ANGIOGRAM

FRIDAY 6TH AUGUST TO MONDAY 9TH AUGUST 2010

By now I felt fine, no pain and I was being well looked after, I had been transferred to the general coronary ward and at some point I had a scan of my heart taken, just like a pregnant mum only I didn’t get to keep any pictures. Jacquie was coping well. She had hired a car to get to and fro for visiting time and the lock keepers at Selby had moved SKYY from the visitors mooring and into the basin close to the long term moorings. There was a water point and hose right along side, but no electricity, but SKYY could stay there for as long as necessary.

During the weekend Jacquie returned the hire car to Enterprise in Leamington Spa and got a taxi back to Wigrams Turn Marina to collect our car. As expected, after four months the battery was flat, but Don the Harbour Master jump started the car and Jacquie’s first stop was Halfords in Daventry for a new battery to be fitted. That done Jacquie headed up to Nottingham to stay the night with Ann and Brian and arrived back in York in time to visit me and this time with Duggie who obviously had nearly forgotten who I was, unfaithful little fella.

On Monday morning I was sent down for an Angiogram, the first I knew of it was when Sister dropped one of those flappy open back gowns and a pair of paper knickers on my bed and said are you OK to shave your groin, sadly I had to admit that I probably could manage on my own, so no fun to be had there then.

In the very high tech visual imagining suite, they insert a tube up the femoral artery from the groin right into the heart and at various stages a dye is introduced into the blood stream, the progress of which is monitored via several X Ray screens. The way the dye travels through and around the hearts arteries indicates where the problems are. In my case there were two completely blocked coronary arteries and a couple of others that were 80% blocked. Something would have to be done but at this stage the Doctor performing the procedure wasn’t willing to confirm the way forward, but said that the heart specialists at both Hull and Leeds hospitals would confer on Friday and decide on the best way forward.

Nothing for it but to be made a model patient and patiently wait until Friday.