One Fisch, Two Fisch

Had an appointment with Dr. Fisch this morning. Just a pre-meeting before my heart cath tomorrow, which he will be performing over at the Heart Hospital. I spent many, many hours at that place in 2005 and late 2008 when my dad was sick. He always liked the food there (so much so that my mom and he would go over there for lunch sometimes), so maybe I'll grab a green Jello in his memory. The cath is an outpatient procedure, but I'll be there for several hours. The agenda, according to Dr. Fisch:

6:30 Arrive

8:00 The cath

8:30 Finished with cath

8:30-12:30ish Rest, recovery, applying pressure to the incision

12:30-2:30 More rest, walk around, check to see if the bleeding has stopped

2:30-3ish Go home

I had an EKG at my appointment. Had a blood test afterwards (at the lab down the stairs) to ensure my blood count is good and my kidneys are functioning properly. 

For the cath, for those who don't know, they will fish a thin line through my femoral arteral (near the groin) up to my heart. Dr. Fisch said I won't be able to feel it feeding through my arteries, which is a good thing. They'll inject dye through the scope to see how the blood is flowing and to see if there are any blockages. He said that they'll have to do the bypass or put in a stent if there is any blockage 70%+. They would do this procedure at the same time they fix my mitral valve...two surgeries for the price (or the pain) of one. 

The risks are minimal. I have more chance of being killed in an auto accident, according to Dr. F. After a measured pause, he asked jokingly..."So...how good of a driver are you?" I'm sure he's used that line before on dozens of patients, but his timing and delivery were spot on. And he got a good belly laugh from this patient.