Easter

Last Wednesday, my aunt had exploratory heart surgery to see if she needed angioplasty, but ended up with a double-bypass instead.  Fortunately they were able to schedule it the next day, or they would have never gotten her to come back.  I arrived Friday morning and she looked fantastic.  Seriously, if it hadn't been for the scar down her chest, I wouldn't have believed she had surgery.  They even moved her out of ICU that afternoon.

I took my uncle to lunch to celebrate.  Afterwards, he started complaining about a headache, and next thing I know his head was slumped onto his chest and he was completely non-responsive. I freaked out, got the waiter to call 911, and just held onto him.  He was breathing okay, his skin temp was normal, he didn't show any signs of a stroke; I guess he just passed out, although I was sure I was about to lose him.

A few minutes later, he did come out of it, and by the time the paramedics arrived he was fine, just a little tired.  (And bizarrely, the 911 operator told the paramedics my uncle was 2 years old, so they were looking for a baby and instead found an old man who was just fine.)  They were fantastic, though--they checked his vitals and said he was fine, but then one of them suggested they check his blood pressure with him standing.  As soon as he stood, he became nauseous and weak, so they took him to the nearest hospital--which, of course, was the one my aunt was in.

After sitting in the emergency room all day, they decided to admit him for observation, and put him on the same wing as my aunt.  They were literally right across the hall from each other.  It was quite surreal -- and actually quite convenient.

Even more unbelievably, they were both released on the same day.  My aunt was up and around the next day, and by Sunday she was raring to go, although the doctor kept her an extra day to be safe.  My uncle was doing fine but they decided to install a heart monitor, which had to wait until Monday morning, so they kept him, and he was happy to stay.  When he was in the hospital six months ago, all I heard were stories of him trying to escape, but with his wife across the hall he was quite content.  I don't know if that's love or just being needy, but it was sweet.

I was flying out Monday evening so of course the hospital waited until 4pm to release them.  I barely had time to drop them at home, make a quick meal (mostly for myself--greens, black-eye peas and corn muffins have become tradition, and I wasn't going to leave without some) before rushing off to the airport.

So that was my Easter holiday.  I should point out that in England, Good Friday and Easter Monday are both holidays, so I actually didn't take any time off; thanks to Jess I was able to get a last-minute flight without breaking the bank, and of course with them being together I wasn't rushing around, so in many ways it was an ideal holiday.  The only downside was the weather -- it was absolutely gorgeous, about 80 degrees, bright and sunny, the perfect  antidote to the English climate.  Unfortunately, I spent it inside wearing a sweater, because the hospital was so cold.

Now the next challenge is going to be getting my aunt back to the hospital to take care of the blockages in her legs--which was the reason she went to the doctor in the first place.