Thanks for visiting, RAS and Lyndzie
So...it's been a week and no lie. On Sunday I worked a five hour shift at my PT job. 3:00 - 8:00 PM. Got home about 8:20 and Wylie was chilling at home, TV on, really mellow. I figured I'd watch some TV or listen to a podcast, but Wylie said "I need to talk to you"... I sat up and paid attention. He told me he'd been feeling sick and had vomited twice. I was just starting to say "Yeah, I've been feeling stomachy, too" when he said "Now my chest feels really heavy and my left arm hurts"
Yes, my husband had a heart attack. Left Anterior Descending artery. 100% blockage. AKA "The Widow Maker" According to a google search, outside of a hospital setting, the survival rate for the Widow Maker heart attack is 12%. In fact, he told me after his cath procedure that he almost just went in to lie down, since he'd been feeling barfy. Man. That's how my uncle died. Felt tired and a little sick to his stomach and went to lie down. 30 minutes later his wife found him dead on the bed.
when I consider what the outcome might have been, if I'd been a little later getting home, or if he had just gone in and laid down OMG.
All the doctors told us that our quick action getting him to the hospital so fast literally saved his life, and prevented heart failure. There is damage to the muscle, but it isn't destroyed. I'm so glad he didn't die.
He's back home now. Went in on Sunday, and discharged on Wednesday. He is very open to being educated in low fat, low sugar, low sodium eating but is still not willing to cut animal protein
I'll wait and see what the cardiac rehab people say about added refined fats. They were already feeding him a low fat, zero refined sugar diet in the hospital. Zero refined sugar because he is also pre-diabetic. *sigh*
Meanwhile, two different doctors advised plant based...one was the ER cardiologist and the other was the tech doing the echo cardiogram the following day...in fact, that guy and I had a lovely visit about the book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease while Wylie was getting a very cool looking ultra sound done. Kinda fun, talking about curing the very heart disease they were studying, on the very patient that HAD said heart disease...and he can't get up and walk away
I don't know if he'll ever go fully meatless, but he is seeing the value of adding vegetables to his plate, and pondering how to eat without lots of processed crap. That's a step in the right direction.
The other tests he had over his four day hospital stay indicate a 30% blockage in the right artery, and further down towards the tips of both the L and R arteries indicate 10% and 20% blockage. Cardiac rehab starts next Wednesday, where he'll get some education about his food choices, exercises, etc.
So that's where I've been.
My own eating has been mostly on target, though I did have some oily vegetarian sides at the hospital cafeteria for lunch on Monday. Other than that, I either didn't eat lunch, or brought along potatoes and raw veggies. That's how I spent the first half of the week.
Then, on Wednesday evening I got a call via Messenger. Wylie was home and we were relaxing, and out of the blue a good friend whom I met through the DDPYoga chat room calls up. It was so nice seeing his face and talking for a bit. He's beat all number of ailments: stage 3 cancer, obesity, and now Type II diabetes. I needed to talk to him, because he's always just done whatever needed doing, to get to the best possible health. I needed to hear about staying disciplined and being tenacious, doing what CAN BE DONE to be healthy and not fall into an unhealthy old age.
I set myself a challenge on Thursday morning...10 days following the Rice Diet guidelines (which is really MWL with measuring portions) and let's see what kind of poundage I drop. If it is substantial, I'll go to 30 days. Let's pretend that I'm the one with heart disease and I can save my own life by being strict with my food, or I can eat all kinds of treats and cheats and poison myself some more and die. Can I pretend that?
Anyway. That's why I haven't posted until today. Busy sitting around in the hospital with my still alive old man.