I took care of a patient last night who is 90 years old and pretty functional for her age. If that's not a blessing enough, she's also been married to her husband for 72 years now. Wow, right? This is something I feel we will be seeing less of as time goes on. I wonder what it must feel like to have spent that many years together.
She suffered a cardiac arrest at home, was resuscitated in the field and brought over to our CCU. She was found to have significant coronary disease (left main & 3 vessel disease) and severe aortic stenosis with bypass and valve replacement being her only option; however, given her age the surgeons were not enthusiatic in taking her to the OR--a subject I have many thoughts on. So, the patient and husband are left to make the decision of pursuing surgery despite the risks or accepting palliative care with medications. It seems for the rest of our lives at various times will be faced with difficult choices...this is something we simply cannot escape.
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