Close call...angels on her shoulders.

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

We had a cruise related incident in our family recently.... my sister in law and her daughter ( avid cruisers) were taking a cruise to Hawaii.At 3am the morning of the cruise (taxi was booked for 5 am to take her to the airport) my sister in law suffered a heart attack. One quadruple by pass later and thankfully all is well.

 

How different the outcome had she boarded the plane from Toronto to Los Angeles or worse yet been mid ocean en route to Hawaii.There were angels on her shoulders for sure.

 

Our niece is a travel agent and of course travel insurance had been purchased so no issues there. How important that insurance would be had she needed care in the U.S. or air lifted from the ship.

 

After some recovery she says she is eager to cruise again....it was a very close call indeed.

[styles27]

Oh my goodness. It certainly does appear the angels were looking out for her!

 

I'm so glad that she is doing well and that she wasn't on the ship when that happened. One never knows what's in store for us.

 

Wishing her a quick recovery!

[sail7seas]

Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear of her heart attack but relieved for her and her family she is doing well.

 

I had a heart attack a few days after we returned from a Maasdam cruise so have a 'fair idea' of what thoughts go through your head.

 

Wishing her a full and easy recovery. Make sure she walks, walks, walk...... it helps hugely.

 

There really is full, active life after heart attack. :)

 

[jimmysgrl]

Hoping she recovers quickly and glad things worked out the way they did!

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

Thank you for the kind wishes....heart disease is a tricky foe...she had felt a tightness in her chest (classic ) but put it down to stress due to a hectic time before the cruise.She did feel unwell and was worried she was coming down with something that would interfere with the cruise...little did she know what that something was.

 

. So right Sail lots of thoughts have gone through our heads..considering all the "what ifs" ...we are all so thankful she didn't get on that plane.

[Love the beach]

Luckily she woke up when it was happening---many people don't! Wishing her the best.

Marge

[canadianbear]

Oh what a very scary time for all of you. So glad all is well again and she is recovering at home. You are so right-sounds like that angel was on her shoulders the whole time. It's good too that she is eager to cruise again-good for her!

[RuthC]

It seems absurd to use the words "lucky" and "heart attack" in the same sentence, but that is exactly what happened here. So glad to read that your sister in law got the help she needed in time.

Here's to a full recovery and lots more cruises in her future.

[kazu]

I am so glad that the angel was over her shoulder. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and thank heavens it happened when it did

[cruisinjudy]

I am so glad she is recovering and wants to plan another cruise. I had a burst appendix one time several weeks after a cruise and I was so glad it did not occur on the cruise!

[sail7seas]

 

 

Thank you for the kind wishes....heart disease is a tricky foe...she had felt a tightness in her chest (classic ) but put it down to stress due to a hectic time before the cruise.She did feel unwell and was worried she was coming down with something that would interfere with the cruise...little did she know what that something was.

 

. So right Sail lots of thoughts have gone through our heads..considering all the "what ifs" ...we are all so thankful she didn't get on that plane.

 

 

What you describe sounds Oh So Familiar......

 

Women very often do not present heart attacks in the way we usually envision, the way most men do.

 

I had None of the usual signs and symptoms. I also 'thought I was coming down with something'. All very vague. When I thought back later, I was having those indefinable symptoms on the ship but they were so insignificant I brushed them off.

 

Best news is she got good care, had bypass and there is every reason to feel hopeful she will thrive.

 

I have. :)

As Ruth said, we are the lucky ones. We survived and did so intact with our wits about us.

 

[PathfinderEss]

Wow that had to be scary, thank goodness she made it thru and got the surgery she needed.

As Sails said, make sure she walks, walks, walks. It will make all the difference. Take it from another person who know, one who is about a year out from that life saving surgery :), Walk and she will be back to cruising soon.

[solocanadian]

Angels on her shoulders indeed! So glad to hear this happened in her home & not enroute or onboard the ship. Wishing her a full speedy recovery. A true endorsement for angels.:)

[the2ofus]

So glad your SIL's situation turned out so well for her. I'm adding my good wishes for a complete recovery and return to an active lifestyle.

 

Had always heard about that 'pressure in the chest' thing and wondered how you would recognize it. I recently found out when it woke me at 3:00 a.m., then subsided. Scary! Fortunately it didn't repeat and no further symptoms but I did follow up that day with my MD. No heart attack apparent on the EKG or labs and no damage showed on cath. Am now on medication, feeling better than I have in some time. (I didn't even realize I wasn't feeling great before.)

 

Now I make sure that portable phone is where it should be, on the bed-side stand, every night. Makes me feel a lot safer.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Oh my Colleen, what a scare that must have been for everyone. Those little angels are blessings indeed. Glad to hear all turned out well and she is back on the road to recovery. Here's wishing her many more cruises.

[BeagleOne]

Holy Cow! I'm so glad she is okay and will be doing laps around a promenade deck in the future. :) It's so true that women tend NOT to have the classic symptoms of heart attack, and tend to minimize the symptoms they do have, often until it's too late.

 

As a paramedic and future RN I'll put in my plug here for EVERYONE to learn CPR and how to use an AED. The CPR classes only last a few hours, it takes about 15 minutes to learn how to use an AED, and you can learn compressions-only resuscitation for adults with witnessed arrests in just a few minutes. One of the Maasdam nurses told me last week that they have a fully-equipped ICU and clot-busting drugs on board...can't use the clot-busters for stroke victims because they don't have a CT scanner, but they can provide some cardiac care before the patient is medevac'ed.

 

So many times people simply stand around when someone collapses, and by the time the EMTs get there, it's too late. AEDs are everywhere now. Please, please learn how to do CPR. You might just save a life!

[vivavegas]

Glad to hear your family member is doing well and eager to resume cruising!:)

[COLLEYBERRY]

 

 

Thank you for all the good wishes. SNL is doing very well..she has been home for six days now....they don't keep you in hospital very long...drop you off at the front door then pull around to the back door to pick you up ;)

 

We have nicknamed her "Sweetheart" ...with all those arteries open and flowing there will be no stopping her. :) She is looking forward to cruising again.

 

Heart disease is different for women....we are probably our own worst enemy...so busy taking care of others , we sometimes forget about ourselves....feeling unwell ( fatigue, shortness of breath, 'oh I am tired and i have been racing around too much."..no time for that.. shake it off and get back in the game.)

 

We tend to think of heart disease as more if a man's issue...sorry gals, it would seem in this respect ,we have achieved equality .