forgive me for sounding scattered

my mother said he had been complaining of pain last night

they both have a cold or flu

so when he complained of body aches, they both figured it was just the flu

he complained of difficulty breathing through the night...

but, again, they thought he was just congested from the flu

he got progressively worse in the early morning and he finally agreed that she call an ambulance
she did...

when she went back to him, his mouth was open, some coloured saliva (she's not sure if his saliva was tainted with some blood or if it was from some cough syrup he had taken) was oozing out the corner of his mouth, his eyes had rolled back, and he stopped breathing

paramedics came, took over, took him to the hospital

this hospital, The Cardiology Institute of Montreal, is fantastic. the doctors and nurses are wonderful, caring, competent, and compassionate

really, i can't say a single bad thing about them and it makes me feel better to know that he's in good hands...

Through all of this, I was asleep.

I woke shortly after 6:00am, went back to sleep, and woke again at about 7:30am. I was lazy about getting out of bed because I had nothing pressing planned. J and I were going to go out for breakfast and then a hike on Mount-Royal with our dog…

my sister-in-law called this morning between 8:30 and 9:00...

she said my mother was at the Cardiology Institute with my father...

that he had stopped breathing earlier this morning and that the paramedics took him to the hospital after they resuscitated him and that he wasn't breathing on his own...

the room began to spin. I cried and then hurried to get ready.

i went to the hospital...

my mother and another sister-in-law were sitting in a waiting room...

they said the doctor had come to talk to them...

his main artery was blocked up...

his lungs were in bad condition...

and they asked if he had any kidney problems (none, to our knowledge)...

he had a heart attack and was STILL in the middle of the heart attack...

and his chances for survival were 50/50

they took him to the operating room for more testing and to see if they could unblock his artery with that balloon thingy

i'm sorry, i don't remember any of the terminology

my mind feels like mush

if that wasn't possible, then surgery was a possibility... although we weren't yet sure if he was a good candidate for surgery

he had remained unconscious since he stopped breathing at home earlier

anyway, the doctor came to see us minutes after we saw him being taken back to his room (still hooked up to so many tubes and machines)...

he said there is one (minor) artery that is VERY blocked and it has been blocked for many years... they can't do anything about that...

the main artery was also blocked up and they were successful in opening it up with the balloon thingy

and that was wonderful news

the lungs have lots of fluid in them, but they are giving him medication to clear that out...

and that will enable them to see if his kidneys are functioning ok

the big question now is whether or not he sustained any brain damage

we won't know that until they allow him to wake

they are keeping him asleep so he can rest and have his heart recover a little for 24 to 48 hours

he is in intensive care unit

after they finished setting him up in his room with all the machinery and stuff, we were allowed to see him

i can't tell you how heartbreaking it is to see him like that

his breathing is being assisted, but it seems like it is laboured breathing

blood pressure was low, but they said that was normal after the procedure

his heart rate was below 30

i placed my hand on his arm...

he was so cold... he was so cold

he's only 74 years old, but he looks about 90

the doctor said he isn't out of the woods yet, but they're happy with the way the procedure went

now he needs some time to rest and recover and then they'll be able to see what needs to be done next

doctor said he'll be in ICU for at least 2 or 3 days

i'm very worried