Columbus, OH
Things started to get rough. It was Lew's turn to be prostrate on the 22nd. But the next day, he thought he was good enough to drive, and we made it down I-75 to the KOA in Sweetwater, TN. There was nothing remarkable about the physical facilities. However, the staff turned out to be extremely helpful and supportive over the next few days.

The next morning (23rd) dawned bright and cheery. But as Lew was walking Smokey, he collapsed. A call to 911 brought the EMT's quickly, and they expertly tended him on the short ride to the Sweetwater Hospital. It turned out that potassium loss from diarrhea the preceding few days had pushed his heart into atrial fibrillation. A very sharp ER doctor converted the rhythm with an IV bolus of ?, gave him a substantial dose of Ativan, and transferred him to a tertiary care hospital in Knoxville. The cardiologist there replaced his lost potassium, started him on a calcium channel blocker, and discharged him the next day.

Back in the campground Lew continued to feel progressively worse. By Saturday (27th) afternoon he was back in the Sweetwater Hospital ER, again in fibrillation. The ER doctor phoned the oncall cardiologist, who increased the dose of the anti-arhythmic. Meanwhile, Bobbi got on the phone and found a professional driver in McArthur OH who was willing to come to Sweetwater and drive our rig back to Columbus.

Early Monday (29th) morning Bobbi drove Lew into Knoxville to see another cardiologist recommended by the Columbus cardiologist, for another EKG. This showed medication toxicity, so the cardiologist recommended that the dose be reduced and Lew return to Columbus. Fortunately, the driver that Bobbi had hired arrived in the afternoon and got the rig and everyone back to Columbus in a single run. But when they arrived about 11:30 PM, Lew was extremely weak.

After a restless night, Lew was barely able to walk. He did not take his morning anti-ahrythmic dose, and Bobbi took him to the ER once again. This time his heart was in normal sinus rythmn, but the ER doctor admitted him to the cardiac ward anyway. There he again was put on round-the-clock electronic monitoring -- and his cardiac meds stopped. By that evening he already was feeling considerably better.

Lew continued to improve the next day, and still another cardiologist decided to discharge him on a moderate dose of the calcium-channel blocker. He made an appointment for the next day (2 February) with his primary care physician. The latter was impressed by the psychiatric aspects so added an antidepressant and low-dose anxiolytic to Lew's regimen, referred him to a different cardiologist, and gave him a monitor to wear around-the-clock for one month. Unfortunately the monitor drove his anxiety to higher levels because he could hear his EKG constantly.