Hey Friends!
This is Kristin writing from the comfort of my home. The last week and a half seems like a blur at this point, but I am so thankful for all your prayers and support. My family has felt so loved by all of our friends and family, words cannot express how grateful we are for each of your love and prayers.
As for my recovery, each day is better than the last. Getting out of the hospital was the best thing to help for healing. There wasn't a lot of sleep going on at the hospital when nurse's come in every 2 hours through the night and the beds were not so comfortable :) I have learned quickly that even though I am young, compared to the average person who has this surgery, the healing process still takes time. I am restricted by a number of things until my sternum heals completely, which takes about 6 weeks. As of now, I am walking 2 times about 10 minutes each time. This is tiring. I also am short winded because there is still a lot of fluid in my lungs from the surgery. I have to do a lot of breathing exercises to help build my breathing stamina. The most sore part of my body is my sternum, where they broke the bone. Aside from a few other aches and pains the rest of my body feels pretty good; it doesn't hurt that I have pain killers!
The best part of getting home early was being home to watch Mizzou beat Oklahoma! Now I am looking forward to another big game this weekend. M-I-Z!
Rise and shine
My bed has wheels!!!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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The basics of my surgery:
This August, I was at a check up and my doctor heard a heart murmur and told me to go see a Cardiologist. Over the last 4 weeks, I have been doing multiple procedures to find out exactly what was wrong with my heart and how it could be fixed. After a few procedures, I met with a surgeon in Dallas and it was recommended that I have open heart surgery. I decided that if i needed this procedure, I would rather be in St. Louis with my family to have it done.
Two weeks ago I went for a second opinion in St. Louis. All the doctors that I have met with have confirmed that I need to move forward with open heart surgery. There are no other less-invasive options for the type of surgery I have to do. I will have the surgery done in St. Louis at Missouri Baptist Hospital on October 18th.
The doctor will be performing 2 procedures during the surgery to fix two problems. I technically have an Ascending Aortic Aneurism, which as led to an enlarged aorta. My aorta is 5.1 centimeters, which is double the size of the average aorta. To fix the aorta they will replace the enlarged part with a dacron polyester tube. This will stay in my heart for the rest of my life. Over time the tissue will grow over the new aorta. The second part of the procedure is to fix my valves. My valves are what cause the heart murmur and essentially the cause of the enlarged aorta. Until they open up my heart, they can't determine exactly how they will fix the valves. The first option is to surgically fix them using my current tissue. If that is not an option, they will replace the valves with an animal valve. The surgery will take approximiately 4 hours, then I'll be in recovery at the hospital for about 5 days before I am able to go home and rest for about 6 weeks.
To answer a few questions:
Did I know about this? No, I did not know until a little over a month ago that anything was wrong. I knew when I was young that I had a heart murmur, but over the years Cardiologists have told me nothing was wrong.
Do I feel okay? Yes, I still feel like my normal self. There were no indications that I had anything wrong, other than the doctor first hearing my murmur.
Will I be able to resume normal activity post surgery? Yes, after a few weeks of recovery I should be able to resume my normal activities. It may just take a while to feel comfortable playing sports for a while.
Thanks for everyone for your thoughts and prayers. It means a lot to my family to have so many people supporting us, we can't thank you enough!
If anyone is around St. Louis, feel free to stop by! Visitors are welcome!
Great knowing that you're home! Heal up!
ReplyDeletePaul G.
So glad you are home and healing! We love you and continue to pray for you!
ReplyDeleteZ-O-U!
You have been in my thoughts and prayers! I will never forget our days running at LHS. I am glad the surgery went well.
ReplyDeleteJill Collins Holtsclaw