August 11, 2017

• Hello Dear Friends

  I know a lot of us think that nothing bad can happen to us. If anything bad happens, it happens to someone else. This thought process is an ongoing thread in everyone's mind. Physicians are worse. They think nothing can go wrong with them. If there is a slight problem, they think that they can take care of it with the super knowledge that they have.
  I was in the same boat. Meh! Nothing will happen to me. I have taken care of thousands of patients in the 35 years that I practiced. I know all the signs and symptoms! Blah blah and more blah!

  I needed to be put in my place. I needed to come down to ground zero! And boy did I ever!! When I passed out in London and found my face next to the floor, I was confused..."Why in God's name is my face so close to this floor?" Never suspected an MI. NEVER!

  Shows how ignorant physicians can be sometimes!

  Anyway, I had my angioplasty done on Monday. My original appointment was for 6:30 in the morning. I requested a later time, to allow us to drive down to St. Louis (a 2 hour drive without the hassle of traffic).I was given a 9 am time. We (Saadia and Sayeed) reached there at 8:15. The case that was being done at 6:30 got into complications, and it took them 5 hours to finish it. I did not have anything to eat since Sunday night. And that was okay, I just pretended that it was Ramadan and I was fasting!!

  At 1 pm I was told that it would take them three and half to four hours for my case. That means it would be close to six before I get out of the catheterization lab, and then I would have to wait for two to three hours in a state of immobility, before I could have my head raised up to eat some food! I just resigned myself to that fact and tried to be cool with it.

  I was wheeled in around 1:30, and was given all kinds of medications etc. It was really cool watching and hearing the surgeons conducting their procedure. Really cool. After about two hours I asked Dr. Lasala, how everything was going, and he said, "Oh Dr. Ali, we are almost done. You had more than one blockage. We have put stents and opened the vessels up, and dilated some narrowing elsewhere. He had a surgeon flown in from Chicago to do the tandem procedure, going through both the femoral arteries. One of them went through the patent collaterals on one side and the other went through the main vessels... anti and retro grade flow.

  I saw the CD later, and where as there were blocks where the dye couldn't go before, now with the stents in the way my blood danced its way in the open artery; reminded me of a mountain stream. So alive and full of vigor.

  I was exhausted, physically and emotionally the next day and slept almost the entire day. The children brought food and forced me to eat something, and then I was back in bed. Yesterday was a slightly better day. Today, I am able to stand straight, and walk all over the house. There are lots of restrictions as to what I can do and what I definitely can not do, for the next seven days, and I have been good about following those restrictions.

  Finally, now that my saga is over, I humbly lower my head with my palms pressed together to thank you, each one of you for your thoughts, prayers and good wishes. All your positive vibes lifted my heart and my spirit. Without your help and support, this arduous emotional journey would have been impossible.

  THANK YOU MY DEAREST FREINDS. BLESSINGS AND GOOD FORTUNE ATTEND YOU.

  • 10:31 am
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