About Me (In My Own Words)
I'm writing this not as the patient but as the spouse. My fiance Robert & I have been together for almost 10 years. I'm 27 and he's 30. On February 23 2015 I took him to a local ER after telling them all his symptoms (which were symptoms of a heart attack) we were taken back into triage they ran blood work and some tests found out he did have a heart attack and he was going to be admitted for 24 hours observation. The next day his cardiologist decided he needed a cardiac catherization done he had the procedure done and found out he had blockage & severe aortic regurgitation. Little back story Robert has had a VSD since he was 5 years old and it just happens to be right by his aortic valve. So after talking to his cardiologist and them running more tests they decided he would need surgery and he wasn't a candidate for anything other than open heart surgery because of what they were going to have to do. He stayed there 5 days till February 28 when he got worse and had low oxygen levels and a rapid heart rate they decided to transfer him to Shands Hospital in Gainesville FL. When he got there he had more tests done and spent the next few days in ICU on March 4 he had teeth pulled (bad teeth can affect your heart) his surgery was scheduled for March 10 but on March 9 they cancelled it because they had an emergency come up and it got pushed back to the neXT day. The next few days leading up to surgery were the longest days of our lives. Tuesday March 11 we were woken up around 530 to say transport was going around 7 to bring him down to pre-op to get ready for surgery. When they arrived my heart was racing & he was beginning to get really nervous. He went into surgery around 8 AM & it took them 6 and a half hours to fix him. When he came out he was awake but sleepy and in pain and was breathing on his own. I got to see him and he looked great! About an hour or so after surgery his chest tubes were putting out way more than they should and they made the choice to take him back into the OR. They had pierced his abdominal wall when they wired him shut so they ended up having to open him back up. He came out the second time around 1030 PM and was intubated and completely unconscious. I had to leave for the night because I wasn't allowed to stay there due to all the machines and I was devastated. The next few days were rough as he was feeling the pain and hurting alot they had him up and sitting the say after surgery and walking 2 days after. He did well and started to need less and less help doing things. He had trouble going to the bathroom and they had to give options and he had to go before he could come home. On Wednesday March 18 he got to come home! I went to pick him up and brought our 4 year old Brookelynn with me who he had not seen in 4 weeks. It was the best day EVER. It's been 9 weeks yesterday (May 12) and things are going great! He's healing and recovering fantastic! I can't be more proud of how far he has come. I'm eager to hear other stories and have support as a spouse instead of a patient. This is my first time ever dealing with such a big surgery and I have had a great support system through it all.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Edgewater, Florida
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My surgery date is:
March 11, 2015
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Coronary Artery Disease
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Philip Hess
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My hospital is:
Shands at UF Health
