Don't feel you have to read all of this. Personally, I don't enjoy reading long blogs that go on and on. However, I am recording this experience for me. Call it therapy, if you will. I just want to have it. I think you will find some of it interesting, if only the sculptures, etc. found on the walls at the Cleveland Clinic.
This is the beginning of a venture David and I took on the 2nd of March, 2011. I want to share most of it for anyone who cares to read it, but mostly I am writing this for myself to remember and reflect on the events that occurred. Much of it is intense, but some of the pictures taken and things we did there were just plain interesting. Our trip was for the purpose of stent placement in David's heart. In early November, David started having chest pain, but thought it might be due to esophagus problems he was having in the previous months. He soon recognized the pain for what it was.....angina/blockage. He went to the hospital in Ft. Smith and had another heart catherization. It was then discovered that one of his main bypass grafts from two years ago had closed off. The blockage which had been bypassed before was severely blocked and that was the cause of the chest pain. His cardiologist wanted to try medication, because he felt to bypass the area or do a stent was too risky. After trying three medications without relief, David decided to do an online consult with a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion. After several weeks we heard from Dr. Raymond, and he felt that the area could be stented, so we made plans to go there.
We left from the airport in Ft. Smith and flew to Memphis. The picture below was taken in Memphis not long after take-off. From Memphis we had a two hour wait and then made our way to our destination, the worldwide known Cleveland Clinic, known for their new and innovative procedures, equipment/technology, and excellent physicians.
The Cleveland Clinic is celebrating 90 years of service this year. We were able to view several videos of their long and successful years. The research and development of treatments and technology is amazing to say the least.
We went to the clinic the morning of, March 3, to check in and see the doctor. The lady above was our first contact and she was very pleasant. The clinic runs like clock-work. I would say their method of operation is was very efficient and the wait to see the doctor and then complete the lab work, EKG, and chest x-ray was very short in comparison to others we have experienced. Everyone was very helpful in directing us when and where we needed to be. The doctor was warm, gentle, and friendly. He made us feel reassured. His approach helped to relieve some of the anxiety we both were feeling in unfamiliar surroundings. I would also share at this point that the clinic and the city is the most culturally diverse place we have traveled.
I will talk about the procedures later, but David asked me to take a before and after picture. Now, that he has seen the before he is not too happy that I posted it. I could see a dramatic difference immediately after the procedures. He was really feeling tough by the time we arrived in Cleveland. The eyes tell all, don't they?.....the "window to the soul".
This was a busy area during the week with family, patients, employees, and visitors coming and going. This hallway led to the eating areas and the front door.
This picture was taken on Sunday, the day we left. Notice the human traffic had slowed a great deal. That is David walking out ahead of me. He had his coat and cap on - we were restless by this point and ready to go home.
This area represents the heart center. There was some most unusual and beautiful sculptures, paintings, photographs, and other abstract artwork donated to the clinic. The area hanging down is representative of the human heart and was made with some type of metal or wire. It is huge and hangs from a very high ceiling.
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| Cleveland Soul |
This is a sculpture made from thick stainless steel letter shapes. It is a human just in case you do not recognize it and it is faceless. Below tells the thought and ideas of the artist. I found all of these pieces very thought provoking. I hope you can read the information below.
This is another fascinating piece by the same sculptor. The long strings of stainless steel letters are actually phrases or quotes. Example: A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. (Einstein) I haven't failed. I have found 10,000 ways that don't work. (Edison) The soul of man is immortal and imperishable. (Plato)
No, I could not read any of these....tall wall. Thankfully, they had a sheet listing all of the quotes. Great entertainment viewing these art pieces when you are stressed and have no place else to go.
I have to tell you about this guy. I don't know him, he is just another one of the many people in the clinic. The piano he is playing is located just off the wide hallway. It is an area with seating. One of the days there, a lady was playing a harp. Another time I was by there and the piano was idle, but piano music was playing. We walked by on this day and this young man was playing his heart out. After he stopped everyone near by applauded, myself and David included. It was absolutely amazing. As soon as he finished and the applause started he looked up with a look of, I didn't know anyone heard me playing. He quickly came down the couple of steps right in front of me and said, "Whew, I just had to get that out of my system". And, then he walked briskly away. He was just a passerby, like we were. He was not hired to play. I could not help but wonder about his story. Was he there at the clinic because he had a sick mother, father, child, wife, or grandparent? Maybe he is stricken with an illness and seeking treatment. Maybe he is a donor. I don't know. That experience caused me to pause and think about the many faces I saw there during our short stay, and the hurt and pain many of those people could be feeling. It made me thankful for my family and for the positive outcome we planned to leave with.
This is the waiting room where I, well...where I waited on the morning of March 4, 2011. The heart cath and procedure of placing a T-Stent, identified as three stents, because it opened three branches of vessels was placed in my dear husband's heart. The time in the cath lab seemed long to me, I don't deal well with idleness. Finally, I was called to a small room where the doctor would give me the good news. He did caution that he feared the smaller of the three vessels could possibly close off and that David would need to be taken back in to fix that. A nurse soon came for me and let me accompany him to the floor where he was to spend one night. It was a regular room where I would be comfortable and be able to stay with him. He looked great! His color was back and he was smiling. He was awake, talking and free of chest pain. That is until they transferred him to the bed. They had me wait at the end of the hall until they could get him situated in the bed. After what seemed like a very long time, I decided to go to the room, since they did not return for me. I could see serious distress on David's face and he was holding his chest. I inquired of David, asking if he was having chest pain. He said yes, and it escalated from there. The nurses were working fast, giving IV push medications and bumping up the amount of Nitroglycerin. As a nurse, I could read their faces and his and I knew he was in trouble. I can't describe the fear that struck me and the rambling, anguishing thoughts that rushed through my mind. I did step up beside his bed briefly and tell him he was going to be okay, not sure if I was giving truthful encouragement or not. Very quickly one of the doctors who had helped with the procedure came to his bedside. He said, "we are taking you back to the cath lab and we will take care of you." So, back to the same waiting room I went.
They again called me to the small room where the doctor would visit with me. Dr. Raymond said that David was one of the 2% who have a problem after stent placement....he had shared that earlier, about all of the percentages for various scenarios. They were able to find the problem immediately and fix it. It seems (and I could see it in the pictures of the catherization) the bifurcated vessels still had a small area of no blood flow where they joined. They did some more ballooning of the main vessel and butted another stent up against one of the previous stents placed during the first heart cath and that freed the vessel to have blood flow. Praise the Lord!!!! Once again he was good to go. He is now one up on this heart disease.
I won't even go into the experience of one night in ICU and one night in a hospital room. It was not all a good experience there, but all in all Cleveland Clinic is a special place.
To family and friends, I can't thank you enough for your concern and prayers for us during this experience. We appreciated the calls, text messages, e-mails, and cards.
I am closing now. I have much more to say and more pictures. I have things to tell about our ride to the airport. I surely will have to have a part two. To be continued.
P.S. - I wish I could write like Pioneer Woman and make just a few of the bucks she is making off of her cookbook, romance story/book, and her book signing tours and TV interviews. In the meantime until I get some talent I will just keep writing for me.
LaNell
1 comment:
Wow, this was a hard read. But, thank you for a record. You write very well.
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