About Me (In My Own Words)
Echo-cardiograms for a few years as my life-long heart murmur started sounding 'tight', this summer been through another Echo to monitor progress and it seems very close to surgery time. I've had a CT Scan, and blood work and I'm scheduled for a Cath-lab for who knows what reason as my surgeon mentioned the outcome will not impact his efforts :-) BTW, I had met Dr Miller some years back when I was advocating for a friend that was getting mitral valve...he remembered me. He now works out of the newest hospital in Denver and they have a great record of recovery, lack of complications and successes performing some of the most complex surgeries in the world...practice makes perfect comes to mind!
I have thought about writing this post for some time and each with each successive thought I have felt great trepidation to do so. I believe placing my words here makes the reality of the situation all too real and the prospects of successful outcome are now a part of my everyday life. Since I've known the love-of-my-life it brings forward how much I desire to have a long and full life. Many years ago while attending school to secure my doctorate in Applied Physics I was intrigued with the prospect of becoming Medical Doctor and after much study I achieved that goal. I have never however been part and parcel to the treatment of a patient rather having more interest in the diagnostic aspects of medicine and the development of devices that would directly and positively impact patients, many in the cardiovascular surgical field. My diverse background has worked well for me over the years and especially with clinical trials of new innovative, designs and the development of new devices. The many levels of knowledge this field demands has been taxing and challenging. I have taken a few side trips into other worlds such as environmental monitoring, developing instruments to measure sub-part-per-million levels of pollutants and system analysis for the government. All that said my desire to help people endure the various medical therapies made possible and practical with new devices has been my first and best pursuit. So now comes the irony I get to participate as a patient with my surgeon likely utilizing many of the devices I developed over the years. In some time in the near future I will undergo surgery to replace by bicuspid aortic valve which was always on a path to be replaced since birth. As part of this surgery I will also have my aorta replaced as it has become damaged by the increased workload it has endured with the valve failing, or as recent theory suggests is simply part of the same physiological mechanism that causes the vale to fail. As many of you might know this is a very significant surgery...and the very thought of all the complications possible his quite sobering. I am also so very grateful that my sweet Beth has been here for me, she has come with me to each appointment starting last August, I can only hope to love her forever in a long life. I'm not a great social media person but I imagined I would share this if you ever wonder or need to think about what will or will not happen to such a patient…this time ME.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Lonetree
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My surgery date is:
October 4, 2016
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Stenosis
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
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