Aortic Dissection
12 April 2006
It was a year ago, April 10th 2005, when life as I knew it came to a sudden end. We were having a blizzard that morning with white-out conditions, not unusual for a Colorado spring storm. It was going to be the perfect day to stay inside by the fireplace, reading a book or playing with our two dogs. I was dressed in pajamas and robe, let the dogs out to play in the snow, tea kettle on the stove and candles burning. My husband Malcolm was outside blowing the snow from our sidewalk as well as our neighbors sidewalks.
It was 9:00am when suddenly, in walked Malcolm saying that he wasn't feeling well and needed to sit down. Told me that he was having severe pains in his chest and thought it might be a heart attack. Then he began to feel dizzy. He told me that the pain was coming from his chest, through his neck, jaw and head. One moment he would be calmly telling me what he was feeling, then he would suddenly be doubled over in pain, the painful expression on his face, his fists tightened, his body stiff. I helped him to a chair, gave him a couple of Bayer aspirin and said I was calling 911. He told me no, we would have to drive to the emergency room because the ambulance would not make it in time.
I was frantic in trying to get dressed, get the dogs in the house, put out the candles and turning off the stove. In the meantime he had gone to our neighbors house to get their 4-Wheel Drive for the trip to the hospital.
The drive was terrifiying as we drove to the emergency room, you could not see the road let alone where we needed to turn off for the hospital. We just guessed where the road was to the hospital and drove up to the door. He immediately jumped out and ran into the emergency room saying that he was having a heart attack. They immediately hooked him up to monitors, gave him morphine and nitroglycerin. As they were watching the monitors one of them said, "he isn't having a heart attack, if he had one it was before he arrived". As they continued to watch the monitors one remarked, "something isn't right". They said it several times.
In the meantime I had called Tom, who is like a son to me and my husband to tell him what was going on and he came to the hospital. They then told me that he was being transfered to Sky Ridge Hospital, an ambulance arrived to take him. We met the ambulance at Sky Ridge Hospital and they began to place him on monitors and ask lots of medical questions. I told them that his mother had died suddenly from an aneurysm and they called for a CT Scan. After the results they came and told me that he was being transferred to Aurora South Hospital. Due to the severe weather conditions Flight-For-Life was unable to fly, so he was transported by Air-Life Ground Transport.
Tom and I are now off to another hospital, we arrived at the hospital before the ambulance carrying my husband. As we were waiting for his ambulance to arrive I remember looking at the clock in the Emergency Room and being surprised that it showed 6:00pm when I thought it was about noon time. At this point I am in shock, and have no clue what is going on. When the ambulance arrived they allowed Tom and I to be with him as he was being transferred from the Air-Life equipment to the hospitals equipment.
Their were lots of doctors and nurses and emergency workers in the room. The atmosphere in the room seemed somber. One of the nurses walked up and said to me, "Don't worry Dr. Propp will be doing the surgery and he is the best".
Tom and I spoke with Malcolm and we told him that we would be there when he came out of recovery and he told me three times to "go home and take care of my buddy". His "buddy" is a 6 year old Lhasa Apso. As we turned to leave the doctor walked up and with compassion and kindness he asked, "You do understand?" I looked into his eyes and shook my head yes. Without saying anything, I knew that my husband might not survive the surgery.
At 6:30pm they took him into surgery and for the next seven hours Brent an emergency room nurse called me every hour from the surgery room to give me the current updates on Malcolms condition. I lived for those calls from Brent and don't think I could have gotten through the night without him.
At 1:30am Brent called to tell me that the surgery was over and at 2:00am Dr. Propp called. It would be a few more hours before I would be able to see him in Intensive Care. Seeing him connected to so many monitors and machines was so difficult, he kept begging me to give him more pain killers. When I first heard that he had an Aortic Dissection, I thought of actor John Ritter. Lucky for my husband that their were so many hero's that day that saved his life. Dr. Propp who I will never be able to thank enough for saving my husbands life, along with with the doctor's who assisted him in the surgery, Brent who called me every hour from the surgery room, the hospital emergency room doctor's and nurses, Flight-For-Life crew, EMT's, the list goes on and on.
Malcolm was in Intensive Care for three days and three more days in the hospital. He wanted to come home so bad, and I wanted him to stay in the hospital so they could take care of him if an emergency occured. A week after being home he was not feeling well, fever, chills, trouble breathing so I took him to the emergency room. Three months later he began having breathing problems, chest pains, high fever and dizziness then he collapsed so I called 911 for an ambulance. He was admitted to the hospital for a few days till his condition was stable. It happened again in October, so I drove him to the hospital (something I would not recommend for anyone), all the while I was driving he kept saying, "I am not going to make it". He again was admitted to the hospital for a few days.
He wanted to go to England during the holidays to see his family, and while we were there he began once again having breathing difficulties, chest pains, vomitting and dizziness. His brother who happens to be a firefighter, was driving the car when we had to pull off the highway and call for an Ambulance. He was taken to the Norwich and Norfolk University Hospital and admitted. He was diagnosed with a stomach infection. When we returned home he began taking antibiodics for the infection.
In March he went to the doctor and he had a incisional hernia and had surgery for that. It has been difficult getting through this past year. Everytime when he starts feeling better, and I start to think that things are getting better he ends up back in the hospital. He was able to complete his rehab at the hospital and hopes to continue with that.
Tonight, 10 April, 2006, we are going out to celebrate his "first birthday" and I hope and pray that their are many more.
Best wishes to all survivors and their families. Will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers.
Discussion, comments, or questions: Janice Spinks
© Copyright 2006 Janice Spinks
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