As you'll know if you read my "tweets" (the most recent of which are visible somewhere along the sidebar to the right), on Tuesday morning my my maternal grandmother had a heart attack. I don't think my grandparents knew for certain what was wrong, but my grandfather finally insisted that she go to the hospital. Fortunately, after Grandpa drove her to there, she was quickly diagnosed and taken in for surgery. They put in a stint in about half an hour (I think) and then placed her in ICU for monitoring.
Yesterday (Thursday), they finally found a free (non-ICU) room for her, and they're keeping her until they feel confident that her heartbeat is properly regulated. I have no idea how long that'll take, but we hope it won't be too many more days, because she's ready to go home! (g)
It's strange how the things you "always hear" often hold true. (Well, not so strange, maybe. That they're true is why you always hear them!) A tornado coming at you in the middle of the night really does sound like a freight train, apparently. Time actually does seem to slow down while you're taking a tumble. And when you first hear that someone you love has been taken to the hospital for a heart attack, it takes a minute or two for the news to sink in. You need time to process it-- and only then do you begin to realize what it means-- and what it could mean.
In this case, we were blessed-- or lucky-- or both. From what I understand, Granny's doctor has classified the heart attack as mild. It appears that no lasting damage was done. There may be more medications in her future-- cholesterol-lowering drugs, maybe even something to help regulate heart rhythm-- but she should be able to go back to her normal way of life and continue to do the things she enjoys. To say that we are all so thankful for that is obvious, but I'm writing it anyway. ;o)
