Firstly, I have to say thank you to my truly amazing husband and daughter for their support during the last
week and a half. I would never have coped without them. To my step children who are so far away, thank for your continued online support. It also means so much to me.
For the last few months, my life has been planned. I was going to travel from Port Hedland to Perth towards the end of July as I am scheduled to have a knee replacement. This is due to the damage done to my knee over many years and the effects of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).
However, life - particularly my life does often work out like it should.
June 21:
My day started as any other day would. Later I wished my aunt and cousin-in-law happy birthday on-line. Went shopping in the afternoon for a few items of food that we needed. When I got home, I felt feint, so I sat for a few minutes before unloading the frozen items I had purchased. It was then I noticed the sharp pain in my chest. I tried to lay down to see if it would ease. I even had an antacid as it kinda felt like heartburn. After 30 minutes of the pain not going away, I called my husband. Fortunately he was in the office and not down track. He was able to leave immediately and come home. When he arrived, he asked where I wanted to go and I said Hospital. He rushed me to the South Hedland Emergency where I was admitted almost immediately. The ECG did not show any major changes to my heart beat, but to be safe, I was given blood thinners and a blood test was done. The blood test showed that I had had a heart attack. I was admitted to the hospital and informed that I would be flown to Perth the next day by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). My husband did not leave my side until I was admitted and then he went home to get me pj’s and medication that I needed that the hospital did not have. He returned and stayed with me for as long as he could. Saying goodbye was hard. I did not want him to leave.
22 June:
I was woken fairly early and told I was definitely flying to Perth and that I was first on the list to be transported. Based on this information I told my husband to get on to the early commercial flight from Port Hedland to Perth. As he was about to take off at 09:00, I was collected from the hospital and taken to the airport in an ambulance. 9.6km. I was then handed over to the RFDS. The nurse who was to escort me was really great and did everything in his power to make sure I was comfortable and that I was not in any pain.
Then began the journey from hell. I was strapped into a really small stretcher and hardly able to move unless I was sat up by the nurse. We flew from Port Hedland to Carnarvon. 715km. At Carnarvon we refueled and flew to Shark Bay. 117.63km. In Shark Bay we collected another patient for transport. We then flew to Geraldton. 332km. At Geraldton, both of us were of off loaded from the plane and we waited for a second plane to arrive. I was then transferred to the second plane. We then flew to Moora to collect another patient. 247.16km. Once the patient had been collected we then flew to Jandakot Airport in Perth. 162km. We landed at Jandakot at 17:10. I had been in transit for 8 hours and 10 minutes. And yet my journey was not yet complete. I still had a 25 minute trip in the ambulance to get to Royal Perth Hospital. 24km.
Fortunately I had already been assigned to a bed, so I did not have to go to the ED. I was taken straight to the Coronary Care Unit. I was seen by a Cardiologist that evening. The best sight of the day was my husband and daughter walking past the window of my room and walking into my room. Getting hugs from them was the best feeling ever.
My poor husband, who landed at 11:00, had to wait another 6 hours before he could get into a car and come and visit me. It was really stressful for him too. Thank goodness I was able to keep him updated throughout the day as to where I was and what was happening. My daughter did an amazing job of tracking my flights on the computer which helped ease my husbands concerns.
Distance travelled by ambulance : 33.6km
Distance travelled by air : 1573.73km
23 June
I saw more doctors and had more discussions. It was agreed that I would have an echocardiogram done before the angiogram. Both were inconclusive. After further examination of the angiogram it was concluded that there had been a blockage in a branch off the artery that had already has a stent and that the blockage had disappeared. The angiogram was really painful as they went through an artery in my wrist. I had to wear a compression sleeve for over 2 hours. I have some really lovely yellow bruising from it. Again the highlight of my day was seeing my husband and daughter. Without them, I would have gone crazy. I was woken every 4 hours, day or night, to have ob’s done.
24 June
Saw various doctors again and it was decided that I needed a cat scan and a MRI. After the cat scan results, the doctors decided that a MRI was unnecessary and I could be discharged. Coming home to my daughters house and being able to lay down on a comfortable bed and easy my aching body was a huge relief. Having my husband hold me without any wires getting in the way was a balm to my soul.
30 June
Still in Perth. I was not able to fly for 6 days after I was discharged. We are flying home on Monday. My husband and daughter have been my rock. They have kept me sane and fed since I was discharged. Thank you both for doing so much for me.
