A Real Doctor Nurse Encounter

Little did I know when I wrote A Doctor-Nurse Encounter for Harlequin Intrigue that my husband and I would be having our own encounters with doctors and nurses the month the book was released!

Last April my husband started having some trouble breathing. Since he has some allergies and exercised-induced asthma, both he and his doctor thought it was asthma related. When a few different combos of meds didn't solve his breathing problems, his doc sent him to a pulmonologist, who put him on some strong inhalers. Those didn't work either, so the pulmonologist sent him to a cardiologist. He passed an EKG and the doc scheduled him for a special stress test, called a cardio lite, where he would be injected with dye so they could take 3-D images of his heart. The test was scheduled for last Tuesday and my husband had another appointment on Wed. to review the test results and get an echocardiogram.

After the appointment, my husband called me with the scary news - the test revealed a major blockage in one of his arteries - and he was scheduled for an angiogram and possible angioplasty the next day! Talk about readjusting your priorities in a hurry! We told the kids that night and broke the other bad news that we had to cancel our trip to Maui. Sensing the seriousness of Dad's procedure, they hardly raised a fuss about missing Maui.

When something like this happens, you realize how wonderful your friends are. Two of my friends, who have sons who play soccer with my youngest, immediately offered to take the boys to the beach the next day. When we arrived at the hospital, six or seven guys from my husband's task force were there to offer support.

The procedure went smoothly, and all of his other arteries were clear. He spent one night in ICU and was discharged the next day. His doctors were fabulous and his ICU nurse was the best. When I came to pick up my husband, I brought his nurse, Lisa, an autographed copy of A Doctor-Nurse Encounter!

We found out that the artery was 99.9% blocked. My husband could have had a major heart attack at any time (like when we were tromping up and down the hills in S.F.) So my husband is off this week recovering - can't exercise for a month but will be back at work full-time next week. And I'm left feeling so grateful I have my wonderful husband with me. I told my husband we have a new "our song." It's Rob Thomas's "Little Wonders."

let it go,
let it roll right off your shoulder
don't you know
the hardest part is over
let it in,
let your clarity define you
in the end
we will only just remember
how it feels

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours
still remain

let it slide,
let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine
until you feel it all around you
and i don't mind
if it's me you need to turn to
we'll get by,
it's the heart that really matters in the end

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours
still remain

all of my regret
will wash away somehow
but i cannot forget
the way i feel right now

in these small hours
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
these twists & turns of fate

time falls away
but these small hours
these small hours,
still remain,
still remain

these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away
but these small hours
these little wonders
still remain