About Me (In My Own Words)
Hello everyone, my name's Alexa, I'm 19 years old (now 20) and I have had a Congenital Heart Defect since I was born. I was born with a defect in my aortic valve and was ballooned in New York Presbyterian Hospital at 2 days old. Since I was a child I was monitored by my cardiologist every 6 months including being on Enalapril since then. It had come to notice that I developed Aortic Insufficiency (Regurgitation) and Mitral Valve Stenosis. My aortic valve is in worse condition than my mitral valve. Therefore, one day at the age of 16 my doctors noticed that I was not getting any better and recommended surgery to correct this. Just the thought of surgery frightened me, I was a junior in high school and I was honestly terrified. So, I did as my doctors said without hesitation and had open heart surgery on November 7th, 2012. There were so many complications that happened, it was so unusual. My doctor repaired my valve without replacing it with another valve or any other method. At first I was frustrated because I did not understand why they didn't just replace the faulty valve instead of trying to repair it. However, I spent over 2 weeks in the hospital which was very unexpected. During my recovery immediately after surgery, I had begun to bleed internally from my stiches that came undone. They rushed me back into the OR to redo the operation along with other complications to be fixed. My kidneys were functioning at 10% and I lost a lot of blood. I was in the ICU for 10 days receiving 24-hour dialysis treatment, then receiving the treatment throughout the duration of my stay. Mind you, I was a healthy 16-year old who had no other health issues other than leaky valves. I also had to get a blood transfusion and I was put on the Heart-Lung Machine 3 times that day. I recovered from this traumatic experience within 2 weeks and went back to school to finish out my junior year.
Going into my freshman year at Seton Hall University, my cardiologist told my family to come in for a check-up. It was then that he told us my operation had failed and I needed to be re-operated on and if anything, it has gotten even worse. After my operation I was complaining of heart palpitations and my cardiologist always told me it was nothing until he did a 24-hour heart monitor where they caught an "episode" while I was sleeping and determined it was something more serious than we thought. He now wanted me to get a mechanical valve instead of anything else. Being 18 (at the time) and hearing I basically would not be able to have children and have to be on blood-thinners for the rest of my life was unacceptable to me. It was at that time that my family and I decided to research other local hospitals as well as other options. We came across Mt. Sinai and their cardiac surgical team. I met with Dr. Stelzer a year later and he told me that I expressed no serious danger and to finish out my sophomore year, which contradicts with what my old cardiologist said, to have surgery at Colombia in December. Dr. Stelzer suggested the Ross Procedure (which I have never heard about before) instead of a mechanical valve. I was not ready to give up a full semester in college to have surgery and graduate a semester later. Dr. Stelzer told me to continue to finish school and come back in the summer, which is where I stand now. I have decided to have the Ross Procedure done by Dr. Stelzer and I know I will be in very good hands having done my research. However, I'm honestly terrified of having ANOTHER operation within 3 years and the risks that come with it. I had a very bad experience with my first operation which I still regret not looking at other options before settling on one opinion. Dr. Stelzer is the go-to guy for the Ross Procedure, however I'm just so nervous. I have watched the procedure being done many times online and have read numerous success stories which all eases me. I have high spirits for this operation with the satisfaction of being FINALLY fixed.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Cedar Grove, New Jersey
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My surgery date is:
July 8, 2016
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Mitral Stenosis
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Repair
Mitral Valve Replacement
Mitral Valve Repair
Ross Procedure
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