Daryl Hatton's
Growing Pains

Here are a few numbers that describe the current situation at the Cardiac Hotel. 100% satisfaction with progress to date 6 : nurses on this floor I could fall in love with 2 : nurses I could marry 2 : nurses here I don’t like – had both of them assigned to me yesterday (just my luck or more likely just how I felt?) 7 : meds I take every day not counting stuff for specific short term issues 1 : fancy chest protector – looks like I might have separated my breast bone 8 : hours I slept first …

Photo of Get Well Card from my friends at Daisy’s Here is the breaking news on the story developing at the Cardiac Hotel Today was definitely better than yesterday(!) I’ve been disconnected from just about everything and finally have some mobility. However, my butt flapping in the breeze with these awful gowns has kept me close to my room. I’m still not in any shape for visitors and there is no room for flowers. Please donate to the little girl and Ride To Give – it will make me happy. With the helipad outside the window I feel like Radar …

This is your action news reporter Daryl (fixed heart) Hatton coming to you LIVE from the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit at Vancouver General Hospital post-op. Short report: I’m good! Next up: First results are in

Today I’ve been asking myself (gently – this isn’t a beating myself up session) how I got here i.e. what caused my heart attack? I thought I’d look through all the common risk factors to see how they apply. I just finished reading the Vancouver Coastal Health Cardiac Surgery Patient Guide and the Heart & Stroke Foundation Cardiac Care Guide suggestions for having a “healthy heart” diet. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad that I’ve been doing most of these things for quite a while – no easy fix hidden in here. I would be considered a good …

Some good news and some bad news…Good news: They successfully did the angio, mapped out the areas that are constricted and think they may even be able to repair some of the damage from the heart attack with something they want to try. Bad news: The something they want to try is open heart bypass surgery. I go in sometime within a week. Why: I have a genetic (hereditary) heart defect where the artery group that feeds the front of my heart is, well, pretty clogged. The artery that feeds the back of my heart is in perfect shape indicating …

On July 11th, 2014 at 6:25 PM Daryl Hatton, your experienced Action News Reporter, walked into the Emergency Department at Vancouver General Hospital to begin an in-depth first-hand look at emergency cardiac care in this city. The next eight articles will describe the personal side of this journey. They were originally designed as stand alone articles but have been combined into this special report with minimal editing. Here are the relevant posts: Heart Ache When you rule out… Live here at ICU First results are in By the numbers Learned overnight More learned overnight Learned over three weeks Please comment and …