About Me (In My Own Words)
My story begins on a beautiful fall day. My family and I were at the soccer field watching my daughter play. My dad met us there to watch the game. We talked and laughed and stood together in the warm sunshine. Dad took me for a ride in his freshly restored 1952 Ford pickup. The windows were down and there we were, the two of us cruising, our hair blowing in the breeze. It felt like the old days when I was fifteen and my dad and I restored a 1966 Chevelle Super Sport together. He dropped me off back with my husband and kids and he took off going up a hill, tires spinning! I gave him the usual "thumbs up" and went home smiling ear to ear. At dinner I remember saying what a great day this was.
Then the phone rang. It was a call telling me my dad had a massive heart attack, and he was being taken to the local clinic. When I arrived at the clinic, my uncle was shaking his head. My heart sank and I could not believe my dad had passed away. It was both a great day and the worst day all in one. Looking back I am so very thankful that God allowed us all to be together on the day He knew would be my dad's last.
About one year later, I had started running and ran my first 5K. Sitting at my desk at work I was thinking about how my dad wanted me to go visit his cardiologist. Over the years, some doctors thought I may have a murmur, but no one seemed very concerned about it, or referred me to have it checked. I decided to call Dr. Franklin and make an appointment. I just turned 42 years old when I met with him. It only took a few minutes for him to take a listen and within the next month I went for an echocardiogram, aortic ultrasound, stress test, and wore a halter monitor. These tests showed that my mitral valve was not closing properly. I was diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation. We are so thankful to find out before any damage occurred.
I was shocked to find out I needed to go for open heart surgery. My cardiologist said I should consider having it done in the next few months and he suggested we use a surgeon who specializes in repairing valves versus replacing. I still could not fathom this and it was difficult to even think about...I felt fine. I've since changed my perspective from "why me?" to being thankful for knowing this so my valve can be repaired to work better than ever. After a trans-esophageal echocardiogram, we knew my valve was a "barlow" valve which means I was born with lots of extra tissue which prevents the valve from closing. This makes my valve less common and more difficult to repair.
Our next step was to meet with and decide on a surgeon. We met with a surgeon in Hartford who mentioned the name of another surgeon in NYC, named David Adams. My husband and I researched Dr. Adams on the Internet and even watched some of his valve repair videos. Ok, I could handle watching them, but it wasn't that easy for Geoff. It really was amazing how he can trim, reshape and repair a valve which looked like a mess before he did his "artwork". We made an appointment to meet with Dr. Adams on January 9th. We were very impressed with his humble confidence, and his passion for his work and loved his character. We decided to schedule my surgery for February 26th. So writing this we are ten days out!
We are so thankful for all the support from family and friends and for all the people that the Lord has put in our path each day to encourage us. For example, I am a private pilot and was worried about how this may effect my pilot's license. On the way to church, I got a text from my friend (another pilot) with the name of a friend of his who also went to Dr. Adams to have his mitral valve repaired. Turns out he is a pilot, physician and a FAA medical examiner who not only encouraged me, but will assist me in paperwork regarding my pilot's license! There have been many more "coincidences" since then as well.
It is scary facing this, but I know everyone we love, and who loves us will be with us in thoughts and prayers.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Old Lyme, Connecticut
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My surgery date is:
February 26, 2013
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
Tricuspid Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
Tricuspid Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. David Adams
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My hospital is:
Mount Sinai
