Prelude to a stroke...

Until Larry is well enough to start either blogging or dictating posts to me, this is all from my perspective.
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This journey actually started on Jan 7, 2014.  That's the first day Larry felt ill enough to go to a doctor.

We went to a walk in clinic, and he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Given an inhaler and antibiotics - as we expected because he was coughing and just didn't feel right.

He took his meds and used the inhaler as required, and was feeling pretty good by the 11th.  On the 12th he felt really really bad, so we went to an urgent care facility - after the football games, of course.

I found out later that his blood pressure was 225/15# (eek!).  When I went into the room he was in, he was on a monitor and they told me he had Atrial Fibrillation (a-fib) and fluid in his lungs, and we were going to be transferred to a hospital.  I will admit I was concerned, but not panicking.

He was in the G hospital emergency ward for two days.  He was given diuretics and blood pressure meds.  He was released on the 13th with a couple of prescriptions and a referral for a follow up.  On the 17th he had a cardiac ultrasound.  We made it to that appointment, but Larry could barely walk down the hall without coughing.

I wasn't going to mess around. Back to the G we went.  His blood pressure was back up to 19#/13# (not good) and the a-fib was back.  The emergency doctor on that night said she had seen his ultra sound, and there was a slight enlargement of the left ventricle. She didn't seem all that concerned. At the G emergency room, they put him on diuretics again and higher doses of his meds. Again, I was concerned but not panicking.

Larry was released again on the 19th, with a wicked gout flare happening.  They gave him a med to help with that as well, and off we went.   We filled his new prescriptions and went home.

Larry's father had given us a home blood pressure monitor to use, and use it we did. Every morning before and then 1/2 hour after his meds.  His blood pressure was coming down nicely, and he was feeling better. The gout was clearing, and it looked like he was going back to work on the 29th.