What Happened?

A SHORT INTRODUCTION

Dr. Kadar was used to taking care of patients—not being one himself. But just as he was embarking on a new marriage, a few episodes of minor chest pain sent this healthy, successful anesthesiologist to his doctor’s office, where he received a shocking diagnosis: He had severe heart disease and urgent open-heart surgery.

A surprise episode of chest pain with vigorous exercise rang the first alarm bell, but it didn't sound loud and clear enough despite his professional knowledge. Denial kicked in, and only after a third episode in the gym did Dr. Kadar make an appointment with his own doctor.

The previous incident was followed by more sudden chest pain at a Halloween festival, a scene that juxtaposed costumed gore and Dr. Kadar’s real-life horror story. This distress generated great concern in Rachel, his new wife of just three months. One more repetition put the exclamation point on the urgency for a diagnosis.

Within two minutes and forty seconds, the stress test confirmed the near certainty of coronary artery disease, causing shock and dismay. Dr. Kadar was scheduled for a definitive diagnostic X-ray test—a coronary angiogram—on the following day.

Coronary angiograms delivered indisputable confirmation of an ominous diagnosis: severe triple vessel disease, including the lesion known among medical professionals as the “widow-maker.” When asked why he didn’t do an angioplasty, the cardiologist told Dr. Kadar “I’ll get a surgeon to talk to you.” Even through the haze of sedation, Dr. Kadar knew the news was bad: the pathology could not be treated with balloon angioplasty and required open heart surgery.

Diagnosed with unstable angina, Dr. Kadar went from the Cardiac Catheterization Lab to the Coronary Care Unit for constant monitoring. Dr. Kadar asked his anesthesiologist, Dr. Nick D’Attellis, about the possibility of brain damage from the heart-lung machine.

After awakening early in the morning on the day of his surgery, Dr. Kadar wrote a hastily conceived will, his first one ever. Rachel, Kenny, and Christine visited him in the CCU; then Rachel stayed with him in pre-op.

Rachel experienced stressful hours of waiting during the operation, examining her inner thoughts and fears. Of Chinese ethnicity, she recalled how in her culture a woman whose husband died shortly after their wedding was often shunned as a “super scissor,” a toxic force that cut his life short.

The surgeon then reappeared and discussed the surgery with her. She went to the ICU to see her husband, still on the ventilator, with drips and drains going into and coming out of his body.

On the first day after surgery, Dr. Kadar awoke in pain to see Rachel sitting beside his bed, looking to him as beautiful as a guardian angel. In an effort to lift his spirits, she had made a special effort that morning to look her best. Later that day, still tethered to chest tubes, he made the first tentative but determined steps out of bed. He walked three times around the ICU, while leaning on both Rachel and his nurse.

Dr. Kadar was determined to be a model patient who gets well rapidly and without complications. But no such luck. First, blood pressure instability and then an arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation) in the middle of the night derailed his plans and resulted in an extra two-day stay in the Cardiac Surgery ICU. After transfer to a regular hospital room, he received a gift of a delicious looking, juicy “bouquet” of fruits, only to discover the unpleasant and unexpected complication—his innability to eat. He contacted a gastroenterologist and then had X-ray tests to diagnose the problem. After a first test indicated a minor abnormality, an astute speech pathologist insisted on a second test that revealed the real diagnosis. An ENT specialist of his acquaintance reassured Dr. Kadar that the problem would likely resolve without treatment but there was no way to alleviate the situation, which left him in the same condition.

In the meantime, sparkling water seemed to make the medicine go down more easily. Dr. Kadar’s efforts to regain stamina, which included walking up and down hospital corridors, inspired reflection on past challenges to persevere, as with running cross country in high school.

Though Dr. Kadar’s large veins were usually easy to locate, one IV nurse had great difficulty starting a line, sticking him three times.

Open heart surgery is associated with brain damage, a career killer for an anesthesiologist and a definite worry for Dr. Kadar. Lying in his hospital bed in the dark one night, during a bout of post-surgical insomnia, he tested himself with double-digit-by-double-digit multiplication problems and by recalling drug dosages.

End of Introduction. If you would like to read the full story, Amazon now has the book available. On the Amazon search bar enter: Getting Better, Andrew G. Kadar MD