The snowfall at Crater Lake was the most since 1988. I wonder if it will all melt this summer....
The kids all voted to return the next day for more hiking, but after the long windy drive back to the campground, we ended up spending Monday at Bass Lake. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get lucky enough next year to get a camping site in the valley.
Friday, June 17, 2011 was a fairly routine day. Rick got up early to have scripture study with a young man who is preparing to go on a mission. From scripture study, he headed to the gym to get in a good workout which lasted about an hour and a half. Once home, Rick mowed the lawn and then got ready for the rest of the day. The two of us then went to run some errands in preparation for our vacation the following week. We went to Wal-Mart and Costco looking for camping supplies. While we were out, we had lunch at one of our favorite places, El Pollo Loco.
After running errands most of the afternoon, we decided to take Erin and get something for dinner before going to Kohl’s to look for a swimsuit. The boys had spent the night at the Rock’s house, and were having a great time, so it was just the three of us. We chose to eat at The Flame Broiler and since the weather was nice, we sat outside and enjoyed our dinner. When we were done, I was ready to go to Kohl’s, but Rick said “you want to go to Sam’s club, right??”. Since he loves browsing big box stores, Erin and I went along with his wishes. We browsed and shared one of their yummy pretzels before getting in the car to head to Kohl’s. We never made it there; in fact we didn’t even get a mile down the road….
At about 7:55pm as I was talking Parker on my cell phone to check on him and Bryant, I heard Rick call my name twice. I didn’t respond right away, but the next thing I knew, our car was slowing down and drifting into the next lane. I immediately looked over to Rick and saw that he was passed out. His eyes were open and rolled back and he was slumped over. I screamed at him trying to wake him as I dropped my phone, pulled the car back into our lane, and pulled the emergency brake. He wasn’t responding at all. I told Erin to call 911 and then I got out of the car and ran to the driver’s side. I tried shaking Rick and begging him to wake up, the whole time praying that he would be alright. Cars slowed down around us and asked if they could help, but there wasn’t anything they could do. I was desperately trying to figure out how to get us to the hospital – I could practically see it from where we were.
After what seemed like 5 minutes but was probably under 2 minutes, Rick woke up and asked what was going on. He didn’t know where we were and didn’t remember anything after getting in the car. Somehow I got him into the passenger seat and I started driving to the hospital. I got confused about where we were and missed the turn (either that or we were really passed the turn when this happened). I had to drive to Madison and do a u-turn back to the hospital. While I was driving, I call Rick’s friend, Jake, and asked him to meet us as quick as possible at the hospital to give Rick a blessing. Rick tried to tell me not to have him come because he didn’t know if he needed a blessing. I told him Jake needed to come and that maybe I was the one who needed a blessing.
It only took a couple minutes to get to the hospital where I pulled up next to the emergency entrance. I rushed inside, grabbed a wheelchair, and took it to the car. I told Erin to get Rick in the wheel chair while I ran inside and told the admitting desk what had happened. I filled out a paper with Rick’s name and birthday and then went back outside. Rick was still in the car, refusing to get in the wheel chair. He said he just “needed a minute”. By this time, he was white as a ghost and dripping in sweat. Instead of bringing him in the wheel chair, I helped him walk in.
As soon as we were inside, they told me they had a bed for Rick already. I sat him down and we waited for the nurse to take us back into the ER. As we walked back, Rick seemed to make light of the situation and didn’t seem worried at all. Ron showed up then at the hospital and went into the room with us. It was helpful for Rick to have a friend there. Shortly after we were in the room, Jake showed up and then Linda. The nurses and doctors immediately started running tests on Rick. They asked him a million questions, took his blood pressure (it was high and fluctuating a bit) and drew blood. The ER nurses then got a little irritated that there were more than two people with Rick, so I left with Linda and Erin so that Rick could get a blessing. It was wonderful to have Linda there for my support. While we were in the waiting room, I called or texted a few family members to let them know we were in the hospital. I also had Erin text the Bishop. After a little while, I went back into the ER to check on Rick and he wasn’t there. They had taken him for a CT scan. They had already run an EKG as well. I talked with the doctor and then Rick returned to the room. Since they had been running all the tests, Rick still hadn’t gotten a blessing, so I stood guard outside his room while Jake and Ron gave him a priesthood blessing.
After the blessing, I went back out to the waiting room and talked with Erin and Linda and then had them go home. Linda had been sick and Erin was tired, too. Then I went back into the ER and the doctor already had the results of the CT scan and EKG. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but they were going to admit Rick to observe him and run more tests. Around 10:00pm, Bishop Chase got my message and came straight to the hospital from his date with his wife. Linda also stopped by with a few things from home that would make my stay easier (socks, blanket, my nook, drinks, and snacks). Jake was getting pretty tired and left around 11:00 pm. By 12:00am, they were taking us to Rick’s room and Ron left. Bishop Chase decided to stay until they got Rick situated and I am so grateful that he did.
While the nurses were getting Rick situated in his room and asking him questions for an MRI they were going to do in the morning, Rick said that he was getting dizzy. Right after saying that, his eyes rolled back and he passed out again. I started getting upset and Bishop Chase calmed me down while the nurses scrambled to help Rick. I don’t know how long he was out, but it wasn’t more than a minute. Once again after waking up, he didn’t remember anything. We thought maybe it was a seizure, but the heart monitor showed that Rick’s heart had stopped for 6 seconds and then 7 seconds, causing him to pass out.
As a result of this second episode, a critical team was called and Rick was taken to the ICU where they could monitor things more closely. I wasn’t able to go in right away with Rick, so Bishop Chase and I sat in the ICU waiting room while they got Rick set up. After a while, his nurse came out and told me about the heart “pauses” and said that he had paused again in the ICU. She said that it was likely that Rick would need a pacemaker, but that the cardiologist would determine that. I was finally able to go back into the ICU at around 1:30. Bishop Chase left shortly after making sure Rick would be alright (he had to work at 7:00am on Saturday morning).
I soon realized that we wouldn’t get much sleep in the ICU. It was too light with too much going on, but I was glad that Rick would be monitored more closely. At 2:00 Rick’s doctor asked to talk to me on the phone and told me that there was a big possibility of Rick needing a pacemaker. She wanted to assure me that it was a fairly routine surgery and that it would ensure that Rick’s heart wouldn’t pause anymore. I spent that night in a chair next to Rick. I couldn’t sleep. I just kept staring at him and praying for him and me. We had a wonderful night nurse named Alex. She attended to everything while trying to help us get some rest. I ended up falling asleep a couple times for a few minutes, but that was it.
At 6:00am they kicked all visitors out of the ICU for their shift change. We weren’t allowed back in until 8:00am, but Rick’s doctor had told me I needed to be there the whole time. So I sat in the waiting room for a while until I was hungry enough to venture to the hospital cafeteria for their “gourmet” breakfast. I was able to call my mom and fill her in on the details and then I was finally let back into the ICU.
During my absence, they did an echocardiogram which showed that Rick’s heart was completely healthy. They still hadn’t found any reason for the heart pauses. Rick’s doctor showed up and talked with us about the pacemaker. She wasn’t the one who would make the decision, but she had talked with the cardiologist during the night and that was the route he was leaning toward.
We started receiving phone calls from concerned family, friends, and co-workers. Bobby drove out as soon as he got up and stayed all day. Linda stopped by to check on us. The nurse came in and told us that we had another visitor who said they were family. I went to see who it was, and Rick’s friend, Kirk, was outside. He had heard that Rick was in the hospital and when we didn’t answer our phones, he came by. Rick’s sergeant and lieutenant also came from Orange County to see him. We really felt an outpouring of love.
Things went well throughout the morning as we waited for the cardiologist to come. He was coming up from Scripps in La Jolla and it seemed like we waited forever. When he finally arrived, he looked through all the tests and asked a million more questions. He looked perplexed and even left the room rubbing his forehead and said “I need to think…” He told us that he was looking for a reason to NOT put in a pacemaker, but that there was no indication of what was causing these heart pauses. He said that since there wasn’t anything else he could treat, that a pacemaker was likely the only solution. He said that he couldn’t let Rick go back to his job and risk passing out while driving or any other time. Rick was already at risk of having his driver’s license revoked because he had passed out while driving.
Finally the cardiologist determined that he would need to put in a pacemaker but he wished he didn’t have to. He said that it would probably be the next day since it would be hard to put a team together on a Saturday night. I asked him if there was any way to get it done that day and he said he would try, that way it wouldn’t have to be done on Father’s Day.
As the doctor was trying to get things together to do the surgery that day, we visited with Rick’s sergeant, lieutenant, and Bobby. All the sudden, Rick said that he wasn’t feeling good. The heart monitor started beeping and Rick passed out again. We threw the curtains back and yelled for the nurses and cardiologist. Rick’s main nurse seemed panicked and didn’t know what to do, but the charge nurse helped by giving Rick some charges with the defibrillator. This was the longest time that Rick was unconscious at the hospital. The nurse later told me that Rick’s heart paused for 22 seconds this time. It was definitely scary. Shortly after this episode, Rick’s sergeant and lieutenant left. The cardiologist then said that the pacemaker was absolutely necessary and he felt good about it.
We had to wait for the team to gather and the person to arrive with the pacemaker. Finally at about 5:00 they took Rick back for surgery. The cardiologist said that the procedure would take about half an hour and then there would be recovery time. We waited and waited. The Muir family came straight from San Diego and waited with us. Bishop Chase also came right after work. Then Bishop Waldron came after getting back from his trip with his wife. We had a waiting room full of people. After a couple hours of not hearing anything, I started to get somewhat nervous. The doctor had said that the surgery was a routine and quick procedure, but we were still waiting to hear that he was done and okay. I started looking for hospital employees to try to get the status on Rick’s surgery, but I was never able to get any answers. Finally, at about 8:30, the cardiologist came into the hall. He was dripping in sweat and his scrubs were wet from perspiration all down his front and back.
I was so relieved to hear that Rick was fine. The procedure had taken much longer than anticipated. The doctor had decided to put a brand new type of pacemaker in. This one is encased in titanium which will allow Rick to be able to have an MRI in the future if it’s ever needed. The doctor felt that Rick “deserved” this kind of pacemaker and he was able to convince our insurance company to approve it. The only downside to having this new kind was that this was only the second time the cardiologist had implanted one. He said that when he was inserting the leads and “screwing” them into the wall of his heart, he normally only has to turn it about 12 times. This new pacemaker required lots more turns – sometimes up to 75. The doctor would turn it and stop to check and then turn some more. Just when he thought the leads were in place, they would fall out. The doctor ended up having to redo the leads 10 times before being successful. That was why he was so sweaty.
Finally around 9:00pm, Rick was taken to his new room (no more ICU – yippee!). Bishop Chase and Bishop Waldron talked to him for a few minutes and then left. Erin also went home shortly that. Jake Muir came back and offered to stay with Rick for as long as I needed. That allowed me to go home, shower, and grab a few things for the night. I returned about 11:00 and then Jake and Bobby both went home.
It was a much quieter night in the hospital. I finally figured out how to make a “bed”. I used 3 chairs and extra pillows as cushions and was actually able to sleep for a few hours. The only thing I got up for was to be Rick’s “nurse” every 2-3 hours when he needed help or medicine. Rick has a thing with taking medications – he doesn’t want to take more than he ABSOLUTELY has to. This is a bit tricky when you are recovering from surgery. My job was to make sure he took enough to stay on top of the pain before it got unbearable.
Sunday was a great day! It was Father’s Day and we were celebrating having Rick still here and able to be a father to my kids. The kids all went to church and left a little early to come by the hospital before any other visitors showed up. This was the first time the boys had seen Rick since Thursday. It was great to have the whole family together again, even if it was crammed into a little hospital room. Bobby also came back to the hospital as soon as he got up in the morning. One of the best parts of the day was having the young men from the ward bring us the sacrament. The spirit was strong as they prepared, blessed, and passed us the sacrament. How blessed we are to have young men who are able to use their priesthood to bless our family.
Kelly and her kids all came by the hospital to visit and then they went home with our boys where Kelly made a Father’s Day lunch/dinner. Rick was released from the hospital earlier than we expected – around 4:00pm. That allowed us to go home and spend some time with Bobby and Kelly’s family before they went back home. We were able to give Rick his Father’s Day presents (backpacking stuff that he won’t be able to use this summer) and then we rested in between visits from our wonderful friends.
Rick doesn’t remember a lot of what happened, but he does remember the love and support we received from family, friends, and co-workers. We are truly grateful for all the prayers and acts of service given in our behalf.
Parker was then able to pass the sacrament for the first time and he did a great job! He even got to sit on the stand next to Rick after he was finished. 