Gratefulness

 After my experience of Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome and understanding how bad the undetected outcome could have been I was very grateful that ...

Something made me stop
That because the helicopter flew low over our house 
Harry came out to look at it and found me
He knew something was wrong and rung 111 
The medics were just back from a previous emergency so didn't take long to get there
They were experienced to note I had had a cardiac episode
Because I was stuck in triage for 6 hours the young doctor was on his shift by then 
He took the time to read my history notes and guessed what the problem was. 
He admitted me and the medical staff took care of the rest
and so I was checked, tested and had surgery to correct it

I believe that God had it all in hand and the circumstances were all part of His provision. I am extremely grateful for this. If I focus on the sad things that affect me (and I won't name any of them), I lose sight of all I have to be grateful for. 

Sometimes it can be very obvious, other times not so much and others might take a bit of thought to realize how blessed we are for something so that we can be thankful and grateful for it.

So I decided to make a grateful post every day on Facebook for a year.  If I keep it up for a whole year that will be 365 things. The year is nearly up and I will have to see if I want to keep doing it as many people say they look for my grateful posts each day. Being so grateful for so many circumstances on that day I realized that we all have a lot to be grateful for everyday, we just have to look for it.

If you are a "friend" of mine on Facebook you will have seen them and if not I don't have a public account so you wont see them. I know some of my regular readers are not on Facebook at all so wont have seen them so I am going to post a few on here.

April 3

Today I am grateful for our bed. Its not a hotel room or something from a home magazine, but it is a place I love. I rest, get a good night's sleep as there is no TV or other distractions and the bed is comfortable. The colour green is restful and the bedding soft. I am grateful for my bed

April 4 

Today I'm grateful for hollow Easter eggs. They remind me that the tomb was empty

April 5

Today I am grateful for community. I couldn't think of a picture so this is our street sign. Today Harry has been splitting wood for an older neighbour as she couldn't do it herself. We have been putting out excess feijoas for free and today a lady gave me a handful of cherry tomatoes as she had extras, in exchange, not that I was wanting anything but we will have them for tea. A small community/street like ours just connect. I am grateful for neighbours

April 6 

Some of you may cringe .. but 

Today I am grateful for spiders We have a couple of big ones who take up residence. One in the kitchen (this one) and one out the front door. (Harry tends to feed that one) They make a web and catch all sorts of flies and insects and eat them. I think of Charlotte, from Charlotte's Web and let her be. I'm grateful  for spiders

April 7

Today I am grateful for empty changing rooms. Today I resumed going to Swimzone in Matamata for aquatics. After, I like to take my togs off and shower all the pool water smell off, and there are usually other ladies so you try to be quick and discreet. But today I was on my own in these rooms and so just got changed at my own pace. I am grateful for privacy

April 8

Today I am grateful for Harry's wood splitter. I don't actually use the splitter myself but today Harry and Daniel processed 2 Ute fills of wood for winter. They chain sawed the logs, split them into fire size pieces then stacked them under cover. I'm grateful for easy wood splitting

April 9

Today I am grateful  for Harry helping to pick up our feijoas. We have two feijoa trees and for years while the children were still at home we used to send them out to pick up the fruit and they really hated doing it. Last year Daniel was living at home while we were in lockdown for COVID and it was so nice not to have to crawl under the trees so much myself. This year its just us two and it seems since my little (big) hospital trip Harry has helped do things and one is to come out with me to gather them with me. We put the bags out the gate for people to take for free. I'm grateful for helping hands

April 10

Today I am grateful for surprise dates. Out of the blue Harry said would you like to go out for dinner and maybe catch a movie, you'd like that wouldn't you? Well yes - who wouldn't? Now those of you who know us (Harry) well, will know that's not a common thing in our lives, so of course I said yes! We went to Cambridge to Tivoli Cinema and saw "Then Came You", having hot drinks, cake and popcorn Then to The Good George for a shared taco platter and drinks I'm grateful for dates

April 11

Today I am grateful for Wesley McLay. Wes is from Tauranga and works within the Mental Health and well-being sector. Today he preached for us at the Tirau Community Church as our Pastor John is no longer with us. Today he preached from Psalms 23:4 showing that many people from the Bible suffered from bouts of depression and other aspects of Mental Health and called out to God in ways very similar to David in Psalms 23:4.Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV) I was reminded of my low times and comforted by the reminder that I am never alone and others feel the same. I am grateful for preachers

April 12

Today I am grateful for warm Autumn days. Because of a few wet days and not always having a lot of washing the washing pile was getting big. I also change the sheets on a Monday. I always separate my coloured's from my whites and towels so today I had three loads to go out. I also go to aquaerobics on a Monday morning  followed by a chai latte with the ladies. I then got groceries so it was lunchtime by the time I got home. But today was warm with a bit of a breeze so I was able to get all the washing done, dry. I am grateful for dry washing days.

April 13

Today I am grateful for grandchildren. In particular the Stone family I went to Hamilton to look after them as Jennifer had parent teacher interviews after school until late. So we made blueberry muffins and had fun. I am grateful for family.

April 14
Today I am grateful for aquaerobics. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I go through to Matamata to the pools and join a group of ladies (and the occasional man) for 45 minutes of directed aerobics in the heated pools. I have very sore knees so doing these exercises in the water means less impact and pain on the knees. I'm in the process of waiting for knee replacement so this helps keep me fit but not in so much pain. Today I am grateful for water exercises

April 15

Today I am grateful for homegrown potatoes Harry has always grown our potatoes like his father did. It's a continuing experiment with brands and planting times. This is a Rua potato (and its was about 880gr) and is from his second plantings. We have been eating our own since before Christmas. The last time I brought potatoes was in October. I am grateful for Harry's potatoes

April 16

Today I am grateful for Grandparents Day. Tirau school has it's day when Grandparents can come and join in with some class work and be with their grandchildren. Sarah and Carl have moved back close to Tirau and their children now go to Tirau School. It can be a bit hard to spend time with both grandchildren but their other grandparents were there so they ended up with double visits. Isla did a family tree and Sean did a grandparents poem and we helped with the decorating.  I am grateful for grandchildren

April 17

Today I am grateful for new gates. We have hens that we let out to roam around the section but sometimes they wonder out the driveway and up the neighbour's looking for bread to eat. The lady in the next house over used to drop her bread over the fence as she knew the hens would come up and get it. We have just got new neighbours and so they don't get cross Harry finally hung the gate Steven dropped off over a year ago. Now the chooks won't be going anywhere! Today I am grateful for gates

April 18

Today I am grateful  for homegrown beetroot. We have a vegetable garden where we grow most of the vegetables we eat. I don't have a huge success with it all but I keep at it. I often plant beetroot seeds and they come up with varying numbers. Last year after my dear sister died we helped a little at her house with her daughters and family to sort of empty it but also take what we wanted, and we took home all her seeds. She had a variety of seeds for each type of vegetable including beetroot so I planted a few to see what they'd be like. There were the usual red and some pinker variety. I had five come up and have now pickled them for salads and my homemade burgers Today I am grateful for beetroot

April 19

Today I am grateful for Road trips with Harry. We have finally gone on our Easter holiday to Wellington to see my Dad and Resa and family. I know, a bit late, but I wasn't up to it after my heart issue. But now we have driven down and I didn't do any of the driving. Its a 6 hour drive including a couple of stops for food, fuel and 🚻 but I do my knitting. I drive myself when I come down on my own but it was nicer not to have Harry drive. I am grateful for safe travels.

April 20

Today I am grateful for my Dad. Last year he lost his eldest daughter/child to bowel cancer. He also had his wife of nearly 68 years pass away at the age of 90. He still lives in their large home on his own with the help of a morning and evening carer visit and meals-on-wheels. My brothers and sister-in-laws keep a watch on him as well. Today we went into town to get some groceries and for Dad to do an errand he wanted to do. He can't drive now so I took him. He walked quite a long way and back, from the car on his own. He said he had a few people ask him if he needed help. He was quite proud he'd walked that far and so was I. This is not the best pics, but .. Today I am grateful (and blessed) for my Dad.

April 21

Today I am grateful for warm sunny rooms. We are spending a few days with my Dad at the family home of over 54 years. There are lovely big windows in the lounge and dining room so when the sun shines it gets really warm. We had a relaxing day just chatting in the warm. Today I am grateful for sunny spaces.

April 22

Ok so ... Today I am grateful for glass tumblers I know previously I posted about my friendly spider on the ceiling in my kitchen, but this one is different. Harry and I were just having a last cuppa for the night, when a rather large spider, about 4 cm wide/long decided to just walk across the floor at my feet. I couldn't believe the size! Fortunately we had an empty glass tumbler close by so Harry caught the under it and with the help of an old card and me opening the back door he was able to put it outside. Today I am grateful for glassware!

April 23

Today I am grateful for coming home. If you've been following along you will know we've been away for a few days visiting my Dad. Travelling home was awful with general traffic during the day, school holiday traffic and then its the ANZAC weekend which means a long weekend and so it was a very slow drive home. But home now and my lap rug is so pleased to see me she has settled in. Harry's lit the fire and although its not cold its cozy and it's home. Today I am grateful for home

April 24

Today I am grateful for YouTube. I know a bit different but with the presence of this I can watch all sorts of things in particular Shiver Me Tingles   This is my youngest daughter. Without going into details it means I get to see and hear her which, for those who know, is a real blessing. Today I am grateful for YouTube

April 25
Today I am grateful for ANZAC Day. On this day of 25th April every year in New Zealand 🇳🇿 and Australia 🇦🇺 we remember not only our ANZAC's but all those who went to war and fought for peace in WW1, WW2 and many other wars, especially those who gave of their lives, but also those who were blessed to return. Today I was the Lay Minister at Tirau's service of which there were over 100 people including adults and children. Some mentioned they had never been before. Today I am grateful for our ANZAC'S

April 26

Today I am grateful for 'lost gardens ' I know strange post but yesterday I spent some time working in our vegetable garden. Over the last 16 months with stuff going on in our lives both emotional, spiritual, physical and all the things going on around us, I didn't do a lot of gardening. I'd pop out for a bit and do some planting or weeding but not like I used to and I was late with things like tomatoes, capsicum, pumpkins and cucumbers so there's not a lot going on out there. I decided it was time to get out and see what had survived. After the weeding I was pleased to find a few vegetables and others still coming on. Today I am grateful for forgotten gardens

April 27

Today I am grateful for leftovers. Because I worked in the garden most of the afternoon yesterday we decided to get takeaways for tea. We didn't quite finish it so it got put in the fridge. Today I wanted something warm for lunch so I heated it up with some other bits and had a yummy 'sweet and sour' lunch. Today I am grateful for leftovers

April 28

Today I am grateful for chooks. Harry has been cutting some firewood from a friends place and there have been lots of huhu grubs in them when he splits the rings. He saves then in a tray and when there is enough for sharing he gives them to the hens ... and they have a party. Someone somewhere would probably say they'd eat them and they taste like peanut butter but we'll let the hens decide! Today I am grateful for the hens

April 29

Today I am grateful for my clothes dryer. I have had my dryer for over 40 years and it's still going strong. I haven't used it a lot as I normally dry our clothes outside or undercover in the garage or on the drying rack by the fireplace. Sometimes I finish off the damp things on top of the hot water cylinder. Today the washing got dry outside but the towels were a bit stiff as there was no wind, so I popped them in the dryer for 15 minutes which makes them nice and fluffy. Today I am grateful for dryers

April 30

A few years ago now, I spent some time at a lovely place called the Titoki Healing Centre. They have beautiful gardens as just one of the many things that make the retreat a wonderful place to rest and heal. The Burgundy Iceberg Floribunda Rose caught my eye and I bought myself one. It's doing a last flowering before the cold of winter and when I see it flower it makes me smile and long to go there again. Today I am grateful for Burgundy Rose

My WPW Syndrome Expereince

Saturday 20th March 2021 I was weeding and tidying up our driveway garden. This runs from the gate by the footpath to a point halfway up the side of the house. It usually takes me a couple of days as it involves a lot of bending, pulling and emptying bins of weeds and pruning’s, so I would have to rest.

The classic comment from Harry would be, 

“You’re not over doing it are you?” to which I would respond, “Yes”, so he would tell me to go and lie down. 

I hated this, but knew I had to and after a good half hour or so I was able to get back up and go back outside. 

On this particular Saturday I was determined to get the whole garden finished and so went out after tea at about 7.00pm for about 20 minutes. As I was nearing completion, I noticed my vision was a little blurry and checked to see if I had the right glasses on. At about the same time the fire siren went up which for our town means the volunteer fire brigade are called down to the station and go out, more times than not, to an emergency or medical call rather than a fire. 

I started to tidy up and as I finished, I was feeling very fatigued again. Coming up to our back deck I felt exhausted and wanted to get up he steps to go inside, but all I could manage was to lean and sit against the steps. I was desperate to sit or lie down but just couldn’t. I felt like I was going to collapse and I was shaking and sweating. 

A helicopter came over the house meaning the fire call was quite a bad medical emergency. Harry came out to see where it was landing and saw me. 

He looked at me saying, “Is that helicopter for you?”! 

I said “I think so” I was sweating, finding it hard to breath and really not fully in control of what I was doing. He asked if I had been over doing it again and I said I was awful and then couldn’t talk well. Harry looked at me and said, “I’m calling 111”

 

The siren went up again and then because the emergency services were still out for the other call they were around to our house in no time.

I had numerous tests while still out on the steps and was told I had had a cardiac event and would need to go to hospital. I was supported to the ambulance, given relief and oxygen and we went to Waikato hospital in Hamilton. Arriving in triage at 9.20pm I was checked out and the trolley I was on was wheeled into a cubical where I waited to be seen in the Emergency Department. 

It’s a bit of an education to be there on a Saturday night! Six hours later I was seen by a young doctor who listened to my story, took some bloods and checked me out, saying, I seemed to be OK now so he would just write up a report and send me home. 

What seemed like over an hour later he returned to say there had been a change of plan. He had read up my past notes on file and saw that Wolff Parkinson White (WPW) had been seen before. I thought he meant some sort of specialist and wondered why I hadn’t remembered a man’s, name like that. He then explained it was to do with my heart. I told him about other times while working in the garden or going for walks up hill etc. He had spoken to cardiology and they wanted me admitted for testing and maybe surgery. I am so thankful that this busy ED doctor took the time to read through my notes.

Finally, later that Sunday evening I was taken up to the cardio ward and so begun three days of testing and monitoring and eventual surgery. I had a heart beat monitor attached to me at all times and it hung around my neck even when I was showering. I also had to have a treadmill test which was stopped before it went too far as it showed the WPW syndrome. 

On Monday evening the team decided that I was to have the procedure, an ablation, but had to wait as there were more urgent patients scheduled the next day so it would be Wednesday. I was told that once I had had “the burn” as they called it, I will be rearing to go like never before. 

Praise God for wise young doctors who read all your history notes. 

The surgery was done with just a local and although it took a few times for pain to be blocked it was successful, my heart stimulated to test it and then all was well. I went home the next day. 

I must admit it has made the world of difference but it took a few weeks to recover and really notice the improvement

Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

As I mentioned in the blog post below I had a week in hospital in March with Wolff Parkinson White syndrome.

I had a time in Hospital in March after a Wolff Parkinson White syndrome, incident and correction.

Don’t worry I didn’t know what it was either before I was diagnosed with it.

In 1915, Frank Norman Wilson (1890–1952) became the first to describe the condition later called Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome. Alfred M. Wedd (1887–1967) was the next to describe the condition in 1921. Cardiologists Louis Wolff (1898–1972), John Parkinson (1885–1976) and Paul Dudley White (1886–1973) are credited with the definitive description of the disorder in 1930.

The definition is: 

A syndrome in which an extra signaling electrical pathway in the heart causes a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia).  

The extra electrical pathway in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome appears between the heart's upper and lower chambers and is present at birth. (congenital heart defect). WPW is the most common type of ventricular preexcitation (preexcitation: the impulses travel to the ventricle earlier than what you would expect them to if they travelled down the normal pathway through the AV node).

The atrioventricular (AV) node is a small structure in the heart, located in the Koch triangle.

The AV node controls the passage of the heart's electrical signal from the atria (upper chamber) to the ventricles (lower chamber). After an electrical impulse is generated by the sinus node (located at the top of the right atrium), it spreads across both atria (right and left upper chambers), causing these chambers to beat.

In saying that WPW is also fairly rare, occurring randomly in the general population, in about 1 to 3 per 1,000 persons. In the general population, men have a higher incidence of WPW than women do, and there is a higher incidence of multiple accessory pathways in men.

Symptoms most often appear between the ages of 11 and 50. The condition is discovered by chance during a heart exam. They usually aren't life-threatening, but serious heart problems can occur. Rarely, WPW syndrome may lead to sudden cardiac death in children and young adults.

Some cases of WPW are inherited. Parents who have accessory pathways may pass them on to their children. One paper suggested the incidence of preexcitation in first-degree relatives could be as high as 5.5 per 1,000 persons. About 7 to 20 percent of patients with WPW also have congenital defects within the heart.

Common Symptoms are

• A rapid, fluttering or pounding heartbeat
• Dizziness or light-headedness
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Fainting

It can begin suddenly, lasting a few seconds or several hours, during rest or exercise

Cause

The extra electrical pathway is caused by an abnormal gene that connects the atria (upper chamber) and ventricles (lower chamber), allowing electrical impulses to bypass the AV node. This detour activates the ventricles too early and also transmit electrical impulses from the ventricles back to the atria disrupting the co-ordinated movement of the electrical signals through the heart, leading to changes in the heart rhythm.

Tests

• Electrocardiography ECG
• Holter monitoring – 24 hours +
• Electrophysiological studies – treadmill test.

Treatment 

This may involve the use of medication or a catheter procedure to stop the irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia), a procedure known as ablation. Thin, flexible tubes (catheters) are threaded through blood vessels to your heart. Low-voltage, high-frequency electrical energy at the catheter tip are heated to destroy (ablate) the extra electrical pathway causing your condition.
In rare instances, an electric shock may be used to restore a normal rhythm. (cardioversion) 

WPW syndrome may also be called preexcitation syndrome.

Apparently, I have had Wolff Parkinson White syndrome diagnosed before but I was never told, or don’t remember.

I have never been one to play much sport and in fact when I did do things like go for long walks, especially going uphill, I would feel exhausted and have heart palpitations that I thought was just an indication of being unfit. Running was never a strong point either and I longed to be able to go for a jog but it was just too much effort.

My next post will be about what happened to me.