Heart Attack

Alexithymiaa: -Steph was lying in the corner of the couch across the cushions, her head turned into a pillow and her eyes closed with her arms wrapped around Nugget who was out cold next to her. After an eventful afternoon, she'd laid down on the couch to relax and had fallen asleep.-
Covet: Felix was munching on some hummus and carrots, because he was trying to at least snack healthy since he wasn't doing a whole lot of other activity, not for lack of trying, which is why his stuff has been ichy and bothering him because he's been doing work out stuff before he's supposed to, mostly just running and stair stuffs, so all that sweat is making his brace and cast sweaty. Felix looked at the time, then over at Steph, not wanting to wake her because she didn't get much sleep as is lately, but they still hadn't called Bryan and wedding stuff hadn't been discussed. He gave a sigh and got up to check the fire and add another log to it.
Alexithymiaa: -As her dreams started to become more vivid, because it was always just a matter of time lately before they did, her heart started to race and she started to mumble in her sleep, beginning to fidget and move her arms and legs, pushing Nugget away.-
Covet: Felix felt the response on his ring then looked over at her. He frowned, and called Nugget over, then thought about how he could wake her up without getting hurt. He didn't exactly want her to have to suffer, so he did the only thing he could think of and grabbed his phone and dialed up Bryan. Once he picked up on the other end, he started singing loudly and obnoxiously "HAAAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!! HAAPPPY BIRTHDAY TOOO YOU!!!! HAAAAAAAAPPPPY BIIIIIIRTHDAY FUTURE BROTHER IN LAAAAAAAAW HAPPY BIRTHDAY DO YOUUUUUUUUUUU!" Where the action was rude, he figured it was something familiar enough that it'd wake her up and immediately help her ground her surroundings. At the expense of Bryan's ears.
Alexithymiaa: -The loud singing only made the dreams worse because it was so jarring, her body literally turning into thrashes as she desperately trying to push everything away from her, eventually adding high pitched screams to that fun mix. // As soon as Bryan answered his phone, he immediately regretted his decision. "Your ruining my glitter pie." He paused when he heard Steph's screams in the background. "What the fuck is going on?"-
Covet: "She's having a nightmare, and I was trying to wake her up without further injuring myself. And I'm failing, Fuck it, I'm going in...." He said, setting his phone down, not on speaker but not hanging up either. "One Second Bryan." He called out as he went over to Steph, not trying to pin her down, but just get a hand on her in any sort of comforting way, "Hey.. Steph, It's me Felix... You're fine... you're at home, everything is safe. You're safe." He said repeatedly.
Alexithymiaa: -She tried to push his hand away in her sleep, her eyes flying open and she was instantly moving, her back pressing against the wall behind her as she scrambled away from him and onto the floor. Panting and desperately trying to catch her breath, she felt the tightness in her chest from earlier intensify to an actual pain, pushing her hand over her heart as she struggled up to her feet to turn and face him, not wanting her back to the human in her room and just standing there like a deer in headlights.-
Covet: Felix backed off quickly when she pushed back, and just sat there, reaching for his phone he picked it up, "Hey, We'll call you back later." He said quickly then hung up the phone before tucking it into his pocket, just standing back waiting for Steph to come back to earth. Nugget had waddled over to Steph, undeterred by the action, and started to lick her feet, because she gave him all the food today.
Alexithymiaa: (Nugget, this is why no one is afraid to break intot he house.)
Covet: [HE'S HELPING! lol]
Alexithymiaa: -She just stood there as she watched him through wide eyes, her mind taking in her surroundings and slowly reassuring the rest of her that she was conscious and everything was as she remembered it. Despite her brain growing calmer, her heart was still pounding and she was still struggling to breathe, the darkness closing in on the edges of her vision. "I can't..." She mumbled in an airy tone.-
Covet: Felix walked over to her and put his arms out, "I can feel, what do I need to get for you? Open a window? Meds? Ambulance?" He asked hitting all ends of the spectrum.
Alexithymiaa: -She stretched her hand out so she could lean on him at least a little, her depth perception off as she gasped for more oxygen. Missing him entirely, her body fell forward, her once rapid heart beat slowing to a dangerously slow beat, losing consciousness.0
Covet: Felix reached out to catch her as best he could with one arm, and kind of drag her to the couch. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed 911 because this bitch is unconcious and the not being able to breathe was a bad mixture of all things. "Fuck... Fuckk.. Steph... C'mon Red, Stay with me here." He said trying not to panic because he couldn't exactly do CPR stuff if needed with only one good hand. "As soon as the dispatch answered he spoke quickly, " I need an ambulance to 1007 Mountain drive, My fiance is unconscious and she has heart issues, and she can't breath." He said trying to lean down to see if he could at least hear her inhaling at all.
Covet: [HOMG... BREATHE*... she can't breath... -facepalm-]
Alexithymiaa: (Thats hilarious because all the research ive done over the last two weeks, the first thing dispatch would tell him to do until paramedics get there is CPR. Or if hes not trained, at least chest compressions to keep blood flowing.)
Covet: [Right he can't put pressure down because of his collar bone, otherwise he could at least kind of wing it. She'd hurt afterwords, but... at this point she wouldn't notice it either way.]
Alexithymiaa: -Her body was limp and basically ragdolling in his arms as he dragged her to the couch, still not breathing, but then her weak heart beat ceased completely. Fortunately, the hospital is pretty close so it wouldn't take more than a few minutes for an ambulance to get there. And the dispatch was immediately sending that signal down the line and giving Felix instructions about the blood flow thing.-
Alexithymiaa: (Better sore than dead)
Covet: "I can try, but I can't really put a lot of pressure on her chest, I'm in a cast and a collarbone brace." He said nervous as he got her laid flat and tipped her head back, using his good hand to push down as hard as he could, which was definitely harder than he should have, but life saving things. "How far out is the ambulance, tell them to hurry!"
Alexithymiaa: -Probably about thirty seconds after he asked, the sirens were heard down the block, getting louder by the second as the paramedics pulled into the driveway. Which of course sent the dogs into a barking frenzy because loud noises and flashy lights. They burst into the house with a stretcher in tow along with a suitcase looking object, rushing over to Felix to take over from him. The first one instantly started in on proper chest compressions and CPR while the other checked for a pulse and removed the defibrillator from the suitcase. "No pulse." The first paramedic stopped CPR, grabbing for the razor to swiftly slice open the front of her shirt to expose her skin. "Clear!" Paramedic numero dos leaned in with the paddles, jolting her body up and reaching for her neck to check her pulse again. "I've got a pulse." To which they lifted her onto the stretcher and started to strap her on.-
Covet: Felix was just kind of out of it as he hung up on the emergency dispatch and went to grab his shoes so he could get in the ambulance with them. His heart nearly fell when they said she didn't have a pulse, he'd been to busy trying to give her the compressions he'd forgotten about her ring, but he felt it when they'd managed to get her pulse back. He swallowed and just kind of followed along with them, watching her intently.
Alexithymiaa: -Once they had her strapped on, they fastened on an oxygen mask to her face, continuously squeezing the plastic balloon attached to force oxygen into her lungs. Moving quickly, they rushed her out of the house and back to the ambulance, loading her up and of course letting Felix climb into the back with them before taking off in a flurry of lights and sirens for the hospital. Which Im not loading Central because fuck that. Pulling into the back of the hospital, they jumped out, unloading her off the truck and rushing with her in through the ER entrance and talking a mile a minute about her vitals to the doctor meeting them at the door.-
Covet: Felix climbed out and stood off to the side, just kind of watching them trying to make sense of all the medical jargon. He was not looking forward to calling Bryan back, but knew it was going to have to be done eventually.
Alexithymiaa: (Also hilarious because I intended her to ask him NOT to call Bryan as soon as everything was calmer)
Alexithymiaa: -They wheeled her off behind a set of doors, a nurse putting her arm out to stop Felix from following them so they could work about getting her stable after the heart attack. "I'm sorry sweetie, no one is permitted beyond this point. I'll make sure to let you know when she's been moved to the ICU and you can go in and see her."-
Covet: "Huh? Oh right... Make sure to tell her I'm here waiting for her. She hates it here." Felix said as he stood outside the doors, not going to the waiting room because that was too far away. He pulled his phone out and hesitated over the re-dial button for Bryan for a long minute before backing out, to send his mother and Cadence a message instead, because he was going to need a ride to get his vehicle at some point.
Alexithymiaa: -After a long wait, the nurse finally walked back over to Felix, trying to give him a reassuring smile because at least she wasn't dead. For now. "I can take you back now to see her. The doctors have her stabilized, but she's still unconscious. Dr. Greene has been notified and is heading down there now to consult with the treating physician." She spoke before letting him in and heading toward Steph's room.-
Covet: "Thanks..." Felix said having been texting with his mom, not getting anything back from Cadence just yet. He walked into the room and watched her, going over to take her hand, then reluctantly sighed as he dialed up Bryan again.
Alexithymiaa: -She was hooked up to oxygen as well as a heart monitor which was obnoxiously beeping in the room. The nurse moved around Steph, writing down a few of the numbers from the monitor into her chart as she waited for Dr. Greene to come in. // Bryan answered his phone on the first ring. "What's up?"-
Covet: "Sorry.. So...I don't want you to freak out, but we're at the hospital, The nightmare, triggered a heart attack for Steph. She's stable, but hooked up to oxygyn and a heart monitor right now. The Doctor will be here soon, I thought you might want to listen in on the conversation." Felix said somberly, his brain still trying to wrap around all the chaos.
Alexithymiaa: "What? How am I not supposed to freak out about that?" He asked way too loudly. "Nightmares don't just trigger heart attacks, asshat. She's barely twenty four years old. That doesn't just happen." // Dr. Greene stepped into the room, taking the chart from the nurse to glance at what she'd written before turning to Felix, giving him a little silent nod since he was on the phone.-
Covet: "Shut the fuck up, I know it doesn't But her heart is weak from the years of fucking damage spurned on by your sociopathic mother, so one bad nightmare on a pretty bad anniversary...yeah.. that shit happens." Felix said rolling his eyes. " The doctor's here, do you want to hear what he has to say or not." Felix said loudly over any further arguement from Bryan.
Alexithymiaa: "Yeah, shut the fuck up and let me listen." Because now Bryan was all riled up and Felix will always be his favorite target. // Dr. Greene waited for Felix to finish talking, walking to the foot of Steph's bed. "We're going to be real with each other right now because her and I have been doing this dance for years. It's not good. As far as life threatening condition, she's probably worse than when she weighed thirty pounds less. The irregular heartbeat caused by her body's desperate attempt to conserve energy since her intake has been and is so low, makes it have to work twice as hard to get the same amount of oxygen to her body. Add stress to that, and basically what's going to happen is the heart is going to go into overdrive trying to feed the body what it needs, and it's going to fail. When it fails, the organs stop receiving the proper amount of oxygen to keep working and this is what's going to cause a heart attack and that shut down. To be frank, she was extremely lucky they had such an easy time jump starting her heart because most people are legally dead a lot longer." He was intentionally trying to be scary because this bitch needs to be whipped into shape and he knew Felix was the one to do it.-
Covet: Felix took a deep breath and nodded his head. "Thanks for not sugar coating it. I just wish she was awake to hear that." Felix said looking down at her. "She's been trying to manage the stress, but this time of year is absolutely awful for her. And... if putting on more weight is adding to that stress, how the fuck are we supposed to get her healthy, without her heart completely giving up on her?" He asked the definite fear and concern in his voice, choking him up, regardless if Bryan was on the phone and could hear him getting emotional.
Alexithymiaa: "It's not going to be easy. Every step is going to be a struggle. When exactly does 'this time of year' end for her? Because if that's the case, we'll keep her hospitalized until we can be certain her anxiety and stress levels will be lower. I'm also putting her on beta blockers immediately which are going to counteract that adrenaline she feels during high stress and anxiety situations. They're also going to expand blood vessels and improve blood flow so we won't end up with a lack of oxygen flow. I'm also going to strongly recommend at the very least weekly out patient therapy. In a perfect world I'd like to see her in a rehab facility again, but I'm not going to waste my breathe on that. She needs to understand the severity of the situation she's put herself in and that continuing down this path will absolutely be fatal. There is no question in my mind about that."-
Covet: "And if what of all of that fails?" Felix said looking at the doctor. " Is there some sort of, pacemaker, or synthetic heart transplant or something to keep her from missing out on the life a twenty four year old should have?" Felix asked. "At least the next week, if not longer." He said in regards to the timeline. " We were actually getting to a better place, she had hope, she was happy about future oportunities. and things looked like they were on the up, but... I guess it was still too little too late." His breath hitched in his throat and he swallowed hard, before clearing it.
Alexithymiaa: "I wouldn't count on any kind of transplant. Getting her on a donor list can happen, but people in worse condition wait years for a heart. It's just... it's not something I would rely on. A pacemaker is an option if it comes down to that, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'd prefer to avoid surgery if at all possible so we're going to start with the beta blockers and upping that calorie intake and go from there." He paused, walking closer to Felix to put his hand on his shoulder gently. "It's never too late. She's here and her heart is beating and that's what matters right now. I'm going to do everything I can to help her get better, but you need to also. She's going to need a little bit of tough love to set her back on course."-
Covet: "I've been tough... so has her brother." He said pointing to the phone. "I don't know how much more tough we can be, when she continuously ignores us, and chooses to learn shit the hard way. I mean.. I can be tougher... It's just seems to stress her out and I thought that's what we were trying to avoid." Felix said then was quiet, "Would a feeding tube be out of the question right now?" He asked softly. "That way she's not seeing the calories she's taking in?"
Alexithymiaa: "Let me worry about the stress for now. You worry about getting her to eat." He said before shaking his head. "A feeding tube isn't out o the question at all, but that's only going to work while she's here with us. When she's discharged she's going to need to be willing to eat on her own. We're giving her an IV right now, but I can order a feeding tube. Excuse me." He said with a nod to him before turning to walk out of the room, going right to the nurse's station to file the things.-
Covet: Felix nodded and then hung up with Bryan, since there wasn't much else they could do immediately right now, saying that he'd keep him posted when anything changes, then sat there holding her hand, going as far as to sleep half on her bed, while sitting in the chair. well into the night and such.