About Me (In My Own Words)
I was born with Ebstein's Anomaly in the 60's and did well throughout my life, most of the time keeping an eye on my condition with regular check ups and tests. I'm no extraordinary person, I've lived a regular life just wanting to be a godly loving wife and friend and love my family. Otherwise I earned a degree in Accounting, worked, lived and enjoyed life. But this last year, 2015, I began to experience a slow down in my energy; sure I'd had a 4 month long series of colds that induced my asthma, never feeling like I was getting well, instead shortness of breath, pains in my chest, and tiredness. The few stairs I had to occasionally climb took me minutes to ascend, not seconds. The summer went by with a niggling thought in my head,"your heart's not doing so good kiddo". In Aug2015 my Cardiologist suggested a full visit to the Clinic at UCSF San Fransisco CA it is especially for Adults with Congenital Heart Disease (defects). There, Dr Elyse Foster reviewed my echo I had done that day, talked with me about everything, and asked me to come back. So, in October we drove the 5 hrs down and spent another full day getting an MRi and a stress echo. I went home fairly optimistic. Maybe I just needed a medicine upgrade. Then the Cardiac Nurse Coordinator called to let me know my case was being brought before the surgeon/ cardiac team a group of over 50 specialists that review cases like ours. A week later Dr Foster called with the news, they thought they had an excellent chance at repairing the tricuspid valve and that, based on my symptoms and tests I should seriously consider sooner, not later. I'll type later to fill you in on what happened next. Praying for you all and wow, I am not alone.. Your stories inspire me that being a regular person going through an extrodinary thing is doable. God Bless.
On Christmas Day 1939 when Britain was at war with Nazi Germany, King George VI ended his speech to the nation by quoting from a poem that had been given to him by his daughter Elizabeth, who is now the Queen:
"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'"
What comfort is contained in these words from Psalm 139:
"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down; and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it."
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Lake Tahoe, CA
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My surgery date is:
March 30, 2016
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I was diagnosed with:
Tricuspid Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Tricuspid Valve Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. V Mohan Reddy
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My hospital is:
UCSF CA
