As I was wasted when we returned home last night, I thought I would wait until my head was on a bit straighter to write a better update than the reactive one in my personal journal. The news that we’ve just received from Bryon’s mom over the phone is even more optimistic than yesterday’s prognosis.
For those of you who don’t have access to the other journal, here’s what actually happened: Craig was having a stint put in (a fairly routine operation) when the instrument they were using to do it hit a calcium build-up in one of his arteries. It skidded off of that and cut his artery, and then he had a clot, a seizure, he stopped breathing, he was shocked, they put in another stint, he had another clot, yadda, yadda, yadda.
The doctors did the ultimate best they could and kept him from dying. He is in some pain now because of the life-saving CPR and electric shock. However, his heart is good to go. The docs aren’t going to let him go home until he can breath normally (he’s tender, so he’s breathing shallowly), and he can take care of himself (no one is going home scared or worried, they assure him and his wife). He has some good muscle relaxing dope, and he’s coming along.
Yesterday things were kind of tense, and today things are better with better news. Now, we can return you to your regular programming. That kind of excitement we don’t need, except maybe in fiction if it makes sense with the plot and isn’t overwrought.
It is, however, kind of cool that the story has a happy ending, in the face of what could have happened. I used to think it was just Bryon, but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Stump brothers in general are lucky.
It should give you an idea how draining it was when I tell you Bryon and I slept for 11 hours today. Yay.
Catherine
Glad your brother in law is doing well. Yeah, if they had to do compressions, he’s going to hurt for awhile. Having taught CPR back in the day, I always made sure my students knew, “The first compression is the hardest because you’re going to hear sounds. Imagine if you’ve never cracked your knuckles for thirty years, and then you did it all at once.” Plus, you know, doing damage to the sternum, and it’s not unknown to crack a rib. With the defibrillation, there’s some muscle soreness, but that should go away quickly.
The side bonus is you get to crack bar-b-que jokes (when they’re out of the ICU and feeling better), or the Frankenstein jokes (have I ever mentioned I have a particularly dark sense of humor?).
Craig would totally appreciate the barbecue thing.
We’ll wait until Thanksgiving, though.
Catherine