surgery.
That was yesterday. Today, Brian has been extubated, is sedated but alert and oriented. Even though his whole left side was ice cold from poor circulation when he arrived in the OR, he has no apparent vascular or kidney damage. However, his entire aorta has dissected from what I understand to be the 48 hour period of time from the initial rupture to when he finally had the surgery. Guess nothing can be done about that except ongoing medication and testing for the rest of his life.
I'm worried about how Brian is going to recover, physically and emotionally, but am having a lot of trouble with ANGER at the medical system. I don't know how difficult it is to diagnose aortic dissection but how difficult is it to listen to a patient's desperate cries for help?
Thanks for listening to the story, it has helped me to tell it but now I need to focus my energies away from the anger so that I can be there for Brian as he begins his recovery. Any words of advise on what I can do to help him both emotionally and physically would be greatly appreciated.