It is a truth, universally acknowledged

So begins Pride and Prejudice. In the BBC mini-series Lost in Austen, the female lead begins the story with the same phrase…. It is a truth, universally acknowledged…

But, being obsessed with all things P&P, finds herself in what she calls a post-modern moment and in many ways, it disturbs her. She is to try to keep the story going as Austen wrote despite the fact that she seems to have switched places in time with Elizabeth but as herself and her very modern presence sends the various story lines spinning off in unforeseen and unwritten directions. New truths develop.

We’re finding unforeseen circumstances and truths following us on our current journey.

And the last few days, truths have been coming at us a little more strongly than one would like. As Rich and I walk the halls between specialist visits, we overhear the PCA telling a nurse “… but you aren’t going through what SHE is going through. That’s the difference.”

When we’re in these rooms in these halls in this hospital, it’s very easy to forget, or ignore, the journey that others are on. And that their outcomes may be very different from what we are experiencing. Or they are your possible future. The remarks of this one PCA strike home. None of us knows what the other is going through. There are similarities, there are strengths and weaknesses that affect outcomes. There is the way each situation is approached that can impact one’s stay. Or one’s leaving.

The reminder of compassion and patience is one that is needed right now as well.

This is a hospitalization of waiting. While the leads taped to Rich’s chest are gathering data, Rich himself has little to do. As the v-tach leaves no blips of pain, no stumble of the feet, no dizziness in its wake, the wait seems pointless. But it’s necessary. It is a truth. We must have patience. As Rich feels nothing during the v-tach, there is a truth to his health that we have not, til now, acknowledged. There is a danger there. We have to recognize that it exists. Waiting. Lurking.

Day two and our Heart Failure doctor brings us more truths. Entresto, a medication that did not sit well with Rich and stopped after a few days, is to be started again. We’re hesitant. We’re not convinced. And then she hits us with a solid truth. Humor has left her eyes. Those eyes bore into Rich’s. They will not be ignored.

“People DIE from the heart condition you have. They DIE. Not YOU. Not on my watch. We will find a way for this medication and we will find it NOW. Waiting until you return from Ireland is not an option. We can’t wait that long. This is your LIFE.”

Yes ma’am.

She is not to be denied! Her truth, our truth, cannot be denied.

Having had issues with this drug, we uncharacteristically agree to stay overnight so that Rich can be monitored and his reaction gauged so that dosage intervals and the timing of other parts of his CHF cocktails can be modified to bring the best possible optimization of all meds. That is our goal. Once we reach that optimization, Rich will need to be on these doses, yet to be reached, for three months. At that point, more tests, measuring heart function and ejection fraction, will determine if the internal cardiac defibrillator will be needed. For now it is too soon. Despite the v-tach, it is too soon in the process.

That we have chosen to stay rather than self-monitor at home, is unusual for us. The truth is, this medication scares us. The side effects hit Rich hard. They don’t afford good quality of life as they were taken before. Our ability to take this home and travel through it on our own doesn’t sit well with us, though it is offered to us as an option. Our doctors know us well. But we feel this truth that they have so eloquently urged on us… We need to be here now. The timing of when this medication is to be taken and when the others should be dispensed is modified. We need to follow this protocol as much as possible. No longer will Rich be able to tip a handful of meds into his palm and take them en masse. Patience. Your truth now guides this new process… we need to stagger meds and avoid overlap for optimization.

We give in to the sleep that is so needed. But as in all hospitals, the time to wake will come soon. And repeatedly. There is a price to allowing others to carry your burden. It is a price we gladly pay this night. The truth, our truth, is that we gladly hand this burden to those who do have our best interests in mind, although their plan isn’t always what we wished. They don’t know what we are going through, but take on the responsibility so that we can rest. For now.

The morning’s tests and data will give us a new truth. We hope it is one we can swallow!