Cardiac Arrest

Received a phone call from Aunt T who informed me that my dad (grandpa) may have had a stroke and was being sent to the ER. I told her I would make arrangements and be there ASAP. That meant catching the 4:00 pm bus back to Utah County and then throwing items in a bag to head to Cody. Prior to getting on the bus, I was able to speak with the doctor in the ER. He stated that grandpa's heart doesn't want to work and is not responding to the medication provided. He stated that he is currently being externally stimulated to keep his heart pumping. The plan was to contact St Vincent Hospital in Montana and fly him there for a pace maker implant. I gave authorization and then identified my older sister would arrive in about 1/2 hour and she could sign any forms he required.

Aunt T was able to be with Grandpa as they prepared him for his flight. She reassured him that she was there and that I was on my way. Aunt T reported that it was sad to watch the external stimulator function because Grandpa was so weak that it would cause his arms to flail and his whole body to jerk. She said he looked really bad. Without the external pacing, grandpa's heart beat would fall to 29 bmp. He was on sedatives to help him relax. By the time Aunt T arrived in Montana 2 hours later, the procedure was complete and he appeared to be on the mend. By the time Brian and I arrived the next day, he looked pretty weak and shaken. Aunt T stated that he had been in a recliner most of the day so he was pretty exhausted. Brian and I were only able to stay for a couple of hours before Grandpa was ready to sleep for the night.

We returned the next morning and he was still sleeping. We waited about an hour and returned to his room to find him awake. He looked a lot better than the night before! The doctor came and suggested he stay another day so they could shine him up a little before returning to the Long Term Care center. I agreed to this. Dad did pretty good throughout the day. He remained sleepy and exhausted, but he was flirting with the nurses, which was a good sign. In fact, I overheard a couple of nurses talking about him and how fun he was. I'm glad he was able to show that side of himself during his stay, because his grumpy side is soooo difficult to handle!

Aunt T returned for the evening and would bring Grandpa back to Cody if the Doctors agreed to release him. Brian and I returned to Cody where we had reservations which had been arranged but kept changing when Grandpa was life flighted to Montana.

We met Aunt T and Grandpa at the local restaurant for dinner. Grandpa was grumpy. Grumpy in the manner that he was either tired, in pain, or his blood sugars were crazy. He takes it out on everyone, but particularly on Aunt T.

We then took him to the Care Center and readmitted him. Of course then he wanted to go to Walmart! So we took him out there and then drove him across town so he could look for the women he likes. He couldn't locate any of them so we took him back. By the time I checked him back in to the center and returned to his room, he was stripping down and gettig ready for bed. The next day, he didn't feel good at all. I told him he probably over did it the day before. The long drive, dinner, and walmart were likely too much. But tonight he expects to go to dinner with his ex-wife. He said if he gave her a kiss, she might take him to dinner and then he asked what I thought about that. I told him it wasn't a very good bargain!

Grandpa's room-mate informed us that he was in the bathroom when Grandpa collapsed. Grandpa was having a breathing treatment when he started having difficulty breathing. He stood up and fell forward onto the bed. A nurse in the next room, heard the problem and called for help. They moved Grandpa to the floor in case they needed to do CPR. Grandpa vomited at that time. The EMTs arrived and transported Grandpa to the ER. Nevin, Grandpa's roommate was stuck in the bathroom the whole time because they were working on Grandpa right in front of the bathroom door. Nevin thinks he probably had to wait 10-15 minutes before he was able to come out. He made a good joke about having better reading material next time he uses the restroom!! Nice guy! We told him Grandpa was doing much better but he is grumpy, he responded with, "well, he's always been that way!" Nevin has known my father for many years as they both started at Marathon oil approximately the same time in the 1950s.