Chuck is home today…

from the hospital. I spoke with his doctor this morning and he gave me a detailed description of what all is going on with Chuck. Apparently, he does have the PSVT, which we knew and then he said they did find a few smaller blood clots in the right lower lung (none in the heart, thank the Lord for that) and he also has pneumonia as well so he was really in need of the medical care he received. We are glad he is home and on the way to recovering. Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as he heals and continues to search for work.

And today the sun is shining and it has warmed up to 20 degrees here so that is actually nice for a change. It has been so bitterly cold. I, for one, am getting very tired of the cold temps and winter weather. I hope this is a good sign for good health and maybe wealth too.

PSVT

On January 13th, Chuck gave us a scare. His heart rate was up to 212 and not going down. He was not overdoing it as he was relaxing on the couch when this happened. So we took him to the Emergency Room and the doctor said that he had what they call PSVT which is short for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. http://www.medicinenet.com/paroxysmal_supraventricular_tachycardia_psvt/article.htm  is a website that explains more information about what it is and what the symptoms are and how it is treated. Chuck’s doctor prescribed a beta blocker for him to take. He did a followup appointment and everything seemed like it was okay but then he seemed to get more symptoms afterwards that we thought could be side effects from the beta blockers he was taking. It turned out not to be side effects however. 

On January 24th, we made another trip to the Emergency Room. He was having a hard time breathing without pain. He also had heart palpitations and a heart rate of 220 when he got to the ER. So they ran tests on him and thought at first that maybe he had pneumonia but then determined after a CT scan that he has a blood clot in his lower right lung. So they have been doing blood tests and giving him blood thinners and meds to ease the pain. They admitted him to the hospital that night and have been monitoring him closely. He is in an ICU room but not because he needed to be in ICU, simply because the hospital was full and they did not have a room for him except for ICU.

After he was admitted to the hospital that night and I had the kids all tucked into bed, I took time to look up blood clots in the lungs and what came up was “pulmonary embolism”, which after reading was really scary. I almost wished I hadn’t taken the time to look it up. What I read seemed to fit all the symptoms Chuck has had so it really put things into perspective for me but it sure scared me too. But when I mentioned this to Chuck, he seemed to think that according to the doctor, this wasn’t what he has but it would seem to me that the doctor may not want to use that term when discussing his illness and treatment with him. I am hoping to learn more from the doctor soon. At any rate, this is something that sure makes you NOT take life for granted. It makes you realize what your family and loved ones really mean to you.

Today Chuck told me that they did an ultrasound of his heart. He said it was neat seeing the colors and how the heart works.

He also said that the care he has been receiving here at the Glendive Medical Center has been really wonderful. We are hoping he will be home in another day or so.

Any prayers you want to send his way would be greatly appreciated. I know I sure have been saying my share of prayers lately, with his health the way it is and no income for us right now either. Things have not been so great for us in the first month of 2009. But we are hopeful things will improve. We are trying to stay positive through all this.

It’s all in how you manage it…

Yes, I am talking about stress. For those of you who haven’t heard, my hubby has lost his job just before Thanksgiving.

We have heard that they hired two people to replace him however. He has received many phone calls from the guys he worked with just to tell him he is missed.

The bad part is the timing, right before the holidays. He did receive his last two paychecks and severance pay but it still leaves us in a bad spot before the holidays. We just learned that he will not even be getting unemployment. Chuck feels that there are two guys that didn’t like him there and that they didn’t treat him fairly and this has a lot to do with it however, it still means we are struggling financially until he gets another job.

Thank you to all of those who made sure our children had a wonderful Christmas! We received a 7 lb. ham from our neighbors and Christmas gifts from family and friends too.

Chuck has been applying for jobs everywhere but it may mean that our family will have to move yet again too. That is a tough thing for all of us. We really do like living here in Glendive. It’s too bad things are turning out this way but I am trying to have an open mind and remember that maybe this is a part of God’s plan for us and that everything happens for a reason. It’s just really tough right now with no money to pay the bills and rent and everything. I will just keep saying my prayers and trust in the Lord. After all, what else can I do except help keep our spirits up and try to keep a smile on my face when I can. It’s just not always so easy.