Rise and shine

Rise and shine
My bed has wheels!!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

My New Heart

I have become very enthralled with the medical industry as I have been going through all of my procedures over the last month.  It is amazing how much time and care my surgeon has taken in the details of my heart, especially when I know he does this surgery to a new patient everyday.  I can't express how amazing Dr. K is.  Even after my surgery we continue to hear great things about his work.  We think he is pretty good too!

As Brady mentioned in a previous blog, the surgery was more extensive than expected.  My aorta was bigger than originally thought, so 2 polyester tubes were placed in my heart.  A few of my arteries were messed up as well, which was originally unknown.  We decided that Dr. K was probably like a kid in a candy store when he saw this.  Excited that he had something else he could fix, and according to him something he only sees about once a year.

In the cardiac center of the hospital were some replicas and images of hearts and what the doctors use to fix them.  Below is the best I can do to show you what is now inside me.  The best part is, my heart is now stronger and healthier than it ever has been, so I'm not sure what's next for the fastest white girl in Missouri....but it's gonna be big!



Normal Healthy Heart
 

This image shows the aortic aneurysm.  The large 'bubble' is not normal (compare to the normal heart).  The entire aneurysm was cut out of my aorta and replaced with the polyester tubes.


 

This is the actual size of the dacron polyester tubes that replaced my Aorta
  



Pig Valve- This was used to replace my valves
  
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6 comments:

  1. Lisa HottOctober 27, 2010 at 10:46 PM

    Hi Kristin!!
    I'm glad to hear you are doing so well! We will continue to pray for you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JennOctober 28, 2010 at 11:25 AM

    So happy to see your posts! Sounds like you're doing great and I hope you recover quickly :)!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 28, 2010 at 5:52 PM

    Lol...fastest white girl in Missouri!!! I miss that! We were definitley praying for you at LHS and are all so glad to hear you are doing okay. Swing by for a visit and show us white girls up...again :)

    Luv ya!
    Christine Bodine

    ReplyDelete
  4. ShannonOctober 28, 2010 at 8:26 PM

    Wow, you're kinda like a science project - sooooo fascinating! Seriously, I am sooooo thankful you're able to rest in your own home and be surrounded by family. I'm praying for a fast recovery and that you don't get restless. I'm sure it's hard for you to be immobilized a bit, but I can't wait to see what you can do with that improved heart!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Erin McClanahanOctober 30, 2010 at 11:44 AM

    Kristin---so glad to hear that all is going good. How crazy to go to the doctor one day and find out something's not quite right. You sound like you've taken a great outlook on this and you are recovering well! I am praying for you!

    Now--seriously---when you get allll better and head back down to the Big D...we are going to have to go to dinner. This is all too overdue.

    Enjoy your time in the StL...I'm jealous! Have some toasted rav and Imo's for me.

    Much Love, Erin

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 30, 2010 at 12:07 PM

    Hey Nellie!! So glad to hear you are doing well recovering! Greg and I are keeping up to date with your blog frequently and are keeping you in our prayers :) Now, I'm not sure what's next for the fastest white girl in Missouri either...but I know it'll be BIG as well! Tell your family hi, and GO TIGERS!

    Carlie

    ReplyDelete

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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!