So…it’s now in the middle of the night…around 2 am and I am tossing and turning a bit…and each time I do….I can tell that Mike is siting up.  The next time I wake up, I notice he’s on his laptop.  I sleep a little bit and wake up to more laptop husband.  So I ask him what he’s doing.  He replies that he is sending something because he thinks he might go to the doctor in the morning and that makes enough sense to me so I again go back to sleep.  Not a restful sleep, mind you…as I am stilllllll hurting.  Still feeling like, “this is bad…this feeling is bad…”

Around 5:30 am…after waking up multiple times and Mike was still awake, I get up and he says he thinks he needs to go to urgent care or ER.  I get ready and we hit the road.  We have a little conversation about where we should go – mostly I believe because he thinks that the fine folks at Baylor Scott & White are going to think we are CRAZY – and I win with the ER that I had just been at.  We know this place…they already have all of our info…and it is about 3 minutes from home.  Winner, winner.

So…I clearly knew what to expect since I just had this same scenario (since even though his shoulder hurt, it was his chest too)….and it was all just the same….until that part where they gave me the 4 aspirin.  When they brought his….they also gave him a nitroglycerine tablet.  I knew what that meant but honestly was hoping it was a preventative measure.  I did not want to hear those words.  We waited in silence for a few minutes for the ER Dr to confirm our fears.

My sweet hubby, with a heart of gold…a heart that I love and that I know without a shadow of a doubt loves me….had suffered a heart attack.

(I can’t even skip this part where after the Dr confirmed this, my sweet hubby said, “Man, I thought I’d be at least 50 before my first heart attack…”  NOT THE TIME FOR JOKING MIKE JONES AND THIS IS NOT A GOAL WE WERE GONNA HAVE!!)

The next couple of hours were a blur of pain meds for him…waiting…his pain returning…and more pain meds.  He was hurting just as bad if not worse than when we first got there.  In the midst of all of this they were working on admitting him and figuring out when they could do the heart catheterization so they could check for what they suspected, a blockage.

He was admitted and it was honestly a whirlwind of people in and out…taking him for tests, blood/lab work, getting him comfortable, me trying to inform his parents and my parents and coordinating MJ getting to school (thank you Jesus for Christian – my helper always!!!) and SO.MANY.QUESTIONS.  From me, I mean.  I have never been through this and I had heard words like heart cath and stent and balloons and bypasses and I just had no idea what to expect.  It was pretty rough, y’all.  Especially considering that I was still hurting.  He was still hurting.  And we just both wanted to SLEEP.

Once his case was reviewed and the cardiologist stopped by it was very clear that he wanted to waste no time getting him in for the cath.  He wanted to take any advantage to lessen the damage to the heart.  We got the word that we had 45 minutes until his procedure.  I had already reached out to a dear friend back home that has been through lots of heart stuff and was texting back and forth with her with questions and thoughts and fears.  What a blessing to have someone who was right there with me…who had walked this walk before.  (I mean, besides Jesus, y’all…becuase HE WAS THERE.)

When the team came in to get him (after I helped him prep and prayed SO hard that they would be able to enter his freshly shaven wrist) I asked them a few last questions – mainly reiterating that they would be able to perform any necessary procedures while they were there.  They took him away, told me where to wait and the wait began.  It seemed like the longest two hours of my life!!  Thankfully, I had technology to help (mostly messages and texts between my mama, my heartfully-challenged-husband-experienced friend and my sweet friend who was going to take care of MJ that evening.

The waiting room was completely empty besides me.  (How often does THAT happen??)  I prayed aloud since no one was there to bother.  I video messaged my friend.  I tried to pass the time by the best I knew how.  My sweet friend (that was taking MJ that evening) also came by to pray with me…which was an amazing gift.  I finally got word that he was back in his room and I rushed as fast as my little legs would take me to lay my eyes on that cute little bald guy!!!!

He was telling me all about the procedure….the huge TV he watched a lot of it on….and that he thought the heard some of the outcome but he’d let me ask for sure.  When the right person appeared, I only heard “we found a 100% blocked artery” I am pretty sure.  I had to ask the next part to be repeated after that because I absolutely missed it.  Yes, in fact, his obtuse marginal artery was blocked 100%.  They were able to place a stent and were confident in his recovery.

Y’all.  Immediately in that hospital room….he had ZERO pain.  They were able to go in his wrist.  His heart cath was at 2 pm.  Once they brought him back, he was able to eat (which he did not do a ton of, mind you….it was….mysterious!) and rest.  And rest.  And rest.  The rest of the evening is a blur but I remember being KNOCKED OUT on the couch in his room in no time.  I actually slept for a few hours at a time…amazingly.  I got up bright and early the next morning…they were taking off the “box” that was over his punctures on his wrist and I left to get MJ to take her to school.  The next few hours were a blur of tests, doctors, basically everyone checking all the boxes to release him!  SO THANKFUL!

MJ had a basketball game at 6 that night.  I was there…with my hubby and his new titanium stented artery.

Mike has told me more than once that while I was at the ER getting checked out, he was sitting there asking God if He was using my situation to get him there.  He certainly remained steadfast in his stubbornness and went back home for a bit but thank God he came back to be checked out.

I have tons more to say about this….and updates will come from the cardiologist appt as this week progresses.  I just needed to get this out….between being 40, having a lot going on and brain fog from the chronic fatigue syndrome….if I don’t write something down, the details become VERY sketchy to me!!  😦

To be continued!