Twists and Turns....who knew where we would be at the end of the year with COVID and so many other things. Who knew Jim would have a heart attack!
That's our big twist of 2021 ....that Jim had a heart attack on Wednesday, November 17.
Fortunately, we have an ambulance station minutes away on Malcolm Island and our amazing, well trained paramedics are friends and neighbours. Nat and Tyler arrived quickly, checked Jim's vitals and made Jim as comfortable as possible while they strapped him in the gurney and wheeled him to the ambulance. Nat radioed ahead for a water taxi to meet the ambulance at our harbour docks. Jim was given extra oxygen and an IV gravol drip just before the 20 minute crossing. When they docked he was quickly loaded into another ambulance and transported to the Port McNeill Hospital. Two well versed doctors took charge, aided by amazing ER nurses. They ran tests, started IV drips, tried nitro under the tongue, etc. then contacted the on-call cardiologist at a hospital in Victoria to talk about Jim's condition and - yes - he had had a heart attack. In retrospect, Jim realized that he had had a similar but less intense pain in his middle chest two days before but he just went to bed. It's likely he had a heart attack then too.
Time was critical. Both doctors knew he had to get to the Jubilee Hospital in Victoria within 48 hours but sooner was better. They requested an airlift the next day but unfortunately this all took place at the same time as the unprecedented flooding in Abbotsford, the shutdown of the Malahat because of erosion and the sinkhole near Lantzville north of Nanaimo. Emergency crews, extra helicopters and emergency airlift airplanes were already stretched across southern BC and Vancouver Island. Nursing staff did what they could; Jim was kept comfortable for 2 nights then flown from Port Hardy to Sidney and rushed to the Jubilee Hospital on Friday, November 19 where they performed an angioplasty and inserted a metal stent into his artery.
On Thursday and Friday morning Jim could only rest and wait for his flight. I still had to drive to Victoria! Jim and the doctors pushed me out the hospital exit door at 10:00 Friday morning, a couple of hours before his emergency flight. The sinkhole detour at Lantzville was 3 hours and 40 minutes long! It took me 8.5 hours to get to Jim's brother, Peter, and Kathleen's home in Ladysmith. I was tired but after some sleep I was back on the road at 7:30 and with Jim at the hospital by 9:30. The next few days were spent in Jim's hospital room, resting when he wasn't walking laps around the ward. He improved slowly each day while doctors monitored his progress and adjusted various meds he is now on daily. Our good friends, John and Nancy Davy, opened their home to me and then welcomed Jim 5 days later when he was released from hospital. Though we didn't make Jim's condition known to most, we so appreciate all the love and support we felt from those who knew what we were going through. We both felt the white light and love sent through positive phone calls, texts and messages.
Jim is recovering well now. There have been few adjustments and we're work with his doctors to fine-tune his various meds to stabilize his blood pressure but it is getting better day by day. When he is feeling well he is working in the garden or the bathroom drywalling or doing a bit of carving on a section of the closet or he's researching seeds for the 2022 garden. We walk lots and he has adjusted diet and eating habits, ensuring his body is healthy and building back strength and endurance. We see great things in 2022, including our 30th wedding anniversary in August. Life is good.
Enjoy our assortment of winter Sointula shots. Happy 2022!
Tricia and Jim
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