Monday evening around 5pm Richard and I unloaded racks from our friends in Searcy. We borrowed around 50 pieces so we could have enough for our fall event. We came home, took showers, and I was sitting in the chair in my room reviewing for my bible study in the morning. Richard said he didn't feel great but it was too early to go to bed so he thought he'd watch some football. It was around 8:15pm.
Around 10 minutes later he came in and told me his arm was hurting and he thought we needed to go get it checked. We got on shoes and rushed out the door. On the way down the hill he asked me to drive faster. We called ahead to the ER and told them he was a cardiac patient due to the fact that he had some heart issues a year before. That was a God thing as it got us taken back immediately and the waiting room was full to capacity.
When he was hooked up to an EKG machine the man reading it said he couldn't see anything and was doubtful Richard was in much pain. I wanted to yell or something, because we were in the ER and Richard would NEVER be there if he wasn't in major pain. I prayed instead and hoped it was nothing.
They sat us in two chairs in the ER because all rooms were full. They started taking his blood and I had to run to the store and lock it as it was being cleaned that evening. When I got back he was in a room. We started talking and debriefing from our day. He told me he had not felt great all day but nothing bad enough to mention and nothing while we were moving the equipment. At one point during our conversation he looked odd and then his arms were stiff. I said, "Don't hold your breath..." and then I realized he was having trouble. I called for help. Several staff came quickly, the nurse brought in the crash cart, and I stepped outside the room. I looked back one moment and I saw the nurse up on the bed trying to get his heart started. I realized he was in real trouble and started my prayers again.
He couldn't remember much when I went back in after they got his heart started. They were now watching him closer and the cardiologist had been called. Around an hour and a half later, after conversation and some rest by Richard, he coded again. This time I knew to call for help faster. He was revived faster. He couldn't remember being in the ER and we had a little scary moment when we both realized something big was going on with his heart. It was now after midnight but I texted the kids. They woke each other up and texted in with questions.
Around 1:30 they moved him to ICU and sent me home. They gave me a sticky note with the hours I could visit and a password to get through on the phone. I had no choice but to leave and just prayed as many words as I could put together. Cam was at home and had put himself in bed. The next morning I took him to school and hosted my bible study. I knew that's what Richard would want me to do and I could visit him right after. My life group is about fighting our battles with the Lord and I knew I needed the focus as much as I needed to be with Richard. The ladies prayed with me and for Richard.
Sheridan, Lane and Erin came to visit Richard during the morning. He was still looking pretty gray and also was very sleepy due to the meds they had him on. They left so he could rest and I took everyone to lunch and told them he was going to be OK. When I went back during the next visiting hours he had woken up from a nap and was amazingly "normal." He said when we turned over after his last nap he felt like he was just fine.
The doctors did not diagnose his issue. They simply kept saying he was "lucky" he was in the ER because if he had been at home he probably wouldn't have made it. They decided to put in a defibrillator to keep his heart beating correctly and to prevent a stop like the last two. It is a common heart "fix" and we were happy with the doctor and his experience to put this device in his heart. Richard's first question was, "When can I fly?" He was definitely feeling better.
Thank you God.
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