This New Years Day is year 13 that New Year has a very different meaning to me. On New Years Day, 2002, Patrick and I came home from the movies (Oceans 11) around 11:30 and went to bed after picking up the kids from Lisas. Shortly after, he got up to go to the bathroom. After about 10 minutes, I got up to see what was wrong (back then we slept right through the night, now it would be no big deal). He was slumped over on the couch, literally gray in color, barely coherent, and in an extreme amount of pain. In his chest. After two 911 calls, he finally made it to Harrington. My brother Scott came and stayed with the kids until they got off to school in the morning. I dont remember who Jenni ended up going with, I beleive it was over a friend at the time. It was 8 days before Jennis 5th Birthday. Pats brother Jimmy met me at my house and brought me to Harrington, I had to wait for Scott to get to the house for the kids. He was quickly diagnosed with myocardial infarction (heart attack). They gave him medicine, but they gave him too much, and he was bleeding from his mouth very badly. His pain never subsided. His PCP met him at the hospital and demanded he be taken to UMASS. He was life flighted (I still get chills when I hear life flight) to UMASS and a cath lab was done. Patrick said once the test was showing what was going on, the Doctor said out loud Oh no. His arterial wall was ripping away. The surgeon told me if we didnt do surgery, he would not make it another hour (it was now 6:30 am). If we did the surgery, he was probably not going to make it. I passed out in Jimmys arms. I quickly recovered, consented to surgery, and kissed him and told him see you soon. Within the hour, 3 of his siblings, their spouses (remember you guys playing cards to pass the time in the ICU waiting room?), his best friend James, and my Mom and Dad were at UMass supporting me and Patrick. The surgeon said 4-6 hours, he came to see us in 3. It was because the surgery went remarkably well, he had survived. No complications. His recovery went amazingly well. We were 32 years old. They never knew why he had the heart attack. It is such a rarity of what he had (not blockage, or typical causes) that UMASS hadnt seen a case like his in over 20 years. It either happens to pregnant women or people who have taken to much cocaine/crack. Neither of which Patrick qualified for! So, here we are 13 years later. He is sound asleep in our bed. We have had some pretty rough years since then, our house fire, kids growing up and leaving, some other illnesses, and a shaky marriage that almost ended. Through it all, the one thing I always reflect on is how grateful I am that God thought Patrick needed to stay here with us. He has fully recovered, worked since 6 weeks post op, and has kept 80 lbs off all these years. 2014 brought good health for our family, a marriage that was renewed and one of our best years, some good memories, and some not so good times too. Patrick, I may not always talk about it, but especially on this day, I remember how incredibly lucky everyone that loves you is to still have you here. Happy New Year. I Love You.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 09:28:51 +0000
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