I ran to the front doors of the clinic.They were locked.A sign on the door said,"Clinic closes at eight o'clock."I pounded on those doors in an absolute frenzy of fear.What kind of hospital closes at eight?No one got sick after eight?Oh,Brian,why did this have to happen out here,the middle of nowhere,in a tiny,little one cow village?
Finally,a face loomed out of the dark corridor,"Sorry we're closed."
"Open this fucking door!My husband is in there!"
"Oh,you must be the wife."Brilliant.
The door opened,and a nurse conducted me to a waiting area."The doctor is with him,dear,you have to wait here."
"Is it a heart attack?"
"The doctor will explain in a minute."An hour went by.The doctor came out of the exam room/operating room.He was young and looked full of self importance.
"Your husband is having a heart attack."Master of the obvious.
"There are three levels of myocardial infarction,mild,moderately serious and catastrophic.The survival rate for catastrophic is low."He gave me a number.
"Why are you telling me this?"I already knew.
"He is having the catastrophic kind.We're doing all we can,but you should be prepared.We are giving him a powerful drug to try and break up the clot of plaque,we believe is blocking the blood flow in the main artery of his heart."
"I've been speaking to a heart specialist on the phone,and we feel this is the best course of action at the moment."
"Is it working,Doctor?"
"Not yet.I must get back to him."Thirty minutes went by,during which,I called our son Steve and asked him to tell other family members.I told him it was very grave and perhaps he should be there.I went to look through the round window of the O.R. I saw,a white as death man,with sunken looking eyes and a drawn face, I didn't recognize,lying on a gurney."Come in," the doctor called.
I went in and held Brian's hand."I have just administered a second dose.The specialist recommended it."
It obviously wasn't working.Where was this specialist?They didn't have major surgical facilities here.Why didn't they take him to a big hospital?The doctor seemed to read my mind.He took me aside.
"If we move him,we'll probably lose him."Another thirty minutes passes and a nurse makes me sit outside again.She brings me a cup of tea and hugs me .She thinks he's going to die.Another nurse hugs me.They all think he's going to die.
Suddenly,there was a flurry of activity and noises in the O.R.I ran to the window.The doctor and nurse were working over Brian frantically.They were trying to revive him.I guess they did bring him back again.The next thing I saw and heard was the doctor on the phone to the heart specialist.He was saying they should take Brian to the big university hospital in a nearby city.There was nothing to lose."We're were going to lose him,anyway."
"Oh God,oh God,oh God,no."
The city was about thirty minutes away.It had a well known teaching hospital and had a very,well known and respected heart wing.The head heart surgeon there,was famous for creating a crack surgical team,that was always on call for emergencies and could be there,scrubbed and ready to operate within forty minutes.
The doctor came and told me he had sent for the ambulance and they were leaving immediately.He also told me,he didn't think Brian would make it.....To be continued.
