That's right; its not quite the 100 meter sprint of old, but she is on her feet. All of the drainage tubes and stuff that is incredibly uncomfortable has been removed. Kristin is getting her voice back (the breathing tube is not so easy on one's throat) and had enough energy to go for a short stroll. MOST importantly... no more hospital gown!!! Oh, the little things in life! Now that she can wear scrubs she feels much more human and might even let me post some pictures of her in the near future. Energy and comfort come in fits and starts so Kristin was pretty wiped out after her walk, but all of us are thrilled to see her being more like herself. She laughed (very gently) as her sense of humor returned. These little moments go a long way for us (family and friends) because they indicate healing. Kristin's pain levels seem to have decreased as well - less pain, less drugs, less nausea. Today was a very encouraging day.
Shalom,
Brady
Rise and shine
My bed has wheels!!!
Wednesday, October 20, 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!
Yay! No sprinting till next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God....
Edgar & Pat