Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2003. Mattie was a year and a half old. Though Mattie did not quite understand the notion of Halloween yet, he and I went out to look for something holiday-ish! Mattie liked shopping in only three stores. So we went to one of them and I saw this cute pumpkin sweatsuit. Mattie gravitated to orange and pumpkins, so this was the perfect find. Mattie also did not like anything scratchy or tight, so this outfit was soft and cozy! Right up his alley!
Quote of the day: There is nothing so agonizing, or so dangerous, as a memory unexpressed, unexplored, unexplained, & unexploded. Grief is the grenade that always goes off. ~ Amanda Gorman
Never a dull moment at my house. I got up extra early today, because the nurse helping with my dad's pressure sore care came over at 9:30am, before I had to take my dad to his memory care program. When she arrived she took his blood pressure and heart rate, and at rest, my dad's heart rate was 103. Keep in mind that the normal range is 60-100 beats per minute at rest. This was the third time this week that this elevation occurred. While my dad was at his memory care program, the center contacted me to let me know that his heart rate at rest was 113bpm. So one elevated number, to me, would be a fluke, but three times made me pause.
After the nurse left, I called my dad's cardiology office and spoke to a nurse. I explained the issues and she asked me to send data from my dad's pacemaker to the clinic! This is very easy, as I can do this from my phone! But then she suggested my dad may have a urinary tract infection and that he get a urine test. Sounds easy.... but doing this with my dad is anything but easy. First I would have to get a script for this, then I would have to take him to a testing center, and trying to catch urine with someone who has dementia and is incontinent is close to ridiculous. I told this nurse that I thought this test would be meaningless, because my dad has a huge kidney stone and if you assess his urine, it always gets flagged as having a problem.
I found this call with this particular nurse frustrating, so I then contacted my dad's primary care provider. He agreed with me, that my dad most likely doesn't have a urinary tract infection, but the doctor was concerned by the elevated heart rate and said that someone needed to see my dad today to evaluate him for afib and arrythmia. So I called the cardiology office back and spoke to a second nurse. I told her what my dad's primary care doctor said and told her I needed an appointment today. She did comply and gave me a 2:30pm appointment. The location of the office she sent me to is my least favorite because parking is horrific! From past experience, I knew I had to take Mattie's wheelchair with me because there is no way to safely move my dad around at that complex. Truly getting my parents into the medical building and up to the office was taxing. I can't tell you how many strangers just come up to me out of the blue and tell me.... I am an angel and they literally are looking for my wings! This isn't a one time occurrence either. I say this because what I am balancing is overwhelming that even people just casually observing me.... GET IT!
Any case, after an EKG, an exam, and a discussion, my dad is fine. His pacemaker data revealed nothing alarming! I could have just ignored all the data presented to me this week about my dad's elevated heart rate, but I didn't! Because with my dad I never know if there is a serious medical concern or just a false alarm. I am thankful today was a false alarm, because the notion of spending more time in a hospital, running back and forth from home and advocating for his care, is beyond me right now.
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