About Me (In My Own Words)
Hi! I joined this site after doing lots of reading, both here and on various websites. It seems like no matter how many questions I have, there's always more. Not to mention the ones that just can't be answered until the surgery itself.
At about age 43 I saw a new primary care doctor in a new city just to get my BP meds refilled. She did an EKG (I've had a murmur since birth) and didn't like the results, so she referred me to a cardiologist. Talk about serendipity! The cardiologist determined that it was an ascending aortic aneurysm and followed up for about 7 years, doing echos yearly, and eventually every six months. At some point it grew to the measurement that required surgery. That happened in 2007, just a week after my 50th birthday. It was after the surgery that I found out I have a bicuspid valve which would need following.
Since then I've been having yearly or 6 month echos. My last one -July 22, 2020- showed severe aortic stenosis and an appointment was made for me to see an interventional cardiologist on July 30th. I had a CT scan this past Monday, August 10, and a Pulmonary Function Test yesterday. I have a catheterization on Monday, the 17th - they spaced out the CT and cath because my kidneys are compromised.
What I want? I WANT to be able to call any of my doctors at any time of day and have them answer whatever questions pop up. Hey, that's not too unreasonable considering they're going to have my life in their hands in a couple of weeks, is it? LOL
Seriously, it IS hard to have questions and sometimes have to wait 24-48 hours to get an answer. But I'm guessing you all know what that's like.
So next week I have the cath on Monday, see one of the docs on Thursday, see the pulmonary doc Friday, and soon after that will hopefully find out if they will do the TAVR or OHS. Oh pleeease let it be the TAVR. I've done the OHS and it seemed to take forever to recover.
Looking forward to learning from your stories!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Nebraska
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My surgery date is:
September 15, 2020
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Stenosis
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Aortic Aneurysm
Coronary Artery Disease
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My surgery was:
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Robert Hibbard
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My hospital is:
Nebraska Methodist Hospital
