The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsHey everybody.. I'm home!!
Your response was truly overwhelming and warmed my heart to the point of making me feel so much better..
For everyone here (most of you) who know more than me, the thrombus (clot) is in the right brachiocephalic artery. It's not huge but big enough.
I did not want to have surgery so we are treating it with anticoagulants.. I had was given intravenous heparin for 24 hours and a new CT scan showed the clot had gotten smaller, so I opted for treating it medically..
I'll be at high risk for stroke for a while but surgery has it's own risk and I''m a big chicken.
We are so lucky in Denver to have this large teaching hospital.. the staff was excellent. I don't think there is better care here. Most all the local hospitals are corporate now..
Many thanks to my DU family for being there for me.. I owe you all a beer or two and I love every one of you.
Just want to add... ambulance crews are underpaid.. They were so good.. and advice for all, don't ignore symptoms of A-fib like I did..
UpInArms
(55,756 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)so good to be home..
question everything
(52,776 posts)I wonder whether there is a foundations dedicated to assist the ambulance crews.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and I will look into that for ambulance crews..
SheltieLover
(83,339 posts)I'm so happy for you!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)debm55
(62,812 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Deuxcents
(28,518 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)sheshe2
(99,320 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)gademocrat7
(12,109 posts)Take care.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)surfered
(15,485 posts)I occasionally drove them to Drs in Denver.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I love it too and lived in the mountains for 30 years. left because I couldn't breathe anymore and winters were brutal.. not so bad with climate change.
Grim Chieftain
(2,448 posts)I am so very happy for you! Please take care and do something special for yourself. You deserve it.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and yes, I think I do too.
Solly Mack
(97,590 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)70sEraVet
(5,819 posts)"There's NO place like home!"
Thanks for the hopeful news!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)calimary
(91,783 posts)Youre back home - and posting updates right here!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)What an experience!
hatrack
(65,472 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Feels good to feel good.
AllaN01Bear
(30,342 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Yes, lots of new meds..
MIButterfly
(3,703 posts)It's great to have you back and I know you're happy to be home. I wish you the best in your recovery and I hope you feel better and better every day.
Take it easy, get some rest and take good care of yourself.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and I will
Scrivener7
(60,499 posts)Sounds like you have it on the run, though.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I'm sure gonna try!
seta1950
(976 posts)They are underpaid, we are overcharged.
Im glad youre home 🥰
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Thank you!
3catwoman3
(30,411 posts)I went to nursing school at the University of Rochester, in the city of the same name, in western upstate NY. It was and still is a major medical center.
It forever set my standards for what good health care is, and I will never, ever be willing to live anywhere remote or underserved.
My master's is from the U of Colorado. I love Denver and the surrounding area. I often wish we still lived there.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Very good experience, except for the being sick part.. great people..
FakeNoose
(43,449 posts)I'm in Pittsburgh where we are lucky to have some wonderful teaching hospitals. It's a great feeling, knowing they are there for all of us. Be sure to listen to your doctors and follow their orders.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and I will..
CaliforniaPeggy
(157,447 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Hope you're doing well also..
TBF
(37,885 posts)and pace yourself (best advice my cardiologist gave me!). So glad you're ok.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and I will.
raging moderate
(4,641 posts)How wonderful that you have recovered so quickly!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)not exactly recovered, but managing and know what I'm dealing with.. The doc said it was a good sign that I came out of the A fib by myself..
Figarosmom
(15,308 posts)Don't cut yourself or anything. It's just till the clot goes away. Be very careful. Glad there was a way to avoid surgery.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)It'll be a challenge.
PatSeg
(54,300 posts)Nothing like a hospital stay to make one appreciate being home!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)yes, good to be home
applegrove
(134,212 posts)Warfarin he never had another issue. Had to get regular blood tests.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and thank you..
hamsterjill
(18,109 posts)Which we all need, right? I'm glad you are on the mend. Like you, I share the "chicken" part when it comes to medical issues and I think your decision was a good choice. People who don't understand the anxiety don't get the "fear" that comes.
Wishing you all the very best...and YES ambulance crews are underpaid.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I'm comfortable with it and the doctors didn't push it, I was glad for that..
niyad
(135,950 posts)complete, recovery and healing.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I'm working on it..
LoisB
(13,849 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)cate94
(3,141 posts)Get well soon, completely!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)mwmisses4289
(5,394 posts)Here's to a speedy recovery!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)murielm99
(33,189 posts)I am glad for you.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Modern medicine is amazing!
KS Toronado
(24,418 posts)that or I forgot, been doing a lot of that after my chemo. Glad your home and currently don't need surgery,
hope you stay that way.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I thought of you often and all you've been through. quite inspiring.. you hang in three!
HeartsCanHope
(1,836 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Clouds Passing
(8,246 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)area51
(12,818 posts)So glad to hear you're doing better.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I sure am...
MiHale
(13,332 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)MaineNative
(111 posts)You were in good hands. A lot of positive energy is focused on you. I was one of the folks who ignored A-fib like a ding-dong. I felt it while running a couple of years ago, but kept ignoring it, and then the clot happened. It made its way to my brain and dropped me like a 130-pound weight. I felt like I was in the middle of the Pink Floyd song "Comfortably Numb." My partner watched this and totally freaked out. She was speaking Spanish to me (her first language), trying to get me to come around, and it all started to make sense as I came out of it. I am not fully fluent in Spanish, lol, but we've been together almost 38 years.
I went through similar care, although I am now on Eliquis and a statin. Maine Medical has a separate ICU for strokes (I had a TIA), and they took great care of me via the VAs Community Care Network. I've had 4 CT Scans and an MRI. Surgery is a hard decision. I see my cardiologist in a couple of months, and I am sure we'll discuss the ablation option, but it freaks me out. We are sending positive vibes your way!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)and thanks for opening up about it Funny, the doctor said I've had it for a while cause the signs are there.. Yes, I have had episodes that I totally ignored, as I tried to ignore this one, but an hour of extreme chest pain convinced me to tell my husband to call 911. Heart rate was 151.. went up to 200 during the ambulance ride. The good news, I came out of the A fib on my own in the ER.. So feeling so much better, I was stunned whtn the doc came in and said, we're admitting you.. Yikes! I was in trouble and it was just sinking in.
The care I got, holy cow, it was outstanding.. not to have surgery after all the tests and knowing everything, was my decision but my team of doctors approved.. In three days, I had 3 CT scans. What an experience, right? So lucky we had good, competent care.
all the best to you MaineNative.. I love Maine, visited a few times when I lived in CT.. would love to return.. Stay well and don't fall down!
malaise
(300,250 posts)Last edited Wed Jun 24, 2026, 12:35 PM - Edit history (1)
as you recover
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)some_of_us_are_sane
(3,986 posts)
WELCOME HOME! I wish you happiness and hopefulness...those two will stand you in good stead!
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Thank you
marble falls
(73,741 posts)... of this little setback.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Be gone clot!
underpants
(198,086 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Ilsa
(64,854 posts)Mountain Grammy and all of DU!
So glad you are on the mend.
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(184,955 posts)I would also be nervous about surgery. Take care of yourself
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)I will. You too!
electric_blue68
(28,212 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Thank you.
Evolve Dammit
(21,870 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)Evolve Dammit
(21,870 posts)AllaN01Bear
(30,342 posts)mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)We were driving through the city, no sirens, in rush hour traffic.. the attendant in the back started an IV and kept an eye on me and the monitor all the time asking me how I felt, the pain was coming and going. He looked up at the monitor and said to the driver "turn on the sirens.." all the time talking to me and the ER. My heart rate zoomed up to 200! Yikes!
Much love to all you paramedics and ambulane crews out there.. and to you, AllaNO1Bear.Be well!
AllaN01Bear
(30,342 posts)very helpful .
mountain grammy
(29,448 posts)just hardly ever use it.. I'll start doing that a couple times a day.