My husband and I arrive at the ED because he was having chest pain. We heard words like nitroglycerin, cardiac enzymes, "screwy" EKGs, Cardiac Stat Team, Cath Lab, and stents. The ED staff were thorough with the care my husband received. The Cath Lab team was prompt, extremely caring and sympathetic to our situation. The unit staff was attentive to my husband's needs. We heard additional words like echocardiogram, beta-blockers, blood thinners, and cholesterol medications. It wasn't until day 2 when it all started becoming very clear to my husband what had happened. It became clear when his MICU RN, Linda Seymour walked into his room and introduced herself. I remember we asked her if she knew anything about the echocardiogram that was performed after the Cath Lab procedure. My husband wanted to know what happened to him. Linda looked at my husband and paused for a moment. She proceeded to inform my husband he had a heart attack. It was a big one she explained. She told him that he was lucky to come in when he did. She described what went on with his heart, making it clear that it would not have been the heart attack that killed him, but the arrhythmias that followed.
Linda reviewed with us the result of the echo, explained in words he could understand about the damage left behind and what that meant for him. She educated him on why he was put on a blood thinner and beta-blocker medication, how it will help him and the importance of taking his medication. She recognized his comorbidity of having Multiple Sclerosis, asked questions about his level of disability, took that into consideration and educated him on how he could help himself during the recovery stage and moving forward. This event was scary, to say the least for us both and while I knew what was happening, even I couldn't believe it. I couldn't even say it out loud that my husband had a heart attack. This doesn't happen to us, this happens to other people. We have MS, that is enough. It was one of those moments when I just needed my mother. Unfortunately, she passed away two years ago and it was just my husband and me in the thick of needing guidance, needing reassurance, needing understanding, needing my mom.
We transferred to another unit that day and Linda was there to ensure a smooth transition. Linda was the only one who ever acknowledged the MS and understood the role it plays in how he would manage himself during his hospitalization and his recovery from this. She made it a point to note his level of disability to the 2 North staff. Once Linda started to speak with us that day, I knew it was going to be okay. I felt confident that we can manage this and that we were going to recover from this. Linda was my mom that day. She will never know what that meant for us and how much she touched our lives.