Reordered Day

Yesterday's plans flew right out the window when I received a call from my dad late morning telling me that my mom was having chest pain and was short of breath and wondering what he should do.  He was unsure if he should take her to an urgent care center or to the emergency room (she was insistent that she didn't need an ambulance).  I of course told him to head to the ER and I would meet them there.

Since my mom is almost 82, once she got to the hospital they did a quick triage assessment and got her right back to an ER room where a host of medical personnel descended to care for her.  Thankfully the EKG showed she wasn't having a heart attack and preliminary blood work indicated her heart enzymes were normal (a heart attack would show an enzyme change).  Some nitroglycerin (tablet and then a patch) alleviated the pressure she was feeling and she was then admitted to the telemetry unit for overnight monitoring, with a chemical stress test scheduled for some time this morning (she's unable to do a treadmill stress test).

So it was a long and tiring day with a nice rush of stress-induced adrenaline to add to my overall state.  Obviously I'm incredibly thankful that my mom is stable and we are awaiting a meeting with the doctor early this afternoon to get the results of the stress test.  Because my mom had a heart catherization three years ago that showed her arteries were in relatively good shape for someone her age, and someone who has been diabetic for over two decades, the attending physician now is fairly certain that what she is experiencing is the result of damage to the small vessels around her heart due to diabetes.  My mom has already experienced small vessel damage to her eyes (she's lost part of the vision in one eye) and to her kidneys, and she also has some mild neuropathy in her feet due to her diabetes.

Had my mom not gone on Take Shape for Life/Medifast three years ago and not only lost 40 pounds but also better managed her blood sugar (she is no longer taking insulin during the day), I know she would be in much worst condition now, or perhaps not be here at all, so we have much to be thankful for. 

Interestingly, because my mom uses a lot of Medifast meals to help her manage her blood sugar, she had her second meal of the day (a crunch bar) on the way to the ER.  About 3 hours later I talked to a nurse and told him that she managed her blood sugar with small, low-glycemic meals throughout the day and that she needed to eat again.  He asked me if I was her dietician and I told him no, that I was her daughter AND her health coach :-).  He then asked me what kind of food she needed to eat and I told him balanced protein and low-glycemic and gave him a couple of ideas (they brought her some light yogurt).  He ended up telling me that he needed to lose weight and asked for information about our program (I also showed him a couple of my "before" photos).

Once I received the call from my dad this morning, I threw some Medifast meals in my purse, grabbed my 32-oz. bottle of water and tossed some additional bottles of water into my car and headed to the hospital.  I was SO glad I had what I needed with me as there was certainly nothing in the vending machine I'd want to eat and the hospital cafeteria (like all hospital cafeterias) is woefully short of healthy meal options. 

Realizing that today's episode was most likely another manifestation of the insidious damage of diabetes also reinforced (again!) my need to be diligent in not only maintaining my own 126 pound weight loss, but also my need to continue to managing my own blood sugar through eating six small, low-glycemic meals on a daily basis (which is easy thanks in part to Medifast meals!).  Having been diabetic prior to starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I know what my medical future holds if I'm not mindful. 

It's not always easy, and it's not always what I want to do, but I am committed to continuing to choose wisely . . . I hope you are, too!