The traveling part of our journey is finished now but we are still a long way off from coming home. Earlier this week, we embarked on a most unexpected journey...to the hospital. On Wednesday morning, Russ had some localized pain in the center of his chest. What we thought was a really bad case of heartburn turned out to be a heart attack. Actually it may have been both, an esophagus spasm and a confirmed myocardial infarction on the left anterior descending artery.
You can imagine our shock. That this happened to my healthy, young, (good looking) husband seemed impossible to believe. Right now, he feels fine. He is at Medi-clinic, the best hospital in Namibia, and has a good doctor attending him. While he has been in the ICU for the past few days, he was moved to a private room in another ward which has been great! He is not tied down to monitors and the doctor encouraged him to sit in a chair, go for short walks and shower.
We’ve cancelled our flights. Good news is that Russ’ heart rate has become more regular, and the echo cardiogram showed positive signs. We are waiting for the ECG to settle down and also his blood tests. We are in contact with a cardiologist in the States and my Uncle Jim, who confirmed that the treatment is on the right path. Before we can fly home though, we will most likely need to go to South Africa to see a cardiologist, of which there is none here in Namibia. There they will determine if he needs a stint. It is also cheaper than we could ever expect in the States, where we might even have to wait a long time to see a specialist.
We are thankful that this happened here in Windhoek, where the medical care is some of the best in Southern Africa. It is also the closest thing to home outside of the US. There have been several people who have helped us out. Initially, I was staying at a guesthouse where the owner made Russ food (the hospital initially was giving him bacon and eggs!), did our laundry, and then there was the constant internet access. At the beginning of all of this, there was also a doctor here and he was instrumental in getting Russ admitted. Now I am at our friend Libet's place. She is just up the street from the hospital, a good listener and a great resource. The sisters (nurses) have been really nice, and the doctor is also one of the best in town, we're told. Even though there is not a cardiologist at the hospital, Russ was able to get the echocardiogram which was really helpful in determining the future course of action.
With the initial shock over, I am doing better emotionally. I am sleeping quite well at night, mostly because I am exhausted. Not eating under stress has never been a problem for me, and I can usually get something at the hospital or the market next door. Russ continues to go between being very scared and anxious to being quite calm about everything. He enjoys hearing from people back home and that always raises his spirits.
Stay tuned! More to come.
Hi Steph and Russ,
ReplyDeleteMy family is friends with Susan and you've stayed at outhouse in NYC before and we've stayed at yours going back many years. Just wanted to say we're thinking of you, and to give you some encouragement. My husband, Robert, had what he thought was indigestion 3.5 years ago while visiting his dad in the cardiac care unit of Lenox Hill Hospital. He was admitted with a 90% blockage of an artery and two stents were put in the following day. He's on a lot of medication, which took some getting used to, but he's doing fine now. There is life after a heart "event," and we wish you all the best. Hang in there! Know it must be hard being far from home when this is going on.