Valium QUICK !!

Angiogram: An examination of your blood vessels using x-rays. There are 3 major steps;
1) insertion of a catheter into your body, 2) taking x-ray pictures while contrast (x-ray dye) is being injected into a vessel, and 3) removal of the catheter.
Atherosclerosis: Comes from the Greek words athero (meaning gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). The process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This buildup is called plaque.
Carotid Artery Endarectomy: A surgical procedure to manually remove fat and cholesterol build-up from inside the carotid artery and restore adequate blood flow to the brain.

It took two attempts for Clark to get his angiogram done. Clark developed "Anxiety attacks" a few years back, when he was having a MRI for his back. They only occur when he is having an MRI or is very stressed. I warned the first Cardiologist we saw, that Clark would need a sedative before the angiogram, but this doctor didn't listen.
The day arrived for the angiogram and we actually made it clear to the registration desk, but that was about it. You could see the agitation Clark was feeling and unfortunately, the registration "Lady" was not very patient oriented. I had went up first and tried to tell her he needed to go in right away and not to make him wait. That I would complete any paperwork etc. But, she wasn't having any of that... She needed Clark to come up and complete the information. Well, Clark came up and was trying to joke, but was making it clear, that his anxiety level was about to explode.
Here is the end of the short conversation:
Registration Lady: "Sir, you will just need to learn patience".
Clark: "Patience, PATIENCE, I will show you PATIENCE, I am out of HERE.
And gone....I see Clark's back as he runs out of the room.
I drove around the hospital, up and down the different roads, in all directions, for at least 2 hours looking for Clark. Tears breaking through at times. I was so worried for Clark. I finally decided to head home, and there he was, walking down the road. Well, after words of assurance that we would go home and forget the procedure, he got in the car. I promptly broke into tears of release. We kissed and went home. Oh yes, Do you know where Clark had been for 2 hours?? Bob Evan's having coffee... What can I say? What a relief but can I wring your neck first?

We found a new cardiologist, who listened...
Clark got the angiogram done, after taking Valium everyday for 5 days prior to the procedure, and 4 right before we left for the hospital.
The doctor's recommendation....to our shock was, a triple bypass and an Endarectomy on the left side. Oh, you also have a blockage in your left femoral artery of the leg. Come to find out, Clark has Atherosclerosis through out his body. My reaction was okay, now we know, let's fix it. Do the surgeries and fix him!! But Clark had other ideas;
Clark absolutely refused to have the triple bypass done. But agreed to the endarectomy. The doctors told him that without doing both, there would be a chance that he could have a heart attack during the operation. But, at least he would be in the hospital if it happened, so they could react quickly. (Oh GREAT) The doctor's did agree to do just the left carotid artery, saying "We can fix your heart but not your brain". Meaning, the chances of another stroke within a year was very high if they didn't get the artery cleared. The last thing either one of us wanted, was for another stroke to happen. Clark was very concerned about being a burden to me if that would occur. So, we scheduled his Endarectomy for July 25th, 2003.
In a sense, it was a relief to know what was wrong and we had a plan in place to fix things. Fix, the carotid and then we would discuss the heart later.
Anyway, Valium saved the day. Clark was very relaxed.... He was quite funny...
Thank God, that part was over....