Disappointing news

Angioplasty morning dawned bright and early, I was at Admissions at 7:30 and found my way to Interventional Radiology, a new facility in Beaumont Hospital. After being brought through the procedure by three medical people and told the risks involved, I signed the consent form and was duly wheeled into the operating room.

The first step was an angiogram to inspect the condition of the blocked artery and investigate where and to what extent ballooning should take place. After fifteen or twenty minutes the surgeon gave me the bad news: calcification was too extreme to make the procedure feasible, so what I'd held high hopes for turned into an abortive experience.

Because they'd already made an incision and poked around inside I had to go through the full recovery protocol which involved lying flat for four hours and then gradually sitting up over the course of another three. I got my coffee and toast (which is very hard to deal when you're flat on your back), a nurse checked blood pressure and the condition of the wound at regular intervals, and finally I was allowed to leave around 5:30. Carl picked me  up. We stopped at a nearby establishment for a Guinness pick-me-up and went on to a local Indian restaurant after that.

Carl dropped me back home and I returned to bed for further recovery time. All in all, a disappointing and frustrating day. My vascular consultant is away on holiday, so I'll have to wait until he returns before we can discuss alternative options.