[mrs bouquet]

On Good Friday at 7.12pm  my S-in-L had a critical heart attack.  My daighter immediately dialled 999, thinking it was a/stroke.  The 999 man said drag him onto the floor and start heart compressions and he instructed her.  She did this with him for 8 minutes until 4 ambulances arrived.  Thy all stayed with him for about 40 minutes then we went to the Critical Heart Car unit in Brighton Hospital, which is one of the top 4 in the UK.  The 7 surgeons in this unit are called the "magnificent 7"    Peter is still in this unit .  He has had mild pneumonia and thrush.   I go everyday with my Daughter,  but I am not allowed in.  It is an hours drive each way.
The surgeons have said his heart is total diseased and tomorrow they will do an 8 hour op with a triple by-pass, new valves and anything else they think when they have it open.  They have advised that there is a 2% chance he may die on the table.  But, he will definitely die very soon if he doesn't have it done.  After 2 days, they will put a very small defibulator into his chest which will start the heart if it stops.  This will be permanent.
My daughter saved his life and she will need counselling to help her in a few weeks.

he will come home in about 10 days time, but then will have to go to Worthing for lots of rehabilitation.

I feel very tired and ragged and very scared, but I must be there for them.  I shall carry on going until he is home, then we will make more plans

He has now admitted that he stopped golf because his chest was tight and breathing hard , the same with dog walking.  The Surgeon said, that women need less serious treatment because as soon as they start to feel these things go to the Doctor !!!!

Other news is trying to sort the garden.   Only a couple of pots this year instead of 80 !  The ground is so hard and cracked up that I am struggling to dig it.   But in the big scheme of things .......   Mrs Bouquet
I will let you know how he gets on.

[Lardman]

That horrible Mrs B, but it's nice to see that the emergency services were there so quickly and it appears action is being taken, so fingers crossed it all goes as planned and there's no lasting damage.  It's a good job someone was with him at the time.

[wighty]

My very best wishes are with you and I will be thinking of you and your family.  Wish there was something more I could do or say.  My SIL has been treated at Brighton Hospital for the last seven years and I know the treatment and care he gets there is top-notch.  Stay strong. Ginny.

[GraciesGran]

Sending best wishes and love to you all.  Neighbour was treated at Brighton during the early days of covid and can't praise them enough.

[Aunt Sally]

Hope your son-in-law recovers well, Mrs B !

[Plot 1 Problems]

Best wishes to you and your family Mrs B.

[greenjay]

Worrying times for you all. Your daughter is lucky to have you near. Just make sure you look after yourself. Its very stressful seeing loved ones unwell and running around everywhere.

[snowdrops]

Sorry to hear this Mrs B, you have a very lucky SIL & they are lucky that you are able to support them through this & are Close enough to offer transport to your daughter, I hope they reciprocate should you need in time . Take care of yourself.

[Yorkie]

All the best to everyone Mrs B - feel free to let off steam here if you need to, after keeping it together for all your family members x

[jaydig]

So sorry to hear your news, Mrs B.  It sounds as if your SIL is getting the very best treatment available and will make a good recovery.  When something like this happens out of the blue it is such a shock for family members and means that you are having to cope with all of the trauma whilst not in the best place yourselves.  The travelling back and forth to the hospital will also make you and your daughter physically tired.  Both you and your daughter need to make sure that you take care of yourselves while your SIL is being very well cared for in the best hands possible.  Love to you all, and hoping that each day brings an improvement to your SIL's health.

[Subversive_plot]

Best wishes to your SIL and family!

Your daughter's actions were heroic, and gave him another shot at a longer life! I hope the outcome for them is good, but no matter what, always remind her that she did her best!

[Growster...]

He's certainly in the right place, Mrs B, so if you can, let them do the worrying and take care of him, while you look after yourself as well!

98% of survival is a pretty good bet I reckon after such an awful time, so make plans for him coming home and getting better each day!

But you take care of Mrs B as well please!

[New shoot]

It must seem completely overwhelming at the moment, but hang in there Mrs B. 

Don’t worry about the garden too much and concentrate of yourself and your family.  A couple of pots to potter over and enjoy is fine, but you have more than enough on your plate for now.

[mrs bouquet]

UPDATE:   On Monday Peter had a quadruple bypass. and some other stuff.  He is doing ok considering, but doesn;t like the brace he has to wear for 6 weeks to stop him falling apart.  He is very bored.  Physio has started, but only for a few minutes each day.  His BP is low so they cannot get him up to take a few steps yet.
Just sitting there all day must b so depressing for him.  I still go everyday with daughter, but still am not allowed in.   Our visit time is 4pm for 1 hour, so it is about 4.5 hours each day.  Our meals are the worst problem.  Daughter likes a full meal with spuds etc., I can eat a sausage roll, but she is not very flexible.  Yesterday, I cooked a big curry and we had it with rice.  I shall eat it today as well.  She has said no, but I expect we shall think of something.
I shall update you again.    Many thanks for all your good wishes,   Mrs B

[Lardman]

That's good news. Has he been given any lifestyle changes to make ? the enforced rest may be good for him, however boring it may be.

A number of the supermarkets do traditional meat and 2 veg ready meals, they're not the best but if needs must. I find doing spuds the most annoying part of a meal, the frozen ready made mash you just nuke and even tinned new pots are something to think about.  I even used some thick sliced beef (the type for sandwiches) once - when covered in gravy you couldn't tell.

Having ignored all the sound advice I received about looking after myself as well as others I feel compelled to pass it along