[Dupage] Phil Fitzpatrick

[Corrinef]

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Phil, we  truly appreciate all of them and there is something to be said for the power of thoughts and prayers.  Phil is doing well.  He still has another test to undergo tomorrow.  

Saturday we got to Soldier Field for the Avon Walk.  He pulled out the ramp for the truck, set it and climbed up in the back, started to feel dizzy and nauseas. He tried to sit down a minute but that didn't help.  His next thought was to get out of the truck and out of the way so that the gear could be loaded (and not on top of him).  He does not remember getting from the truck to the ground.  He banged up his right hand, and must also have bumped his head and left side slightly.   
 
Basically what has happened is his heart is out of rhythm.  He was in what is called an "A Flutter".  When they brought him to the emergency room on Saturday, his heart rhythm was extremely high and the kind that people can die from. 

 Saturday they spent the day trying different medications to get his heart back into the correct rhythm.  Saturday night it seemed they had found something that would work, it brought it down from about 134 to about 107 but overnight it kept jumping up and down.  He didn't get much rest.  Sunday morning when I got there, he was miserable.  Nauseous and just uncomfortable, they tried a couple of anti nausea medications but they didn't seem to be working.  His blood pressure was dropping and they tried to push more fluids and that's when I got "shoed" out of the room.  The next thing I know there are alarms going off and people are running in from everywhere,  I heard charging and clear and that's when I started to panic.  Of course I was not in the room so I didn't know what happened.  They performed a Cardiovert.  I have no idea about the spelling.  It is usually a planned procedure.  They shocked him with 200 "jewels" (yes, while he was awake, so he felt it) to get his heart back into the proper rhythm.  It is a procedure they were hoping not to have to do but because his heart is stubborn (kind of like the rest of him) and the medications were not working, they had no choice.  It was kind of like do or die. 

Once he calmed down after that he said he felt worlds better.  He had an Angiogram yesterday and it turned up nothing substantial, no bypass surgery or stents were needed, so it is definitely and "electrical" problem.  He had an MRI today, we haven't got the results back but it's basically a pre test to the EP test he will have tomorrow.  Not only is there something wrong electrically, his heart is not pumping the way it should, so they are trying some different drugs to help it work more efficiently.  These are things he will have to take from now on.  The EP test should help the Dr's determine where the electrical circuit problem is.  The procedure they will use will be to give him a twilight, force his heart back into the bad rhythm and hopefully find and cauterize the spot that is the problem.  We are told that if they can do that, there is a 95% chance that this will not ever happen again.  If they can't find it, then we will have to talk about other options.    

All in all he is feeling much, much better then when he went in on Saturday.  He has a great sense of humor (as you all know, although I think this time alot of it is nerves).  He has been in ICU since.  After Sunday morning I did spend that night at the hospital.  Other than that one night I have been driving back and forth into the city and most of you know how I feel about that.  I have done  lot of growing in the past few days...    

I'm sure  you are wondering and no, he had no strange feelings or symptoms before this happened.   

Although some of this note may sound light and be a little tongue in cheek, it is a very serious problem.  This has been a very stressful and scary time for both of us.  So please keep us in  your thoughts and prayers, it would be very much appreciated.   

I'm sure "stich" will be happy to share all his stories of the past few days with you, you all know how he is :)   So, I have left out a few "good" parts.  So humor him a little when you get to see him and hear all that he has been through.   
            
Thank you again for thinking about us,
Cor 


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