my dad (donor) had a heart attack :(

[lainiepop]

Hi all, after sharing literally last week that after 18m ths  post tx i'm  fine  and so is my  dad Who donated, well he's in hospital, mum called me this morn. He had a heart attack but is OK, i'm So Worried tho and also feel incredibly guilty even tho its not my fault.

Anyone know much about hearts, i'm all kidney knowledge nothing else!

Marie x

[Shaks24]

Really sorry to hear this. Will say prayer for your dad.

[lainiepop]

Thank u shaks, means a lot. Got an update.

Mum called first thing this morn, Basically dad came home from town yesterday afternoon saying he'd felt rough in the morning but now felt really faint and dizzy and like he was gonna be sick. So mum took his blood pressure and it was off the scale low so called gp who said to bring him to surgery. She checked him over but found nothing wrong, but her gut felt there was something wrong so did n ecg in the surgery which showed he'd had a heart attack. He went straight to hospital in the ambulance and had two stents put in his heart.
He is ok but  upset he wont see his lainey or drews natvity next week. Just spoke to mum when she got back from hospital tonight, doc said he has to have a heart bypass in 4 to 6 weeks. He said dads arteries were so furred up he couldnt understand how he hadnt had one before, so very lucky that doc used her gut instinct or he would never have known he had one and next one couldve been fatal
Everyone is very shocked because obviously transplant was 18mths ago and he had thorough health checks which showed low cholestrol normal ecg etc nothing to indicate any problems, and he's fit, active, slim with good diet. I guess that means he should recover better.
I'm worried and pretty upset, and also feel guilty, even tho i know its nothing to do with the kidney donation  can't help it. At least they caught it.
Will keep u updated, he should be home monday, andrew (6)is pretty upset bless him , elena is too young to understand.
There i was thinking this christmas would be a good'un after my seizure this time last yr!xxx

[MaryJoe]

Oh, lainie, I'm so sorry this has happened.  At least he didn't ignore his symptoms or give your mom the old "I'm fine, I'll be okay" we so often hear from men when they don 't feel well. thank goodness his doctor was on the ball and did the ECG.

I understand that you feel somewhat guilty, it's only natural, even though you know logically that the two thing are not connected. Our hearts often do not operate on logic when our dad's are involved.

tell Herodad I'm thinking about him and that his most important job now is to rest and gain his strength back before his bypass surgery.    to all of you. 

[lainiepop]

Thank u MaryJoe. He is just relieved it happened after the kidney donation, he wouldnt have wanted anything to stop it. He is 68 now so unfortunately at the age where these things start to happen, seems quite common amongst lots of people ive talked to. We'll go down to my parents' on boxing day and i'll prob go down with my daughter when he is in for the op or when he's out to help mum.

[CebuShan]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Lainie! 'll be praying for you and your family!   

[okarol]

  Will keep praying for your dad! And you too!
One of the potential donors for Jenna, a very healthy guy, passed all the tests except the last one - the CTScan showed arterial sclerosis - and he was ruled out as a donor.

[lainiepop]

thank u cebushan and Karol.

O karol, my dad had the ct scan before the t x, all fine! So thats Why its such a shock. None of the pre tx tests Showed anything,!

[okarol]

thank u cebushan and Karol.

O karol, my dad had the ct scan before the t x, all fine! So thats Why its such a shock. None of the pre tx tests Showed anything,!

Thank goodness he is stable and can have the surgery to correct this. 

[galvo]

Sorry to hear this, lainie. Most fortunate that Mum and Dr. responded so quickly. Heart bypass procedures are so sophisticated and routine these days, that I believe the cardiac surgeons smoke cigars and bet on the greyhounds while operating. Just a little grim hospital humour, to lighten the moment! I know it's serious and particularly worrying as it's your Dad, but the odds are really in his favour.

And I am speaking from experience. I've had 4 heart attacks so far and am still beetling around!

Good luck to Dad. You keep smiling for him.

[cassandra]

I'm sorry to hear this lainiepop. I received my dad's kidney too, in the '80's, and felt guilty about anything that went fysically wrong with him till the day he died (27 years later when he was 87) It's daft, but very human.

All the best to all of you!

Love, Cas

[Poppylicious]

Sorry to hear this, petal.  So pleased that he didn't do a 'Blokey' and pretend he was fine though! Many *huggles* to all of you.

[lainiepop]

Thanks galvo, have u actually had a heart bypass yourself?

Cass I know i think its natural, i would whoever had donated, it creates a deeper bond with that person and u feels a connection and guilt goes with that! Pleased to see ur dad lived to a great age considering he was fairly old to donate as well especially back in the 80s

Thank u poppy.

I think i'll go down to help mum when he has his op, with my daughter, son and hubby at school.

[MooseMom]

I'm sorry to hear this news but am confident that he'll be OK!

[lainiepop]

thanks moose mom

Have an update. Mum said dad be out tues and consultant Said he may not need bypass for 3 to 5 mths. He's on a lot of meds and they'll have to check his Kidney function every 6 wks now he's only got one as one of the meds can affect it. Its fine at mo XX

[appleface]

Bless.

[galvo]

No bypass, lainie. Plenty of stents, though. When the surgeon put in a couple of stents after my last heart attack in 2010, I asked him how long they would last. His reply was "longer than you!" hehehehehehe!!

Keep smiling!

[lainiepop]

dad is out of hospital, called me and Sounds fine!

[cassandra]

Glad to hear that!!!

Love, Cas

[CebuShan]

Great news!   

[galvo]

Glad to hear it, lainie!

[okarol]

dad is out of hospital, called me and Sounds fine!

 

[lainiepop]

Hi everyone, hope u all had a lovely Christmas.

We spent the 26th to the 31st down with my parents. You wouldnt even know dad had had a heart attack. He ended up only being in hospital a few days and a week after the heart attack was back catching the bus in town. He feels fine and is doing the same as always, is driving now(not quite playing tennis again yet!).
Still hopeful he can avoid bypass and his kidney seems fine too.
He feels better than he did after donating the kidney, never felt totally right since then, which he put down to losing a kidney at the age of almost 67, when in fact it was his heart.
Just happy he got himself checked out instead of thinking he had a virus, and thankful for a good gp who trusted her gut and did an ecg from instinct rather than signs she ought to. And now it was caught in time and is on meds etc so in a way good thing it happened rather than building up to a serious heart attack.

Marie xx

[galvo]

So good!

[okarol]

Thanks for the update Marie - so happy to hear the good news. Sounds like he has a great doctor!