Astronomy withdrawal already

[cometcatcher]

Well this is boring. Where's all the telescopes in hospital? Angiogram, 3 hours on the table, 2 stents and a marathon effort by the cardiologist. Glad to be alive at least.

[Mav]

Hope you have a speedy recovery and can get back into Astronomy very soon Kevin.

[glend]

Yep, been there just a few weeks ago. Three stents over a few days. Angioplasty is great, I can't complain at all. The Australian medical system worked perfectly for me, from ambulance to discharge everything worked the way you would hope. Take comfort in being hooked up to those machines, there are nurses watching them. Best of luck, and go to Cardiac Rehab, I just started mine. You will have a new drug regime for life.
Cheers
Glen

[LewisM]

All the best Kevin - after a major BP issue myself 2 weeks back, I know the feeling. I got so frustrated I discharged myself. Shocked the hell out of the family when I walked through the door :lol:

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Mav.
The Cardiologist was very happy with the job Glen. But troponin levels a bit high after the angiogram so staying in a bit longer. What's another couple of pills a day if they keep us alive. I didn't know they did stents over a few days. Better than cabg anyway, though we may end up needing that eventually.

[cometcatcher]

They probably thought you were a ghost Lewis!

[FlashDrive]

Get Well Kev .... I've been there !!

[cometcatcher]

Thanks Col. It seems I've joined the club!

[FlashDrive]

You have indeed ....I'm a member to ...!!

[LewisM]

That is more than enough nudity from you Pops! PUT A SHIRT ON! :lol:

[FlashDrive]

Kevin and I get concessions .... you don't :thumbsup:

[AstroJunk]

Just like to remind you guys that you're meant to be observing the heavens and not trying to get there :eyepop:

Get well soon fellas, the photons will be waiting :thumbsup:

[cometcatcher]

We get a closer look this way Jonathan. ;)

I see you've gone full frontal Col! I'm taking the easy route... for now.

[Hans Tucker]

Yep...join the stent club about two months ago...three stents but thankful the third Cardiologist decided to do the Angiogram after the first two failed to follow through. The blood thinning medication is a pain though...bruising easily.

[FlashDrive]

Does it ever ...!!

[RickS]

Hope you're back imaging soon, Kevin!

[xelasnave]

Hi Kevin
I wish you all the best and happy to hear you are keen to get back into astronomy.
Alex

[Retrograde]

Get well soon Kevin!

[codemonkey]

Whoa, that's no good. Hope you're on the mend and back out under the stars soon, Kevin!

[cometcatcher]

Thanks all! I'll be back at it before I probably should lol.

I'm home. A bit weak and tired otherwise okay. Have to take it easy for a while.

I think the stents went each side of the left anterior descending branch. One side was 90% obstructed. Before stent left and after stenting right. All that work they did on the heart and I just have a little bruising and small cut in my wrist. I watched for 2.5 - 3 hours as the doctor worked his butt off. Absolutely amazing technology and skill to do this. I'm in awe of current medical technology and skill.

[FlashDrive]

This has turned into a ' gory ' thread ....:D

This is where they took the ' long ' vein from my right leg to do my Quadruple Bypass on my ' Ticker '
Yes ... those are 100 Stainless Steel staples ... which bloody hurt :sad: when they had to come out ... with no Anesthetic ( took about 30mins to do ):(

So be nice to me now ...!! ;)

Col...

[Hans Tucker]

2.5-3 Hrs that is long..but I guess every case is different. I had three stents inserted in just over 30 minutes. Agreed..the skill of the Cardiologist, particularly when they opt for the radial (wrist) insertion, is incredible. I was trying to look across to the x-ray monitor to see where the catheter was. Nice bit of post op bruising you have there Kevin.

[Hans Tucker]

Gory as this thread has become I think it is an important discussion to have and I thank Kevin for initiating the thread and sharing his experience. One thing I learnt from my own experience and from the rehabilitation sessions that some people whom have undergone stenting or bypass didn't have symptoms or not the traditional symptoms. My event started with a pain down the right arm which revealed an irregular ECG..it snowballed from their. Lets face it..males are their worst enemy when it comes to health.

[Camelopardalis]

All the best Kevin :thumbsup: hope you're imaging again soon :D

[PCH]

Hey Col,

at risk of sounding dumb and dumber, - so if they remove the vein from your leg to re-use elsewhere, how does the leg continue without what was presumably a fairly important accessory?

[cometcatcher]

I was wondering what happens to leg functionality too. I guess it compensates?

My problems have been there for a while. Started off as stable angina about 8 years ago. I would get mild chest pain at the start of running but it always stopped. It started happening more often and with less exertion. I had a stress bike test 2 years ago but it showed no problem. Earlier this year I found going up two flights of stairs gave mild chest pain so I went back to the GP. Next stress test showed ECG changes. Strangely I had no pain doing it. Next day massive angina attack that sent me to ER and the rest is history.

I am very fortunate not to have permanent heart damage. So if anyone reading this gets chest pain (it can happen in other places too like jaw or back) or shortness of breath (I never had that) please get it checked out. Your life may depend on it.

[FlashDrive]

The Surgeon ' sewed ' up both ends where he cut the vein from.
The body is a marvelous piece of work ... my flow of blood in my right leg is still functioning with other veins still there.

It's a bit like a ' redundancy ' .....others take over when something has stopped working .... bit like a system failure .... and the backup takes over ...eg, Back up Generators at a hospital during a blackout.

People can still live with only 1 lung / 1 kidney ... etc

Col...