thursday 13: tidbits from my last week & a half

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So I started feeling like shit the Saturday before last, the 4th. At first, I just thought it was more long COVID BS. But then when it got to the point I could barely walk and breathe at the same time, I realized it was time to go to the hospital, which I did Tuesday. That’s when they discovered I had a moderate pulmonary embolism happening. So I got transferred to the big hospital downtown, where it was determined that it wasn’t moderate but extensive. And if I’d waited even 24 more hours before coming in, I probably wouldn’t be here now. So I had some more testing, then a thrombectomy the same afternoon. Everything went well, so come Wednesday afternoon, I was on the way out the door.

But then they decided to do an angiogram just to be sure. Good thing they did. They discovered a heretofore unknown hole in the right atrium of my heart… with a huge blood clot in it. An extremely rare situation that left me in imminent danger of a stroke.

So the next day, I had a TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram) which sucked. It’s supposed to check on heart function, which was actually okay, and also give a better view of the hole and the clot. That led to open heart surgery on Thursday afternoon to remove the clot and shut the hole. I got home Monday and now I’m navigating my new life. So yeah. That’s fun.

So on to the tidbits.

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1. I’ll never look at boba the same way.

Gross but true. I saw the clots from my lungs, and there was a certain resemblance.

2. I’m part Bob, Claire, and Ginger.

My hemoglobin dropped so I had to have 2 transfusions pre-heart surgery, one during. So I named them. Thank you, Bob, Claire, and Ginger, for your donations…❤️❤️❤️🤟

3. Fred got excised.

Fred is the name I gave the clot in my heart. He looked like an earthworm. Good riddance, Fred.

4. Fever dreams for real.

Oh, my God. The fever dreams. Between exhaustion, meds, and pure fear, the ridiculous bizarre dreams I had while in the hospital were insane. RVs, flying penguins, my dog, and Squishmallows… all in one dream. Nuts.

5. I had to be woken up once an hour the entire time.

For neuro checks. One of the risks for the thrombectomy is internal bleeding, including in the brain. I’m happy to say ya girl never faltered, even under the influence of narcotics.

6. Ya girl’s also mad good at the vitals.

Happily, within just a couple hours of the pulmonary embolism surgery, my vitals were on point. Go, me! That was unexpected and got me gold stars with all my docs.

7. A thrombectomy is like lipo for your lungs.

Legit. They run a line-while you’re awake, mind you-from your groin to your lungs and then essentially vacuum the boba from your lungs. Wild.

8. Panic attacks suck.

I had a low-key one due to claustrophobia during a CT scan at the very first hospital. Not fun, but the nurse was fabulous at talking me down quickly. I had another, more claustrophobia, at the end of my thrombectomy. Fortunately, I had Bryce, a surgery tech who kept me going with comedy gold. Thank you, Bryce! 🤟 Then, of course, when I was told I had a pulmonary embolism and again when they told me I needed open heart surgery. Duh.

9. Low oxygen in blood = slightly loopy Kim

I was slightly nonsensical at times, pre-thrombectomy, thanks to how little my blood was being properly oxygenated. During which time, I wrote some crazy texts. I also had a crazy convo about Hello Kitty with an ER nurse at the big hospital. She was decked out in HK, and I was there for it. Hello Kitty was a popular motif throughout the hospital! More on this later.

10. I ask the important questions.

Before the pulmonary embolism vacuuming, they told me I’d be on blood thinners for at least a little while. I like a bit of permanent self-decoration, so I felt compelled to ask if tattoos were a thing of my past. Fortunately for me, it’s all good! More on that later.

11. More important questions.

A fair question as a coffee lover, but post-heart surgery, can I drink that gorgeous bean juice? Eventually, yes. For now, 75ml a day. I don’t drink a ton, but that’s not even worth it. BUT I can drink as much decaf as I want. So there’s that.

12. I rediscovered my joy of jook, or congee, or cháo gà.

Delicious rice porridge flavored with any variety of protein. Jook is the Filipino version, but they’re all essentially the same staple Asian dish. So comforting and so good on a throat still hurting from a vent and an esophageal camera. Corey’s picking up the ingredients tonight to throw into the Ninja Foodi for some at-home jook.

13. Hello Kitty and tattoos

I’ve now decided on my next tattoo. A Hello Kitty in scrubs, a nod to both the ER nurse and all the amazing humans who saved my life. She’s going to have a B, C, and G somewhere as a tribute to my blood donors, maybe in a heart-shaped talk bubble. And she’s going to have a strawberry boba, an irreverent nod to the pulmonary embolism that started the whole adventure.