Judy Newton Has Had a Heart Attack

[ashcomp]

Apologies to those of you who have seen this on the WSFA Forum. It's time to share this information with
our wider circle of friends.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2012

Last night Judy suffered a serious and damaging heart attack. I took her to Montgomery General hospital, where she was stabilized, and then medevaced to the Washington Hospital center. They implanted a stent to provide some relief and blood flow, and in the process discovered significant blockage in other vessels. She will undergo bypass surgery on Friday, and remain in the hospital for several more days. She spent today under considerable sedation and pain medication.

Needless to say, this was totally unexpected and shocking. Judy is fit, still relatively young, and has none of the usual contributory vices. It just shouldn't have happened to her, and she's having a hard time coming to grips with it.

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

FRIDAY, FEB 10, 2012

First, let me thank you all for the comfort and support we've been getting. It means a lot, believe me. Also,
please keep on with prayers and good thoughts, they seem to be working.

I got down there in good time to be there when they took a good 25 minutes unhooking support devices
and making them portable with her bed, then went along until they shunted me into a waiting room. A
large waiting room, which gradually filled with a lot of visiting families. There was a lot of surgery
happening today. Judy's was the first of four that her doctor had scheduled. Some four nervous hours
later, the surgeon appeared with the welcome news that everything had gone well, and Judy had five dear
God bypasses.

The rest of the day was spent ducking in and out of ICU on short visits. She eventually woke up, was able
to respond to the staff--and to me--eventually got the breathing tube out, and actually could talk. If all
continues to go well, she'll be moved out of ICU sometime tomorrow, and even encouraged to spend some
time on her feet. This just blows my mind. Home some time next week, probably Thursday.

Thanks again for the support.


SATURDAY, FEB 11, 2012

All signs are continuing to improve. The portable pump which was helping her heart was removed, and
she was moved to a sitting position. Later tonight she'll be moved out of ICU to a (private?) room, and
tomorrow the hospital folks will start getting her onto her feet. This is all blazingly fast for me, but the
Washington Hospital Center does more bypass surgery than any other institution in the country, and I have
to assume that they know what they're doing. I just have to accept that I'll be a nervous wreck for months.

Comments

[threeringedmoon]

This is horrible, Barry, and the first I've heard of it. What a shock! I would have thought her risk factors extraordinarily low. I hope Judy continues to improve rapidly. I know you are probably getting all sorts of well-intentioned advice, and I'll risk giving my own. There is an increased risk of depression after a major cardiac event like this, so be alert for it.

[ashcomp]

Risk factors low, genes not so good. I'll be watching out for the depression. Much will depend on how much of her previous level of activity she can pick up. She is still doing a little professional work on a standards committee, and has become more of a foodie than ever--lining up chefs for demonstrations at our weekly farmers market, and writing two food blogs-one for the market and one for herself. Here are the links, take a look:

http://olneyfarmersmarket.org (blog link in sidebar)
http://catillation.com

She's been having some fun with her life, and I don't think she wants to stop now.

[ase]

Glad Judy's improving. Hopefully her energy levels will bounce back soon! It's hard to imagine how she's reacting to waiting for her operated-on parts to catch up with the rest of her. I'll be keeping Judy, you, and your daughter in my thoughts this week.

On a selfish note, this will make next week's studies on cardiac function and lab tests very (and not pleasantly) relevant.

[ashcomp]

So far, still encouraging.

Have you segued into med school?

[ase]

Lab tech school is a little like med school. The theory seems to be, running the tests goes better if we know what the physician might be looking for when he orders Test X, Y, and/or Z. So there's a little biology background and a lot of lab stuff spring-boarding off those few background notes.