Because there isn't a bed in the Cardiology wing tonight, Shelley is counting sheep in cubical 17 at the ER. Yes, the Wolff reared its ugly head again at 8:15 tonight. Tomorrow she will be transferred to the Infirmary (the new building of the QE11) in order for Cardiology to have a good look at her and determine the best way forward.
Some of you have indicated that you are not yet clear on what Wolff Parkinson White syndrome is (WPW), so I'll attempt a short description. Its name comes from the three people who discovered the syndrome (ie. it is not related to Parkinson's disease). Essentially, all of a sudden her heart begins to beat very rapidly. Thus far, when she's having an episode, her pulse rate peaks around 170 beats per minute. While most of us were born with one pathway responsible for heart impulses that send the blood on its way, Shelley was born with an accessory pathway as well. Something over the past two months has triggered the accessory pathway to kick in, which means the impulses don't travel through all the heart's chambers and the result is a rapid heart rate. Drugs can sometimes control WPW and there is also a surgical procedure that could stop the abnormal circuit from functioning but, given that Shelley has pancreatic cancer and is on chemo, we are not sure what the doctors are prepared to do. What I know is that Shelley is not prepared to live on the end of such a short tether and is determined to deal with the Wolff in whatever way opens up for her.
The resident cardiologist, who saw Shelley tonight, said that he would recommend a new drug be tried tomorrow, one that required a hospital stay in order for it to be monitored. He envisions that a stress test would be lined up for her on Saturday but his last words were, "When you get on the floor, they may have other ideas for you!" Her own cardiologist has been away all week but, because he is held in high regard, I expect she will get the best of care in his absence.
Hopefully the Wolff can be tamed!
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